Carson City
Once you've done that, you have the choice of heading south and continuing your perimeter route, or stopping off in Carson City. If you're a fan of prehistoric fossils, we recommend the latter. Carson boasts an unpretentious but very well done museum, the Nevada State Museum, which exhibits giant fossils including a mammoth skeleton and an ichthyosaur, as well as over 300 minerals. You'll realise that Nevada is particularly rich in extraordinary prehistoric skeletons, which are still being discovered (250 million years ago, the Nevada desert was an ocean).
A gallery devoted to the region's Native Indians reminds us that the mountain and lake once belonged to them. For this diversion, you'll need to take Highway 50 to the east, at Slaughterhouse Canyon.
Carson City is also well endowed with casinos. So if you've got extra cash for your holiday, this is a good place to stop.
Stateline
Next, head to Stateline for a good night's rest.