Tag Archives: Nevada

Vacation

GAR: Day Four – Winnemucca NV to Half Moon Bay CA (422mi)

Today’s drive was a little shorter — only two-thirds of yesterday’s — but it was the first day we’d taken on city traffic as we drove in the San Franciscan ‘burbs.

Leaving this morning, it was really comfortable, with temps in the 60s. We put Nevada behind us pretty quickly, and entered California right around lunchtime. After a quick stop for snacks and bio-breaks, we decided to veer from our plans, and head down to Lake Tahoe for a bit.

The Tahoe area is beautiful, with big hills, and loads of pine trees reaching for the sky. Add to that the beautiful blue lake, and you end up with an idyllic setting. We stopped, looked, shot some photos, and decided to head back to the interstate for the push into San Francisco…. on the worst road ever.

I-80 through northern California has got to be the bumpiest, roughest interstate highway I’ve ever driven. I thought some of the roads in Arizona were bad, but this took the cake. At least in Arizona, you’re travelling on a roughly flat surface through the desert. This road was uphill and downhill, with plenty of bouncing, harsh turns and road construction to make it that much more enjoyable. What a road!

Early rush hour wasn’t too bad, and we made it to Half Moon Bay around dinner time, with plenty of time to catch a meal, and get to a public beach access to watch the sun set into the Pacific. There’s a wildfire burning near here, and I thought that might help color the sunset, but it didn’t really seem to help much. Still, it was a beautiful sunset.

This was the first time Sio was able to see the ocean close up. She said that it was weird to not be able to see the edge of it. I guess I’d gotten past all the novelty of how big the ocean can be. It’s definitely been interesting to see this new experience through her eyes.

Tomorrow is a down day for us, with us planning to be tourists in the big city. Next up is the trek up the coast, with the Pacific northwest awaiting us toward the end of the week.

Vacation

GAR: Day Three – Rawlins WY to Winnemucca NV (652mi)

The shortness of the day yesterday — driven by the windy battle from behind the wheel — dictated a long drive today. With proper stops and a timezone change, we made this leg with wind left in the sails.

We stopped at a rest area along the way, and took some photos of prairie dogs. Very cute little critters, and fun to watch play and romp. From a big game perspective, this was the biggest mammal we’d gotten close to, and was certainly enjoyable to watch.

Crossing into Utah, we drove to Salt Lake City, and stopped for a bit at the edge of the lake. It was gorgeous! The weather was so much nicer than the weather I endured there a few years ago. The skies were blue, and there was plenty of visibility, with plenty of reflections in the lake. The best was yet to come, however.

As we were winding up our time in Utah, we came to a rest area just at the edge of the Bonneville Salt Flats. Again, three years ago, there were nasty skies, and really bad weather. This time, the weather was wonderful… and there was water on the flats! We pulled up, and found folks wading in toe-deep to ankle deep water atop the crusty salt. We dropped our shoes, and proceeded to wade in the water. The salt was hard, and really rough on the feet, but it was well worth it. We saw folks walking hundreds of feet into the salt desert, wading and exploring. This was by far the best stop of the day.

Another cool thing lay along the roads. Wherever the side of the road was light colored, folks had left messages, spelled out in rocks, for passersby to see. This was a kind of viral graffiti that was really amazing. Some messages were quick ones — someone’s name, or school mascot. Others were pledges of love, memories of other folks, along with some elaborate buildouts made of wire and beer bottles. Mixed in among these were tire tracks entering and exiting the salt desert, testimony to folks who’d spent a little youthful time breaking the law.

The weather was certainly a big deal during this leg. We left Rawlins at 35 degrees, and arrived in Winnemucca at about 85 degrees. In fact, the heat was pretty doggone oppressive, even more so with our room.

The hotel was just adequate, nothing fancy or elegant, and reflected the style of a 60s casino… kinda like it was trying to look like a wild west saloon room. Styling didn’t bother me, but there seemed to be no way to get it cooler. The air conditioner was definitely blowing, but it wasn’t cooling the room off. In truth, the whole hotel was that way. Waaaay too hot and sticky for my tastes!