August 24, 2008 - Twin Falls, ID to Elko, NV

Mass
I went to Mass at St. Edward's Church in Twin Falls. As usual, I left the hotel a bit too late. I took some wrong turns and ended up getting to the church a couple of minutes after Mass should have started. I had prayed that I would not be late. When I got there, there were lots of people standing outside. I assumed the church was so packed that this was the best that could be done. The next Mass was the Spanish Mass so this was all I could do since I don't understand Spanish. But, to my surprise, they got seats for everyone and Mass began just a couple of minutes late. I didn't miss anything.

The priest was young and very enthusiastic in his homily. At the end of the Mass, there were quite a few announcements from various people. With the announcements, the Mass lasted until 12pm. The priest was getting quite nervous because the Spanish Mass began at 12:30pm. There needed to be some time in between. See photos of the church.

The church is trying to set up a garden and prayer area dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. There is a large Mexican community within the church. In the park next to the church, they set up tables and were selling Mexican food and drinks for lunch. I was trying to stay away from Mexican food to cut back on calories. I always feel overloaded after eating Mexican food. Of course, this was for a good cause and it was available without having to drive out of the way. So, I couldn't help but have one more Mexican meal. I tried Orchetta. This is a thick white colored drink which is apparently made out of rice. It's good in small amounts. They gave me such a large cup that I was tired of it after a few sips.

Attempting to get a new car
My car was getting close to 3,000 miles. Also, I did not want to continue driving a California plated car as I went further east. (It's fine in Idaho, Utah, or Nevada. But it's not so good in the Midwest.) I tried to swap it at the Twin Falls Airport. They did not have anything but a Chevrolet Colbalt. I tried one of those in Kansas last year and returned it within three hours because I couldn't stand it. But, in addition, they told me that I could only have one swap per contract. Since I already had a swap because of the deer incident, I couldn't swap any further. I called the office where I rented the vehicle. They were in shock. They said that when I get to another place that has cars of the right size, if they make that kind of claim again, I should just call the origination office and they would make them do the swap.

Drive to Nevada
My reservation tonight was in Elko, Nevada. This is in the north-central area of Nevada. This was the first of six free nights. Because I had earned a number of points along the way, I've gotten at least eleven free nights.


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It would be a three hour drive with no stops. Most of it was along US 93. Then I would go to I-80 and head west a little bit. The scenery in Idaho was very nice. It was more of the same thing I had seen before with hills, mountains, and sagebrush. See the photos.

After crossing the Nevada border, there was a small town named Jackpot. This makes sense considering this is the state which contains Las Vegas and Reno.

Shortly thereafter, I noticed the sign indicating that I was now in Pacific Time. It was nice to gain an hour. Of course, I would lose it in a couple of days when I drove into Utah.

After Jackpot, the beautiful scenery began. There were more mountains than in Idaho. There was a spot with lots of rock formations. The rocks and mountains are darker than they are in Idaho. See the photos.

There were warning signs indicating major deer herd crossings for several miles. It was early afternoon and the sun was very bright. It seemed to be much hotter than in Idaho. I decided to keep moving along to avoid any possible deer incidents. US 93 at this point was at 70 mph. For the most part, there were no cities or towns along the way until I got to Wells at the intersection of US 93 and I-80.

Wells is a small city larger than Jackpot but still quite small. It has some RV parks, several seedy looking hotels, truck stops, and gas stations. Then there is just desert. Believe it or not, there are TWO I-80 exits for Wells only one mile apart.

I got gas at $3.77. This was another state where the lowest grade was 85 and 87/88 was considered mid-grade. When I walked into the store at the truck stop, I noticed a large bank of electronic slot machines. And yes, there were people wasting money in them. I also bought only a few postcards, thinking this was like Idaho and postcards were in every gas station. I figured I could buy more later where there might be a better selection.

From there, it was another forty miles or so to Elko. I drove past an exit for Beverly Hills. You can see for miles and miles on either side of the interstate. It seemed that this Beverly Hills was merely an RV park.

Elko is a much bigger and more substantial city than what I had seen so far in Nevada. Of course, there are lots of casinoes. It's also cowboy themed here.

Across the street from my hotel, there was a Mexican restaurant. Of course, this was so convenient that I had to try it. This is basically fast food but at a MUCH higher quality than Taco Bell, Taco Tico, or any of the chain places. They have a lot of places like this throughout the West. In fact, they even have vans selling Mexican food on the street in some areas of Idaho and Utah.

At this particular restaurant, they cook the food Sonoran style. They had a sheet at every table explaining that just as there are different food regions in the United States (they list east, west, north, south, and Brooklyn for the different regions...yes, apparently Brooklyn is its own region when it comes to food!). They also explained that some Mexican food uses cactus. I sure hope the thorns were removed first!

The food was delicious. But again, the portions were much too large.

I tried to swap out the car in Elko, NV. However, this particular branch is a franchise, not a corportate owned site. If they swapped out a car I would have to do another swap in Salt Lake City. Since I was going to Salt Lake City anyway, I decided to wait until that point.