Tuesday, May 4, 2010
New Map Link
I've added a new map link to show where I've traveled in the last few days (April 30 - May 4). It's located on the right side below the other map links.
April 30, 2010: Leaving Nevada; Zion National Park
Today was my last morning in Nevada. I had no idea I'd spend so much time here, but it was great getting around various parts of the state. I really like Nevada for its history, the feeling of independence, the vastness of the state, etc. In the southern part of the state, I like the rock formations, palm trees, joshua trees, and other desert plants. I can't say I'm a big fan of Las Vegas, however.
I did visit a big casino just to sort of see what it's like. I do not gamble, not even just to put a couple of dollars down and see what might happen (I already know: the house wins....and that money could go towards plenty of other expenses on this trip). It's not simply that I think gambling is a waste; it simply does not appeal to me at all. The casino I visited (Mandalay Bay) included a hotel, restaurants, and lots of shopping areas. Of course, there were electronic (read: easier to rig than mechanical) slot machines, poker tables, etc. all over. It was like a shopping mall inside and almost like a maze to get through.
Next to the Mandalay Bay casino is the Luxor Pyramid, complete with a mildly tacky sphinx. Across the street is a tacky Statue of Liberty. There is a building (or series of buildings) made to look like a castle called Excalibur. But, ultimately, like any other big city, it's too crowded for me.
One thing I also do not like in Las Vegas and throughout other southern and western states is the over reliance on red light cameras. I make it a point to drive safely, but these cameras tend to make me nervous. With cash strapped cities, is it definitely true that they are using them properly? Having read some stories on the Internet about newspapers doing exposes on cities shortening the yellow light time to make money, how can the cities be trusted? These things are cash machines. Yes, it's great to catch people who are buzzing through red lights and putting everyone else in harm's way. But shortening a yellow light to make money could seriously cause injury or even death as people try to slam on their brakes. Las Vegas has a camera literally at every traffic light. Monitoring businesses are hired to oversee these cameras and they get a cut on the money raked in. So, rather than just a safety device, these are cash cows. The events seen in a picture may not give a full story. For example, what a police officer might feel is not an offense, a person simply looking at a photo could be influenced to charge the driver simply to make money. Apparently, cities take a while to send the notification to the driver so that it's more difficult for the driver to remember the circumstances. Further, they apparently do not always supply a photo of the incident for "privacy reasons." They evidently require the person to physically come in to view the evidence. This is simply to burden the alleged offender and make them plead guilty, or hire a lawyer and have an extra layer of expenses.
Anyway, leaving Las Vegas, my next destination was Zion National Park. I planned to go to the main section of the park, not Kolob Canyons, which I had seen on April 15th. This is the first big western park to which I have made a return visit. With my national parks pass, the $25 entry fee was covered.
I headed north on I-15, retracing the route I had done three years ago in my southwest trip. This briefly cut through Arizona and into Utah. When I crossed the Arizona/Nevada line, I was technically in Mountain Time (Nevada is in Pacific Time), but as Arizona does not observe daylight savings time, I was still in the same time as Pacific Time. However, once I crossed the Utah/Arizona line, I was definitely in Mountain Time (with daylight savings time) and officially lost one hour.
As usual, the mountains and rock formations around southern Utah were beautiful. The lighting was perfect. I was getting exhausted at this point and had to stop for a little while before actually getting to the park. I went to a small tourist shop and had some root beer float ice cream. There weren't a lot of other decent choices for food at this place and it was fairly isolated. Had I waited until I got closer to the park, I could have had all sorts of choices.
The park was absolutely beautiful with deep blue skies against the red rocks. There are numerous switchbacks on the way up the mountain, and even a tunnel. Park staff shut down one lane of traffic for safety.
Near the end of my visit to the park, I noticed cars stopped and people crouched watching something. A man silently pointed to an area and I noticed what they were looking at. A mountain goat was eating off a tree. I was able to get lots of pictures. The goat didn't seem to care that people were watching him. He even posed a few times. This is just like the animals in Yellowstone National Park. They all pose for people too.
Thankfully, the hotel was only about forty miles away from the park. I was getting exhausted from all this travel so I was glad it was not going to be several more hours. I had no idea where I was going next. Either I could backtrack through I-70 on the way east, head down into Arizona and go across I-40 (too far out of the way), or go up to Salt Lake City and head east from there. I'd have to decide the next day.
I did visit a big casino just to sort of see what it's like. I do not gamble, not even just to put a couple of dollars down and see what might happen (I already know: the house wins....and that money could go towards plenty of other expenses on this trip). It's not simply that I think gambling is a waste; it simply does not appeal to me at all. The casino I visited (Mandalay Bay) included a hotel, restaurants, and lots of shopping areas. Of course, there were electronic (read: easier to rig than mechanical) slot machines, poker tables, etc. all over. It was like a shopping mall inside and almost like a maze to get through.
Next to the Mandalay Bay casino is the Luxor Pyramid, complete with a mildly tacky sphinx. Across the street is a tacky Statue of Liberty. There is a building (or series of buildings) made to look like a castle called Excalibur. But, ultimately, like any other big city, it's too crowded for me.
One thing I also do not like in Las Vegas and throughout other southern and western states is the over reliance on red light cameras. I make it a point to drive safely, but these cameras tend to make me nervous. With cash strapped cities, is it definitely true that they are using them properly? Having read some stories on the Internet about newspapers doing exposes on cities shortening the yellow light time to make money, how can the cities be trusted? These things are cash machines. Yes, it's great to catch people who are buzzing through red lights and putting everyone else in harm's way. But shortening a yellow light to make money could seriously cause injury or even death as people try to slam on their brakes. Las Vegas has a camera literally at every traffic light. Monitoring businesses are hired to oversee these cameras and they get a cut on the money raked in. So, rather than just a safety device, these are cash cows. The events seen in a picture may not give a full story. For example, what a police officer might feel is not an offense, a person simply looking at a photo could be influenced to charge the driver simply to make money. Apparently, cities take a while to send the notification to the driver so that it's more difficult for the driver to remember the circumstances. Further, they apparently do not always supply a photo of the incident for "privacy reasons." They evidently require the person to physically come in to view the evidence. This is simply to burden the alleged offender and make them plead guilty, or hire a lawyer and have an extra layer of expenses.
Anyway, leaving Las Vegas, my next destination was Zion National Park. I planned to go to the main section of the park, not Kolob Canyons, which I had seen on April 15th. This is the first big western park to which I have made a return visit. With my national parks pass, the $25 entry fee was covered.
I headed north on I-15, retracing the route I had done three years ago in my southwest trip. This briefly cut through Arizona and into Utah. When I crossed the Arizona/Nevada line, I was technically in Mountain Time (Nevada is in Pacific Time), but as Arizona does not observe daylight savings time, I was still in the same time as Pacific Time. However, once I crossed the Utah/Arizona line, I was definitely in Mountain Time (with daylight savings time) and officially lost one hour.
As usual, the mountains and rock formations around southern Utah were beautiful. The lighting was perfect. I was getting exhausted at this point and had to stop for a little while before actually getting to the park. I went to a small tourist shop and had some root beer float ice cream. There weren't a lot of other decent choices for food at this place and it was fairly isolated. Had I waited until I got closer to the park, I could have had all sorts of choices.
The park was absolutely beautiful with deep blue skies against the red rocks. There are numerous switchbacks on the way up the mountain, and even a tunnel. Park staff shut down one lane of traffic for safety.
Near the end of my visit to the park, I noticed cars stopped and people crouched watching something. A man silently pointed to an area and I noticed what they were looking at. A mountain goat was eating off a tree. I was able to get lots of pictures. The goat didn't seem to care that people were watching him. He even posed a few times. This is just like the animals in Yellowstone National Park. They all pose for people too.
Thankfully, the hotel was only about forty miles away from the park. I was getting exhausted from all this travel so I was glad it was not going to be several more hours. I had no idea where I was going next. Either I could backtrack through I-70 on the way east, head down into Arizona and go across I-40 (too far out of the way), or go up to Salt Lake City and head east from there. I'd have to decide the next day.
Monday, May 3, 2010
April 29, 2010: Cathedral Gorge and Valley of Fire State Parks
The major destinations for today were Nevada's Cathedral Gorge and Valley of Fire state parks. My top priority was Cathedral Gorge. This was also the closest park to Ely, which was my starting point. Valley of Fire was further south, and I felt that if I missed it, it was not a big deal. (I felt like that BEFORE I saw the park.)
I was glad I had fueled up in Ely. As I drove south on US 93, there was a sign which warned that the next gas station was 80 miles away. Where there were mountains, there were clouds coming right down to the ground. This is the second day I saw this. Generally, the sky was overcast.
Cathedral Gorge is beautiful. It's a large canyon of light red/orange rocks, with hoodoos carved by wind erosian. A major section of the park reminded me of pipe organs (which is likely the reason for the name). But there were many intricately carved spires throughout the park. It's not very large (certainly nothing like a national park) and doesn't take much time to walk through.
View Larger Map
Photos were lousy because the sun was not out and the light just was very poor. I still took a large number of photos as I might be able to adjust them somewhat in Photoshop. After visiting most of the areas of the park, hail started coming down extremely fast. Of course, I had my camera with me and was concerned about it being hit with ice pellets. No damage occurred, thankfully.
As I continued to drive south after leaving the park, I went through periods of rain, hail and finally some occasional sun. I passed through some small towns. Then, the mountain scenery came back, complete with lots of twists and turns. I saw wild horses and graphiti on the edge of one of the mountains dating from 1970 (at least according to the graphiti).
As I went further south, I started seeing joshua trees and other desert plants in addition to the standard sagebrush. I think joshua trees are some of the most interesting types of trees. I parked along the road to get pictures and examined one of the trees more closely. The tree seems to be a cross between a palm tree and an evergreen. What look like short palms are thick with a very sharp point at the end. There were other plants that looked like palm trees with a very short trunk. But these too had thick, strong structures with a sharp point at the end.
View Larger Map
As I got to the Valley of Fire state park, I could see it at a distance. The red rock against Nevada's usual dark brown or gray truly makes it look like the valley is on fire. By the time I got to the park, I was very tired. I took quite a few pictures but as usual, lighting wasn't the best. Likewise, the pictures aren't great either. It was a very nice place and if the sun was out, these would make spectacular pictures. There is a large arch on the west side of the park. A sign even points down a road where it is located. I took that road, but wasn't able to see the arch. By then I was getting so tired that I didn't want to really look for it. I've seen it in enough pictures.
My hotel for the night was in Henderson, NV. This was the same hotel I had stayed at a couple of weeks ago, on the way to California. I have never stayed at the same hotel twice on a trip for non-consecutive nights. But, this hotel is one of the nicest hotels I've been in on any trip. It's very new and the staff goes out of their way to please. Breakfast is great, the fitness room is great, and everything about the room is wonderful.
Because I arrived during daylight, I missed the lights of Vegas. However, I had seen them earlier in the trip.
View Larger Map
I was glad I had fueled up in Ely. As I drove south on US 93, there was a sign which warned that the next gas station was 80 miles away. Where there were mountains, there were clouds coming right down to the ground. This is the second day I saw this. Generally, the sky was overcast.
Cathedral Gorge is beautiful. It's a large canyon of light red/orange rocks, with hoodoos carved by wind erosian. A major section of the park reminded me of pipe organs (which is likely the reason for the name). But there were many intricately carved spires throughout the park. It's not very large (certainly nothing like a national park) and doesn't take much time to walk through.
View Larger Map
Photos were lousy because the sun was not out and the light just was very poor. I still took a large number of photos as I might be able to adjust them somewhat in Photoshop. After visiting most of the areas of the park, hail started coming down extremely fast. Of course, I had my camera with me and was concerned about it being hit with ice pellets. No damage occurred, thankfully.
As I continued to drive south after leaving the park, I went through periods of rain, hail and finally some occasional sun. I passed through some small towns. Then, the mountain scenery came back, complete with lots of twists and turns. I saw wild horses and graphiti on the edge of one of the mountains dating from 1970 (at least according to the graphiti).
As I went further south, I started seeing joshua trees and other desert plants in addition to the standard sagebrush. I think joshua trees are some of the most interesting types of trees. I parked along the road to get pictures and examined one of the trees more closely. The tree seems to be a cross between a palm tree and an evergreen. What look like short palms are thick with a very sharp point at the end. There were other plants that looked like palm trees with a very short trunk. But these too had thick, strong structures with a sharp point at the end.
View Larger Map
As I got to the Valley of Fire state park, I could see it at a distance. The red rock against Nevada's usual dark brown or gray truly makes it look like the valley is on fire. By the time I got to the park, I was very tired. I took quite a few pictures but as usual, lighting wasn't the best. Likewise, the pictures aren't great either. It was a very nice place and if the sun was out, these would make spectacular pictures. There is a large arch on the west side of the park. A sign even points down a road where it is located. I took that road, but wasn't able to see the arch. By then I was getting so tired that I didn't want to really look for it. I've seen it in enough pictures.
My hotel for the night was in Henderson, NV. This was the same hotel I had stayed at a couple of weeks ago, on the way to California. I have never stayed at the same hotel twice on a trip for non-consecutive nights. But, this hotel is one of the nicest hotels I've been in on any trip. It's very new and the staff goes out of their way to please. Breakfast is great, the fitness room is great, and everything about the room is wonderful.
Because I arrived during daylight, I missed the lights of Vegas. However, I had seen them earlier in the trip.
View Larger Map
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Nevada Photos Complete
For the first time, I'm actually ahead of my blog postings with photo postings. All Nevada photos are posted.
April 28, 2010: Canceled Montana and Idaho; Traveled to Ely, Nevada
Today was an interesting day. I really wasn't sure where to go with the bad weather. But, because of the Choice Hotel points program in its final days, I absolutely could not stay another night at my current hotel. I could go to another Choice Hotel (such as the Comfort Inn) in the same city if I wanted to and still get the big points, but I also really did not want to stick around Elko. Time was marching on and I wanted to keep moving.
In looking at the weather, the big storms planned for the US 50 area seemed to be gone. There were just some isolated thunderstorms with very low chances of precipitation. That was one option. But I did not really want to head south. Still, there were some nice state parks down that way, such as Cathedral Gorge and Valley of Fire.
The other option was to head north into Idaho and Montana. I've wanted to go back to Craters of the Moon National Preserve in Idaho to get better pictures of the ancient hardened lava. Last time I was there, the lighting was not great and the pictures were merely acceptable. Unfortunately, the weather forecast called for snow and rain in that area for several days. No point in even trying to take pictures or drive around the back roads in that kind of mess. So, I decided to drive through Idaho and then get up to Dillon, Montana. It would be an eight hour drive.
I made a hotel reservation, and actually managed to get $16 off the rate because I got a "manager's special." Thankfully, there was still time to cancel the reservation. My friend from Montana (who I wanted to see) called me and said that while Helena (the capital and where he lives) was not going to get hit with snow very badly, there were some mountains along I-15 and there could be white outs. Some places were scheduled to get three feet of snow. I'm adventurous, but no way would I try that in a car even WITH all wheel drive or four wheel drive. This car had neither. I knew that based on timing and everything else I still had planned for this trip, the cancellation of Idaho and Montana would mean I'd definitely not be visiting these states on this trip. I expected I also would not see Wyoming either.
I canceled the reservation in Dillon, MT and decided I needed to head further south into Nevada so I could see those state parks. I would have to spend the night in a very small city called Ely, and then see them the next day. Ely was small enough that there were no Choice Hotel brands in the city or anywhere nearby. I would have to get a different hotel. Best Western had a hotel in Ely. The rate was $62, but because I mentioned that I always get discounts from Choice Hotels, I suddenly was offered a "manager's special" for $49. That worked for me. Best Western does have a points program, but it's not nearly as generous as Choice Hotels. So, I'll have a few points banked up. They do have a stay two nights get $50 off promotion, so perhaps along the way back I'll find another cheap Best Western to stay at.
I did want to see one thing in Elko. When I visited in 2008, I just missed the Northeastern Nevada Museum. This was well worth the $5 admission. Elko is the principle city in Northeastern Nevada, and there was a great deal of history. Flash photography was allowed, so I took a photo of almost everything, including all the panels with information. When I have time, I can go over the photos and do an in depth museum tour right from my computer. I'm very much interested in Nevada history, though the long trip to Ely was on my mind and thus I didn't take it all in while at the museum.
The drive to Ely meant going east for a few miles on I-80. I had to get to the city of Wells (which is basically a series of truck stops and some hotels I would never want to stay in) so I could head south on US 93. Now that the sun was out, the mountain scenery along I-80 was absolutely gorgeous. At one point I was looking straight at snow covered mountains that looked like something out of a movie. I just wish I could have taken a good picture of them. But, as it was the interstate, stopping was only allowed for emergencies.
View Larger Map
When I got on US 93, there were warning signs about controlled burns. At first, I thought I was heading into smoke but it turned out to be fog. As I continued driving, I took a few pictures along the way. But, as I got closer to Ely, things clouded over. One interesting this is that the clouds seemed to flow right to the ground as they covered mountains on either side. But, it was too dark to get decent pictures of this. (I did get pictures of a similar display the next day.)
When I got into Ely, I was a bit surprised about the size of the city. It seemed to be hyped up to be bigger than it was. Still, it had several restaurants, gas stations, a school, hotels, a museum, tiny grocery stores (no chains), etc. Still, it was just so compact.
When I got to the Best Western motel, I was a bit frightened. The outside looked really seedy. But, it did have good reviews on TripAdvisor and I was only going to stay for a night. I couldn't back out of the reservation since I had gotten a low rate. However, once I got inside, everything was fine. The inside was identical to what I typically see in a Comfort Inn, except the price was a lot lower.
It began to snow outside and my car had a layer of snow. The ground was slushy. I was glad I didn't try to go any further tonight. It was very cold and dreary.
In looking at the weather, the big storms planned for the US 50 area seemed to be gone. There were just some isolated thunderstorms with very low chances of precipitation. That was one option. But I did not really want to head south. Still, there were some nice state parks down that way, such as Cathedral Gorge and Valley of Fire.
The other option was to head north into Idaho and Montana. I've wanted to go back to Craters of the Moon National Preserve in Idaho to get better pictures of the ancient hardened lava. Last time I was there, the lighting was not great and the pictures were merely acceptable. Unfortunately, the weather forecast called for snow and rain in that area for several days. No point in even trying to take pictures or drive around the back roads in that kind of mess. So, I decided to drive through Idaho and then get up to Dillon, Montana. It would be an eight hour drive.
I made a hotel reservation, and actually managed to get $16 off the rate because I got a "manager's special." Thankfully, there was still time to cancel the reservation. My friend from Montana (who I wanted to see) called me and said that while Helena (the capital and where he lives) was not going to get hit with snow very badly, there were some mountains along I-15 and there could be white outs. Some places were scheduled to get three feet of snow. I'm adventurous, but no way would I try that in a car even WITH all wheel drive or four wheel drive. This car had neither. I knew that based on timing and everything else I still had planned for this trip, the cancellation of Idaho and Montana would mean I'd definitely not be visiting these states on this trip. I expected I also would not see Wyoming either.
I canceled the reservation in Dillon, MT and decided I needed to head further south into Nevada so I could see those state parks. I would have to spend the night in a very small city called Ely, and then see them the next day. Ely was small enough that there were no Choice Hotel brands in the city or anywhere nearby. I would have to get a different hotel. Best Western had a hotel in Ely. The rate was $62, but because I mentioned that I always get discounts from Choice Hotels, I suddenly was offered a "manager's special" for $49. That worked for me. Best Western does have a points program, but it's not nearly as generous as Choice Hotels. So, I'll have a few points banked up. They do have a stay two nights get $50 off promotion, so perhaps along the way back I'll find another cheap Best Western to stay at.
I did want to see one thing in Elko. When I visited in 2008, I just missed the Northeastern Nevada Museum. This was well worth the $5 admission. Elko is the principle city in Northeastern Nevada, and there was a great deal of history. Flash photography was allowed, so I took a photo of almost everything, including all the panels with information. When I have time, I can go over the photos and do an in depth museum tour right from my computer. I'm very much interested in Nevada history, though the long trip to Ely was on my mind and thus I didn't take it all in while at the museum.
The drive to Ely meant going east for a few miles on I-80. I had to get to the city of Wells (which is basically a series of truck stops and some hotels I would never want to stay in) so I could head south on US 93. Now that the sun was out, the mountain scenery along I-80 was absolutely gorgeous. At one point I was looking straight at snow covered mountains that looked like something out of a movie. I just wish I could have taken a good picture of them. But, as it was the interstate, stopping was only allowed for emergencies.
View Larger Map
When I got on US 93, there were warning signs about controlled burns. At first, I thought I was heading into smoke but it turned out to be fog. As I continued driving, I took a few pictures along the way. But, as I got closer to Ely, things clouded over. One interesting this is that the clouds seemed to flow right to the ground as they covered mountains on either side. But, it was too dark to get decent pictures of this. (I did get pictures of a similar display the next day.)
When I got into Ely, I was a bit surprised about the size of the city. It seemed to be hyped up to be bigger than it was. Still, it had several restaurants, gas stations, a school, hotels, a museum, tiny grocery stores (no chains), etc. Still, it was just so compact.
When I got to the Best Western motel, I was a bit frightened. The outside looked really seedy. But, it did have good reviews on TripAdvisor and I was only going to stay for a night. I couldn't back out of the reservation since I had gotten a low rate. However, once I got inside, everything was fine. The inside was identical to what I typically see in a Comfort Inn, except the price was a lot lower.
It began to snow outside and my car had a layer of snow. The ground was slushy. I was glad I didn't try to go any further tonight. It was very cold and dreary.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
April 27, 2010: Austin, Nevada, Sandstorms, Low Visibility, and the "Loneliest Road in the Lower 48"
When I had read the hotel travel brochures in Carson City, NV, I saw something about the "Loneliest Road in the Lower 48," claiming people traveling it need "survival skills." This road is US 50, which runs across the central upper portion of Nevada. Come on, this is not Alaska. Looking at the map, it was dotted with small cities every 50 or so miles. As long as the car was fueled up, that was all I needed. After seeing this kind of hype, I really wanted to drive this entire road in Nevada. What prevented me from doing it? There were weather forecasts for major snowstorms on the eastern half of the road. Had the weather been fine, I'd have taken the road all the way. From what I could see on the map, I've taken far lonelier roads for many miles (such as I-70 in Utah, where people are warned that there are no services for 100 miles, or I-94 in North Dakota where most exits in the west indicate no services).
I decided to get a hotel in Elko, NV for the night. I had been to Elko in 2008 and chose the same hotel I used then. It's a Rodeway Inn, the lowest brand in the Choice Hotels group. Most of the Rodeway Inns are risky in terms of cleanliness, but this one stands out as being ultra clean and efficient. I recall that from my 2008 visit and many others said the same on TripAdvisor. Elko is along I-80 and I figured that as a city of substantial size (the main city in Northeast NV), it would be good in case there are major weather problems.
As I left the hotel in Fernley, the wind was extremely strong. There was a sandstorm and even my parked vehicle seemed to rock back and forth. I was getting a little nervous about whether I really wanted to drive US 50 or not. Bits of paper were being blown everywhere. I was glad I did not wear contact lenses today, or else the sand would have gotten under the lenses into my eyes.
I did drive the overhyped "loneliest road in America" for a significant part of the way. The first stop was in Fallon, which is a decent sized city that stretches for miles. There were numerous restaurants, a downtown historic district, many gas stations, chain motels and other types of stores, etc. So much for the "loneliest road in the lower 48." Gas was even reasonable there.
My destination on US 50 was Austin, Nevada. This used to be a major mining town in the nineteenth century. But now it's home to about 250 people and tourism is the main industry. Despite this, there still isn't a lot to see, unless you like collecting rocks or antiques. It's very overhyped on the Internet.
As I left Fernley, I misread one of the GPS turns and had to go through a neighborhood. Empty garbage cans were blowing all over the place. I hoped none of them would hit my car. Tumbleweeds were also blowing everywhere. These were big tumbleweeds. I recall encountering tiny ones in Idaho on my 2008 trip, but these were substantial.
There were interesting sights along US 50. First, Nevada has salt on the ground in the west. (It's like northern Utah where there are miles of salt along I-80 leading up to the Great Salt Lake.) On certain parts of the road, people would spell out all sorts of things in pebbles on either side. There were lots of names, religious quotes, expressions, etc. There was no place to safely get off the road, or I would have taken pictures. The words in pebbles went on for miles.
I visited one rock shop whose proprietor had his own mine. He had polished rocks for sale but also let me in the back to see the unwashed and unpolished rocks. He said he would charge me by the pound for unwashed and unpolished rocks. I didn't catch how low the rate would be so I didn't buy too many. But, it was a good deal. As we were talking, the power went off three times. The owner commented that they were in for some major weather problems and if the power went out in Austin, it would take at least three days to get it back. When I mentioned that I had to head north to Elko, he told me that they were already having weather problems there. That scared me a bit.
I decided I better get up to Elko fast. It was at least three hours to drive up there on Nevada 305. But, I did want to see another rock shop. Of course, I purchased more rocks. The woman at that store reassured me and said that as long as I can get up to Elko by nightfall I should be safe. She warned that there were high winds along the way but nothing as far as snow until night.
I fueled up at one of Elko's two gas stations. They did not have a credit card reader on the pump and the clerk told me to just pump the gas and come back to pay for it. Austin did not have 87 octane gas (they had 85 instead), so I had to pay close to $3.30/gallen for 88. Inside the gas station, I noticed t-shirts for sale which read "I survived the loneliest road in the lower 48."
As I left the gas station, I noticed road signs with the US 50 shield, announcing that this is the "loneliest road in the lower 48." I think US 93 in Nevada or Nevada 305 could better qualify for that designation. There is nothing but sagebrush and mountains for great lengths on these roads. On a large part of Nevada 305, there is no cell phone service. If you run out of gas, you better hope someone driving by is willing to stop and help you as you can't call anyone.
I stopped to take pictures along Nevada 305. The wind was so fierce that I felt like I would be blown away. However, riding in the car, I felt completely safe. The road was 70 mph, and the car didn't seem to rock at all when I drove that speed.
Driving further north, visibility was very limited. It seemed like a sandstorm and I couldn't see more than 75-100 feet in any direction. Tumbleweeds were constantly blowing across the road, bouncing up and down as they went.
When I finally made it to I-80 at Battle Mountain to head east to Elko, the visibility was terrible. I know there are beautiful mountains along I-80 in Nevada, so all I could catch were faint outlines. Tumbleweeds constantly blew across the interstate. When an animal runs in front of a car, it's stressful. Obviously you try to avoid hitting the animal if you can do it without causing an accident. With tumbleweeds going across the road and with enough visibility to know they were not animals, there was no stress. I likely shredded at least five of them that came directly in front of my car.
Although the wind was not a problem for my car, it was dangerous if I passed a large truck. The box trailer could turn over. Thankfully, nothing like that happened.
When I finally reached Elko, I was relieved that I had made it without any problems. I needed dinner. Right across the road from my hotel was my favorite Mexican restaurant in the entire country. I ate at this restaurant in 2008. They make some of the best chimichangas I have ever had. Their prices are great. Although I had decided the day before not to have any more Mexican food on this trip, I had to make an exception for Sergio's. The chimichanga was delicious, though I'm sure it was loaded with calories. But, I was not going to be in Elko for another evening, so I wouldn't have to worry about the temptation the next evening.
I decided to get a hotel in Elko, NV for the night. I had been to Elko in 2008 and chose the same hotel I used then. It's a Rodeway Inn, the lowest brand in the Choice Hotels group. Most of the Rodeway Inns are risky in terms of cleanliness, but this one stands out as being ultra clean and efficient. I recall that from my 2008 visit and many others said the same on TripAdvisor. Elko is along I-80 and I figured that as a city of substantial size (the main city in Northeast NV), it would be good in case there are major weather problems.
As I left the hotel in Fernley, the wind was extremely strong. There was a sandstorm and even my parked vehicle seemed to rock back and forth. I was getting a little nervous about whether I really wanted to drive US 50 or not. Bits of paper were being blown everywhere. I was glad I did not wear contact lenses today, or else the sand would have gotten under the lenses into my eyes.
I did drive the overhyped "loneliest road in America" for a significant part of the way. The first stop was in Fallon, which is a decent sized city that stretches for miles. There were numerous restaurants, a downtown historic district, many gas stations, chain motels and other types of stores, etc. So much for the "loneliest road in the lower 48." Gas was even reasonable there.
My destination on US 50 was Austin, Nevada. This used to be a major mining town in the nineteenth century. But now it's home to about 250 people and tourism is the main industry. Despite this, there still isn't a lot to see, unless you like collecting rocks or antiques. It's very overhyped on the Internet.
As I left Fernley, I misread one of the GPS turns and had to go through a neighborhood. Empty garbage cans were blowing all over the place. I hoped none of them would hit my car. Tumbleweeds were also blowing everywhere. These were big tumbleweeds. I recall encountering tiny ones in Idaho on my 2008 trip, but these were substantial.
There were interesting sights along US 50. First, Nevada has salt on the ground in the west. (It's like northern Utah where there are miles of salt along I-80 leading up to the Great Salt Lake.) On certain parts of the road, people would spell out all sorts of things in pebbles on either side. There were lots of names, religious quotes, expressions, etc. There was no place to safely get off the road, or I would have taken pictures. The words in pebbles went on for miles.
I visited one rock shop whose proprietor had his own mine. He had polished rocks for sale but also let me in the back to see the unwashed and unpolished rocks. He said he would charge me by the pound for unwashed and unpolished rocks. I didn't catch how low the rate would be so I didn't buy too many. But, it was a good deal. As we were talking, the power went off three times. The owner commented that they were in for some major weather problems and if the power went out in Austin, it would take at least three days to get it back. When I mentioned that I had to head north to Elko, he told me that they were already having weather problems there. That scared me a bit.
I decided I better get up to Elko fast. It was at least three hours to drive up there on Nevada 305. But, I did want to see another rock shop. Of course, I purchased more rocks. The woman at that store reassured me and said that as long as I can get up to Elko by nightfall I should be safe. She warned that there were high winds along the way but nothing as far as snow until night.
I fueled up at one of Elko's two gas stations. They did not have a credit card reader on the pump and the clerk told me to just pump the gas and come back to pay for it. Austin did not have 87 octane gas (they had 85 instead), so I had to pay close to $3.30/gallen for 88. Inside the gas station, I noticed t-shirts for sale which read "I survived the loneliest road in the lower 48."
As I left the gas station, I noticed road signs with the US 50 shield, announcing that this is the "loneliest road in the lower 48." I think US 93 in Nevada or Nevada 305 could better qualify for that designation. There is nothing but sagebrush and mountains for great lengths on these roads. On a large part of Nevada 305, there is no cell phone service. If you run out of gas, you better hope someone driving by is willing to stop and help you as you can't call anyone.
I stopped to take pictures along Nevada 305. The wind was so fierce that I felt like I would be blown away. However, riding in the car, I felt completely safe. The road was 70 mph, and the car didn't seem to rock at all when I drove that speed.
Driving further north, visibility was very limited. It seemed like a sandstorm and I couldn't see more than 75-100 feet in any direction. Tumbleweeds were constantly blowing across the road, bouncing up and down as they went.
When I finally made it to I-80 at Battle Mountain to head east to Elko, the visibility was terrible. I know there are beautiful mountains along I-80 in Nevada, so all I could catch were faint outlines. Tumbleweeds constantly blew across the interstate. When an animal runs in front of a car, it's stressful. Obviously you try to avoid hitting the animal if you can do it without causing an accident. With tumbleweeds going across the road and with enough visibility to know they were not animals, there was no stress. I likely shredded at least five of them that came directly in front of my car.
Although the wind was not a problem for my car, it was dangerous if I passed a large truck. The box trailer could turn over. Thankfully, nothing like that happened.
When I finally reached Elko, I was relieved that I had made it without any problems. I needed dinner. Right across the road from my hotel was my favorite Mexican restaurant in the entire country. I ate at this restaurant in 2008. They make some of the best chimichangas I have ever had. Their prices are great. Although I had decided the day before not to have any more Mexican food on this trip, I had to make an exception for Sergio's. The chimichanga was delicious, though I'm sure it was loaded with calories. But, I was not going to be in Elko for another evening, so I wouldn't have to worry about the temptation the next evening.
Friday, April 30, 2010
California Photos Complete, New Map Added
I have completed posting all the photos from California. The most recent additions are from April 23rd (which includes the visit to Oregon), April 24th, and April 25th.
I left Nevada today. I had been there far longer than I intended though it was definitely enjoyable. There is a new map linked in the upper right corner for April 25 - 30, 2010, showing my route around Nevada.
I left Nevada today. I had been there far longer than I intended though it was definitely enjoyable. There is a new map linked in the upper right corner for April 25 - 30, 2010, showing my route around Nevada.
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