FIRST LEG OF THE TRIP, JUNE 27 & 28.

**Day one and part of day two until we arrived at the California Border**

The goal was to cover as much distance the first day.

The first day the plan was to make it to Wells Nevada, this was the only day that we would stay at a hotel. The driving time was 14 hours so we were expecting a very long day and did not want to have to setup camp at the end of all that in the dark. Only two planned stops that day, the Army Surplus Store in Idaho Falls which is always a fun place to go and then to the Hanson Bridge over the Snake river both good stops that did not take long. The Hotel in Wells was something that I changed at the last moment and I was very glad that I did. We were first booked at the Super 8 because it was cheap and we would only be sleeping there right? I did myself credit and I began to look into the reviews a little more; over the past few years “Excessive hair” factored into the reviews 8 times to compliment the host of other reviews complaining about the lack of heat, structural issues, violent and noisy patrons, and much much more. It did not take me long after reading through those that I switched us to a much better option The Hampton Inn on the other side of the highway was newly built and was the refuge for a pile of tired Allens that day, our only complaint was that the pool was closed so we did not get our late night swim like we planned.

Day two started off well with a lovely sunrise and a free breakfast and it did not take us long to get on the road. I do have to say that northern Nevada has a start beauty to it that is more apparent in the early morning as the sun rises, there is some texture and variety and some subtlety of colour, unfortunately that fades quickly as the day unfolds, everything becomes bright hot and muted, and the haze settles in on everything, but it makes for good driving through the bottoms the north/south valleys that traverse the state. Only one stop at a rest stop to experience the heat and some concerning signs on the washrooms doors and we made it to Ely Nevada for lunch. Even though it was too hot and it was impossible to find shade this town receives an A+ in my books for having one of the best museums I have ever been to. The Northern Nevada Railway Museum is to class in my books. I feel that a good museum should be so full and packed with material that everywhere you look you can’t help but learn. Too many museums are empty of the things they are supposed to teach about and filled with pictures and diagrams and explanations, if I wanted that I would have stayed at home and read the book. But at the Railway museum you are given almost cart blanche to walk through and explore a active working rail yard where they maintain and run several trains from both the steam and diesel ages. My pictures explain it better than I can but I would stop there again if given a chance. From there it was more driving west against the grain of the country now, over the mountain pass and down into the valleys. This is where we first really got to see the heat, the mountain pass would be low 30s but as you dropped down the temperature would climb. You could see the heat shimmer and the wind was always blowing. The bottom of the valley would have several dust devils moving along the bottom giving the whole place a very exotic and desolate look. We hit Tonopah int he afternoon, had a quick break and a look around a very strange mining town with a busy main street but burned out buildings just a block off it. The Clown Hotel that has a “Bikers Welcome” sign will have to be a destination spot for next time (not really.

By this time Nevada was starting to wear on the whole family, the kids had decided that they did not fancy this state and did not understand why anyone would live there voluntarily. I was looking forward to higher altitudes, cooler air and Mono Lake our last destination before we camped that night in the eastern Seirras. Right before we turned toward the border we got to an abandoned gas station and hotel complex in the middle of nowhere and I think that place effectively summarized what we all thought of Nevada.

SECOND LEG, I AM A BIG FAN OF THE EASTERN SIERRAS. JUNE 28 & 29