Days in a Daze

I had targeted 6 AM as a departure time for us on Sunday. Lo and behold, we actually got away around 6:15; at least as far as Ave M, where we connected the Dakota to the RV. Even then, we were actually on the roll by 6:30. A quick stop in Mojave for coffee (good old AM-PM) and we just kept rolling along. We stopped at Vons, in Bishop, for gasoline. Our ten cent discount was good for the first 30 gallons and we only took another gallon and a half. As long as we were there, we might as well grab a bite of cereal, so we ate breakfast in the Vons parking lot.

After we left Bishop, it was on toward Benton via route 6. We crossed into Nevada, taking the obligatory pictures of Godfrey at the state line, then on to Tonopah. It was universal, none of us wants to live or visit Tonopah -EVER----. But, when you depart out of Tonopah, the scenery along rte 6 is quite enjoyable. The highway climbs into a high plain with lots of live oak. Not the typical desert or even Owens valley environs, it is more enjoyable with some spectacular vistas. By the time you reach Ely, you have crossed several passes with lots of pine and live oak; cruised through a couple of canyons and seen areas far diverse from what you would have seen on the 40.

We rolled into Ely with thoughts of eating dinner at the Apple Tree, a family style restaurant Christy and I ate in last year. After parking a couple of blocks away and walking to the restaurant, we found it closed. So then it was off to our second choice, La Fiesta, a Mexican place a couple of blocks the opposite direction. La Fiesta was open. While not a restaurant I would recommend, my food wasn't too bad. Carol was very disappointed. She had ordered a taco/enchilada with rice and beans. I had a chili Colorado burrito with the sides. We both agreed that the beans were watery and flavorless. The rice was "ok" but could use some salsa for taste. While my burrito was tasty with big chucks of beef, pepper, chili and onion; her enchilada and taco were quite bland. No tequila, no cerveza; just mediocre food, pay the bill and we're out of here. Next stop: Utah.

So, sometime around 10 PM, Pacific, we rolled into a WalMart in Payson, Ut. to spend the night. We had spent almost 16 hours on the road, covered 700 miles and three states. Not bad for a day’s work. Just shoot me; shoot me now. Did I tell you that it rained? The RV looks like it went through a rain storm; the Dakota looks like it had a mud bath. Oh well.



WYOMING, WHY NOT.

So that was yesterday. At 6:15, I was awake. Out of bed, I took the dog for a walk. Carol awoke and began straightening the RV for the day’s travel. Spice and I had a nice walk and Mom had Spice’s breakfast ready for her when we got back to the motor home. It was too early for me to eat, so we just hit the road. Originally, our plan was to take Rte 6/50 to Delta, then the 50 east to meet up with I70. However, there wasn’t anywhere to stop, so we opted for the WalMart in Payson. Carol thought we might take U.S. 40 east through the mountains. Upon further review, we didn’t have the time, although we did have the inclination, and I was worried about how much inclination we would have to climb and descend. I’m sure it is a pretty route. Having moved our route north towards Provo, it now seemed incumbent on us to continue north to the I80. So we did.
We departed Payson, northbound, towards Provo. Hwy 189 took us through downtown Provo, past BYU and into the mountains. The street through down town was one of the magnificently constructed concrete boulevards where the concrete joints are three inches lower then the middle of the concrete pad resulting in a constant thump thump thump as if the tires on the RV were square or at least octagonal. Hwy 189 took us through a couple of beautiful canyons, along several reservoirs and joined us with I-80 at Park City. I-80 took us east into Wyoming. We left behind miles of dramatic terrain and entered miles of rolling nothingness that is southern Wyoming. I don’t mean to cast a negative light on the state, the area north of Flaming Gorge is quite lovely and we got several good photos out the RV window. Don’t ask me how, but I got Carol to drive for a couple of hours before we rolled into Nebraska. Once she got us out of the truck stop and onto the road, she seemed a bit more comfortable. Passing large trucks and being passed by large trucks caused some hyperventilation, but quickly blew over. At 9:30 CDT, we rolled into the campground at North Platte, Ne. The distance was 677 miles covered in 13:35. Two more days of hard travel, then we can kick back some.

Christy reminded me that the word refrigerator does not have a "d" in it. I knew that, but I get a "d" in spelling. The blog software is similar to a ride at Disneyland except instead of doors and windows, it has "no spell check and no thesaurus".