Greetings from Winnemucca, Nevada! I had a marathon day today – over 800 miles! I didn’t intend to go this far. In fact, I had my sights set on Elko, Nevada, but when I stopped there at 4:30 I found that the annual Mining Expo was in town and all the rooms were booked. So I got gas and drove another 130 miles! I am SO HAPPY to be out of the car and even happier that I have only 260 more miles to drive tomorrow!
So what can I tell you about this extremely long day? It started out with a lovely walk around the State Capitol Building and a latte at a familiar Starbucks. Our next
stop was the Summit Rest Area, the highest point on I-80 at 8,640 feet. The view from the top was stunning, but the visit might have taken a very bad turn. When I was walking Toby, he darted into a drain pipe that ran under the access road, snagging his leash on a jagged piece of metal. As I was trying to free the leash and get him out of the pipe, a maintenance guy said “I wouldn’t be down there if I was you!” It turns out that the pipe is a favorite hang-out for skunks! Can you imagine having to put a skunk-sprayed Toby back in the car and driving another thousand miles?! Clearly, our guardian angel was on the job this morning.
The rest of the drive through Wyoming was uneventful. We had a little bit of rain and passed through miles and miles of open rangeland, saw snow fences, wind farms, and fast running rivers (the Medicine Bow and the North Platte), and crossed the Continental Divide.
In Utah, I began seeing the wonderful red rock formations along I-80. Of course, I was snapping photos like mad and trying to figure out how to get a decent shot through the bug-spattered windshield. Imagine my pleasure at discovering the Echo Information Center, a beautiful rest area with a network of paved paths that afforded picture-perfect and up-close views of the red rocks. Toby loved the place too, since there were prai
rie dogs nearly everywhere you looked.Some other Utah sights: The Weber River overflowing its banks, the Morton Salt and Cargill salt plants, the abstract sculpture Metaphor: The Tree of Utah, and miles and miles of the Bonneville Salt Flats.
I hit Nevada nearly eight hours after leaving Cheyenne and was still feeling great. So Toby and I kept on driving through another 230 miles or so of sagebrush. In fact, I even toyed with the idea of making it home tonight. And I probably could have. But I am extremely happy to be in the Winnemucca Motel 6 right now with a full tummy and a loyal dog asleep at my feet as I
type this.Highlights of the day: Stopping at several incredibly scenic rest stops. Seeing numerous prairie dogs. Being back in the western U.S. Hitting the high notes in Evanescence’s Going Under (not always the right high notes, mind you!). Seeing the bright copper roofs in Park City, Utah, and the even brighter orange flowers growing along I-80 in Utah and Nevada. The heat mirages on the salt flats. And surviving the longest driving day of the trip!
Total mileage for the day: A whopping 809!
Total time in the car: 11 hours and 45 minutes
Destination tomorrow: HOME!!!!!
Miles to go: Only 260!
I'm thinking if Toby had had a run-in with a skunk you wouldn't have needed to worry about smelling him...... I think you would have been sprayed, too! I'm glad the gods were smiling on you!
ReplyDeleteI am getting very excited to begin my trip next month.... despite the drawbacks that await me. your photos make me want to be on the road.... if nothing else, than to feel relief at getting back to my own home at the end of the trip.
Am waiting to hear how the garden is doing and if it really was a wise idea to begin gardening projects just prior to a trip! I've enjoyed every moment you've shared with us.