Back to Sacramento to pickup the camera and replace our car keys -- yes, we have managed to misplace one set of our keys already. One stop at the Dodge dealer, one stop at the "Viper" dealer (the alarm system) and one stop at Ace hardware for all the Van compartment keys, and we were back in business. We now have a game plan and a hide a key! Not everything on the road works out perfectly, and we would REALLY be upset if we ended up with no keys! - which with our memories, is not out of the question! Off again to Lake Tahoe. The south shore this time. Our first KOA, and our most expensive camping night to date. $32.
Now THIS is a News Flash! I actually saw Phil get into the dirty clothes bag, remove something, and put it back on his body! Can you believe it! We may loosen him up yet.
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PHIL'S PHILOSOPHY
Carol, what is wrong with this picture. The campground is $32, and we have seen perfectly acceptable motels as low as $28! This supply-demand curve is out of whack! Oh, it is the babbling brook we wouldn't have at the motel. I still don't buy it, This campground is in the dirt, and we don't have ESPN here...
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Another thing that continues to amaze us is our inability to purchase gasoline economically! No matter where we decide to buy it, we invariably find it 10 minutes later for 10-20 cents cheaper! We decided not to buy it in South Lake Tahoe (about $1.80 there) due to its high tourist area appeal. We had plenty to get to our next destination, Carson City. We drove well into the city and everything seemed to be about $1.79 on up. We decided to stay here, and started looking around for a place to stay. We did manage to find a great motel for $40, but also saw gas as low as $1.51! On 28 gallons, we could almost have paid for our $23.37 dinner - including wine! If this was the first time this has happened it would be one thing -- but, unfortunately, it is not.....
Carson City, the capital of Nevada, a pretty little city nestled in the "foothills" at over 5000' elevation. We both are a little under the weather, me from a cold, Phil from a sore shoulder suffered on the Pacific Crest Trail. We decide to just chill for a bit. We have had so little time to just stop and enjoy. Little time for reading - most of our reading is maps and guide books, getting ready for the next adventure, and, of course keeping the website updated. The book is horribly behind - I'm still writing the "Getting Prepared" piece. At least these ramblings will help refresh my memory. Our $40 motel has a nice pool and a large, decent room. Who knows how long we may be here...
A day of relaxing...aaahhhhhh! Well, not really relaxing, we decided to do some chores. We cleaned up the Van, ran some laundry, had the tires rotated and balanced, had the oil changed (and the 24,000 mile service work done), had the propane filled, had the refrigerator checked - it wasn't cooling right today - not a major problem - probably "pilot error" in leveling, and enjoyed the fun Nevada State Museum, with an old mine replica in the basement and the old Carson City Mint upstairs. You should see the machine they stamped millions of silver dollars on.
Our first great thunder and lightening storm this afternoon. The biggest raindrops I've ever seen, and they felt really cold against the 104 degree air. The Rolling White House is spending the night plugged in (hopefully) at the dealership. They got us in at the last minute, and weren't sure they could get everything done. Alas, we are carless tonight. We'll take a walk somewhere for dinner. Fortunately, we are very close to town and the dealership.We are actually enjoying the respite.
Well, the dealership did everything right, but once again, pilot error took over. I forgot to turn the refrigerator to "electric" and by morning everything was room temperature. Out with the milk, meat, sour cream, etc. Another lesson in the books.
Wow, what a difference $185 worth of work on the RWH (Rolling White House) makes! We had the transmission serviced, among other things, and the car engine shifted so much better today, you can't believe it. Frank said he had never done anything but change the oil -- the dealership thought that was a little scary, so they went over some major components for us. After crossing 325 miles of desert today on the "Loneliest Highway in America" (official designation), and transversing 3 passes over 7000', we are thankful we had the work done - who knows what may have lurked in those mountains and deserts. AAA might have been hard to reach.
The "Loneliest Highway in America is also the route of the Pony Express. There are several examples of Pony Express stops along the highway. You just can't imagine these young men whipping those horses to cover 30-35 miles between stops. They averaged about 10-15 MPH. The Pony Express only lasted 18 months (I had no idea), and was never profitable. It was promptly put out of business with the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line in 1861.
Great Basin National Park is not easy to get to, but the views are breathtaking when you get there. The Lehman Caves put the Oregon Caves to shame. Phil wasn't going to go because he spent an hour and half hunched over in the Oregon Caves, and wasn't about to do that again, but I talked him into it, and the clearances were much better, and the formations spectacular. A thunderstorm rolled over and limited our hiking plans, but we did a little near the Visitors center. They tell us that the drive to Wheeler Peak and the hiking there are the best, but the storm was centered up there, and they didn't recommend it today.
Do you know what is significant about The Great Basin, which covers most of this area? I didn't. It drains internally. That is, it has no outlet to any ocean. All water is either absorbed into the ground, or drains into lakes where evaporation keeps everything in balance. There. Your geography lesson for the day.
Since it was either raining or threatening to rain all day (even though it was warm), we decided to "go downtown" in the evening. Ely is a town pretty much stuck in the 50's. A new supermarket and a McDonalds are about all that is new since then! We actually went into a Casino - the old Nevada Hotel. It was fun! They still have real slot machines with handles you can pull! The Prime Rib for $7.99 and 99 cent beers, were actually pretty good.
Off to Salt Lake City this morning. Trying to arrange to meet up with Kaye Manchester and Meredith Brunier (MAC Yoga friends), who are headed west from their trip to the South. They were near Bozeman, Mt. this morning with Motorhome problems. Think we will try to meet them around Sun Valley on the 3rd or 4th.