“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'” ~ Hunter S. Thompson
John's phone alarm went off at 6:30 but he didn't hear it and Linda was enjoying snoozing so she waited until Fannie Mae set off her alarm before getting up. John rolled out of bed at 6:52, surprised that he had missed the alarm. We all got moving pretty fast and were headed out of Baker, Nevada by 7:25 having breakfasted in "efficiency #2" on RBTT for Linda and Honey Bunches of Oats for John.
We returned the key to Rayven (yes, that's her name) at Silver Jack's, got some ice for the cooler and headed out on the Baker Shortcut to Hinckley, Utah. If you are ever going to visit Great Basin National Park we recommend that you stay at the Silver Jack Inn. It is near the park, the managers are great and their Lectrolux Cafe is excellent. There is zero, nada, none, forget-about-it, cell service here. But, the wifi on the front porch of the Silver Jack Restaurant is quite good and it's very peaceful and quiet. Just make sure your laptop is fully charged as there is no AC outlet on the porch. About 20 miles down the road we finally saw another vehicle – not a busy Labor Day weekend in this part of Nevada. At 9:13 we finally came upon a vehicle to pass in our lane – a giant RV, at first Linda thought it was a tour bus.
The Old Buzzards spent about 20 minutes in Delta, Utah for a quick rest stop at McD's. John got a senior coffee (what a deal – 50 cents, but it's not on the menu, you have to know to ask for it) and Linda got iced tea with a little lemonade mixed in. The mistake she made was that she used some McD's hand soap in the restroom when washing her hands and had a hard time getting rid of the lingering aroma. Once back in the car she used some hand sanitizer. Even that didn't get rid of it. Luckily she had some Herbs de Province lotion (Rosemary, Thyme, Sage – no Parsley) and that did the trick. Thanks Sheila!
An interesting old building in downtown Delta had a lacy sign that said The Gathering Place. Linda has a friend who is the pastor of a church by that name in Dallas, Texas. They both seem like very welcoming places. The photo didn't make the cut for the gallery, Linda will send it on to her friend, Joy.
Upon leaving Delta there was lots of green vegetation in the fields and many sunflowers along the roadways. AND, some more traffic action: we passed 2 pickups.
Salina City was a cute little town. They have the All Washed Up coin laundry, a Hot Spot eatery and Mom's Cafe.
You know those guard rails along the curves on highways? They actually do work. On I-70 we came upon a place where a truck driver had just taken out about 10 of them, which probably prevented him from going over the ledge.
We stopped for a quick tailgate lunch at a rest stop on I-70 near the Fishlake National Forest. John had peanut butter on rice cake and a boiled egg. Linda had some Tarvin tomatoes and the rest of her turkey panini from Genoa, Nevada. We warmed the panini by setting it on the engine manifold!
After we were into Utah for a while we noticed a definite difference in the landscape. It seemed like all at once there were columns and shapes very similar to those we remembered from our previous trip through the lower part of Utah where there are so many beautiful national parks (Bryce, Zion, Arches etc.). We think you will notice a big difference too when you see today's photo gallery. Another difference we noticed was in the fines for littering ($2000 in Nevada, $100 in Utah). AND in Utah there are no tacky casinos. Or untacky ones for that matter.
After Linda took a turn at driving, we arrived at our La Quinta in Grand Junction, Colorado around 4:30. Today was what will likely be our second longest day of mileage on this trip but we are getting to be old hands at unpacking and setting up our blog equipment for the evening.
We picked a nearby restaurant that we had noticed on the way to our lodging. It turned out to be very good. Linda had broiled tilapia which included broccoli, fruit bowl, whole wheat toast and a salad. John had the Cobb salad. John had done so well on calorie intake for today (cereal and rice cake with a dab of peanut butter), that he toyed with the idea of getting a slice of Caramel Pecan Silk pie, or their special limited edition Salty Hog pie....yes, it incldes bacon, caramel, chocolate silk and a special filling. He asked for calorie information, but they couldn't provide it, so he skipped the pie and settled for a 2.07 oz Snickers (280 calories). Still finished way under budget.
Today's photo gallery has but 22 photos...but, they shout "Utah"! You can view the gallery by clicking here.
Here's a short video driving across Utah. Some decent scenery and music. Oh, and this was the first time we used the Hero2 camera out in the rain.
Happy trails!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Yellowstone Road Trip - Day 03
“Not all who wander are lost.” ~J. R. R. Tolkien
Early this morning at around 12 am Fannie Mae got to experience her first thunderstorm. She woke the two old buzzards with one loud bark, soon followed by another. Turns out she was shivering with fright at the loud noises going on outside our cabin. At home she barks when the neighbors are retrieving their trash bins and this was like a giant banging a huge bin against the walls. After a few minutes John got her calmed and we all went back to sleep until the alarm went off. It was set for 6:30 but John's phone thought we were in Utah (we are really close) and woke us up at 5:30. We didn't realize what happened until after finishing our breakfast (RBTT for Linda and Post Honey Bunches of Oats for John) in the room. It still seemed to be pretty early in the day, not far to go to the park and we were ready to go when John figured out what must have happened. His phone was confused because we are so near the Utah border (where the time changes). So, John has now set his phone from “automatic” to “manual” as far as time zones go.
We headed south on 487 to go to Great Basin National Park. After a while we realized that we hadn't seen any signs directing us to the park. When we passed the border into Utah it seemed pretty clear that something was amiss. Sure enough we had headed the wrong way on 487 so we made a U-turn at Garrison, Utah and soon began to see lots of signs directing us to the park. The good news was that Linda spotted an interesting design made out of horseshoes and was able to photograph it for you.
Soon afterward, John spotted a group of turkeys meandering near the road and stopped for Linda to capture as many as she could. She got a back end shot of one that you can see in today's photo gallery. The rest had already made it into the bushes where they were well camouflaged.
As you might expect from last night's weather, there were lots of clouds in sight, some of them pretty gray. We had a few drops on the way to the park's visitor center where we saw two short interpretive films about the geography and history of the Great Basin. John had commented yesterday how it seemed that driving across Nevada was one set of hairpin turns up a hill, then down the hill followed by many miles of flat, straight-as-an-arrow road. Then, repeat that. Then do it again. You get the picture. Well, now we know why. We learned that Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state in the USA. Count 'em, more than 300! So, there's the explanation for John's observation. Then we headed out for a drive on the paved and winding road leading to Wheeler Peak, the highest point in the park, and in Nevada. While we were stopped at Mather Overlook the sprinkles increased to a regular thunderstorm complete with lightening and a bit of sleet. After it slowed down we resumed our climb (in Wilma) on Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The sun was soon out again and, looking down, we could see we were above the storm clouds. We could also see several parts of the road we had traveled on below us. Because of the rain they looked like shiny ribbons. We saw few other cars inside the park so it was a very calm relaxing visit to one of the National Park System's relatively new parks, as of 1986.
Bristlecone pines are one of Great Basin Park's most notable features. They appear between 9,500 feet and 11,000 feet. They are masters of longevity, living for thousands of years. Some bristlecones in the park are over 3,000 years old. They grow very slowly, a branch at a time, their needles living up to 40 years. Even after they die there is beauty in their gnarly, twisted shapes. And their wood's high resin content prevents rot. For bristlecone pines, beauty comes with age, a trait that the two old buzzards have not noticed in buzzards.
We arrived back to Baker in time for a lunch of sandwiches at the Lectrolux. John had grilled chicken on sourdough bread. Linda had an ice cream sandwich made with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. She had seen it highly recommended in her Fodor's book (not to be confused with Frodo's book) about National Parks of the West. It did not disappoint.
Fannie Mae has made friends with a Chihuahua who lives nearby. Fannie decided to name him Pancho. He greets her each time she comes out for a walk. They sniff and romp for awhile and then he accompanies us as our guide to wherever we choose to walk. He is not on a leash and seems very comfortable as top dog of Baker, Nevada (population 100). This afternoon he showed us the Baker Hilton. Look for it in today's photo gallery.
John went to use the table at the Lectrolux (our “efficiency #2” has no table or chair or desk) to process the photos taken so far today. He returned about 2:30p.m.
Next, we went north on 487 to the Baker Shortcut, then turned right on Highway 50, and headed to the Border Inn and Casino, where we initially had our reservation. This was just to check it out. The Welcome to Utah sign is in their parking lot. Some of the cabins seem to be located in Utah while the Casino is clearly just inside Nevada. Linda went in to check out the restaurant as a dinner possibility. After walking through a part of the smokey tiny casino she found the restaurant and a ho-hum menu compared with the Lectrolux or the T & D place in downtown Baker.
On our way back to Silver Jack's we again took the Baker Shortcut Road and stopped to visit an archeological site belonging to the Fremont Culture. It was only recently excavated (1991 – 1994). Archeologist have learned much about the people whose main period of occupation was from A.D. early January 1220 to late December of 1295. Hey, we are just joshing about the months. We threw them in to see if you were paying attention.
Because of the excavations, archeologists can determine (they call it informed speculation or archeological inference) that settlers of Baker Village farmed, built stable, permanent structures and made pottery and arrow heads. There are remains of a big house and several smaller buildings at the site. They were not just placed randomly. They were located in such a way that shadows from the Winter and Summer Solstices cast shadows in a configuration that was helpful in planning their sowing and harvesting schedules. The shadows cast by the sun at certain times of the year created what could be called a Horizon Calendar. The repeating pattern of shadows on the doorway of the big house helped these ancient people select the proper time to plant and harvest. In the photo gallery you can see Fannie Mae and Linda just outside the big house.
As a follow up to Day 01, we need to be entirely transparent for our Mileage Madness Players. Some information you didn't yet receive is as follows: From South Lake Tahoe to Genoa, NV and on to Carson City, NV we took Hwy 207, Hwy 206 and Hwy 395. Now, you have what you need to know.
Apparently there was some sort of community bar-b-que going on in town from 4 to 6 but the old buzzards opted to try T&D Restaurant. John had a Super Burrito with refried beans, ground beef, lettuce and tomatoes and topped with guacamole. Linda had a Mexican Salad which had tortilla chips, salsa, olives, shredded cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. We both enjoyed our dinner.
And now, today's photo gallery contains 54 images. Many of them were taken in Great Basin National Park on the road up to Wheeler Peak. Lots were taken in the environs of Baker, NV. You can view the photo gallery by clicking here.
It was certainly a day of Happy Trails!
Early this morning at around 12 am Fannie Mae got to experience her first thunderstorm. She woke the two old buzzards with one loud bark, soon followed by another. Turns out she was shivering with fright at the loud noises going on outside our cabin. At home she barks when the neighbors are retrieving their trash bins and this was like a giant banging a huge bin against the walls. After a few minutes John got her calmed and we all went back to sleep until the alarm went off. It was set for 6:30 but John's phone thought we were in Utah (we are really close) and woke us up at 5:30. We didn't realize what happened until after finishing our breakfast (RBTT for Linda and Post Honey Bunches of Oats for John) in the room. It still seemed to be pretty early in the day, not far to go to the park and we were ready to go when John figured out what must have happened. His phone was confused because we are so near the Utah border (where the time changes). So, John has now set his phone from “automatic” to “manual” as far as time zones go.
We headed south on 487 to go to Great Basin National Park. After a while we realized that we hadn't seen any signs directing us to the park. When we passed the border into Utah it seemed pretty clear that something was amiss. Sure enough we had headed the wrong way on 487 so we made a U-turn at Garrison, Utah and soon began to see lots of signs directing us to the park. The good news was that Linda spotted an interesting design made out of horseshoes and was able to photograph it for you.
Soon afterward, John spotted a group of turkeys meandering near the road and stopped for Linda to capture as many as she could. She got a back end shot of one that you can see in today's photo gallery. The rest had already made it into the bushes where they were well camouflaged.
As you might expect from last night's weather, there were lots of clouds in sight, some of them pretty gray. We had a few drops on the way to the park's visitor center where we saw two short interpretive films about the geography and history of the Great Basin. John had commented yesterday how it seemed that driving across Nevada was one set of hairpin turns up a hill, then down the hill followed by many miles of flat, straight-as-an-arrow road. Then, repeat that. Then do it again. You get the picture. Well, now we know why. We learned that Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state in the USA. Count 'em, more than 300! So, there's the explanation for John's observation. Then we headed out for a drive on the paved and winding road leading to Wheeler Peak, the highest point in the park, and in Nevada. While we were stopped at Mather Overlook the sprinkles increased to a regular thunderstorm complete with lightening and a bit of sleet. After it slowed down we resumed our climb (in Wilma) on Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. The sun was soon out again and, looking down, we could see we were above the storm clouds. We could also see several parts of the road we had traveled on below us. Because of the rain they looked like shiny ribbons. We saw few other cars inside the park so it was a very calm relaxing visit to one of the National Park System's relatively new parks, as of 1986.
Bristlecone pines are one of Great Basin Park's most notable features. They appear between 9,500 feet and 11,000 feet. They are masters of longevity, living for thousands of years. Some bristlecones in the park are over 3,000 years old. They grow very slowly, a branch at a time, their needles living up to 40 years. Even after they die there is beauty in their gnarly, twisted shapes. And their wood's high resin content prevents rot. For bristlecone pines, beauty comes with age, a trait that the two old buzzards have not noticed in buzzards.
We arrived back to Baker in time for a lunch of sandwiches at the Lectrolux. John had grilled chicken on sourdough bread. Linda had an ice cream sandwich made with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. She had seen it highly recommended in her Fodor's book (not to be confused with Frodo's book) about National Parks of the West. It did not disappoint.
Fannie Mae has made friends with a Chihuahua who lives nearby. Fannie decided to name him Pancho. He greets her each time she comes out for a walk. They sniff and romp for awhile and then he accompanies us as our guide to wherever we choose to walk. He is not on a leash and seems very comfortable as top dog of Baker, Nevada (population 100). This afternoon he showed us the Baker Hilton. Look for it in today's photo gallery.
John went to use the table at the Lectrolux (our “efficiency #2” has no table or chair or desk) to process the photos taken so far today. He returned about 2:30p.m.
Next, we went north on 487 to the Baker Shortcut, then turned right on Highway 50, and headed to the Border Inn and Casino, where we initially had our reservation. This was just to check it out. The Welcome to Utah sign is in their parking lot. Some of the cabins seem to be located in Utah while the Casino is clearly just inside Nevada. Linda went in to check out the restaurant as a dinner possibility. After walking through a part of the smokey tiny casino she found the restaurant and a ho-hum menu compared with the Lectrolux or the T & D place in downtown Baker.
On our way back to Silver Jack's we again took the Baker Shortcut Road and stopped to visit an archeological site belonging to the Fremont Culture. It was only recently excavated (1991 – 1994). Archeologist have learned much about the people whose main period of occupation was from A.D. early January 1220 to late December of 1295. Hey, we are just joshing about the months. We threw them in to see if you were paying attention.
Because of the excavations, archeologists can determine (they call it informed speculation or archeological inference) that settlers of Baker Village farmed, built stable, permanent structures and made pottery and arrow heads. There are remains of a big house and several smaller buildings at the site. They were not just placed randomly. They were located in such a way that shadows from the Winter and Summer Solstices cast shadows in a configuration that was helpful in planning their sowing and harvesting schedules. The shadows cast by the sun at certain times of the year created what could be called a Horizon Calendar. The repeating pattern of shadows on the doorway of the big house helped these ancient people select the proper time to plant and harvest. In the photo gallery you can see Fannie Mae and Linda just outside the big house.
As a follow up to Day 01, we need to be entirely transparent for our Mileage Madness Players. Some information you didn't yet receive is as follows: From South Lake Tahoe to Genoa, NV and on to Carson City, NV we took Hwy 207, Hwy 206 and Hwy 395. Now, you have what you need to know.
Apparently there was some sort of community bar-b-que going on in town from 4 to 6 but the old buzzards opted to try T&D Restaurant. John had a Super Burrito with refried beans, ground beef, lettuce and tomatoes and topped with guacamole. Linda had a Mexican Salad which had tortilla chips, salsa, olives, shredded cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. We both enjoyed our dinner.
And now, today's photo gallery contains 54 images. Many of them were taken in Great Basin National Park on the road up to Wheeler Peak. Lots were taken in the environs of Baker, NV. You can view the photo gallery by clicking here.
It was certainly a day of Happy Trails!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Yellowstone Road Trip - Day 02
“Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you've got to keep moving.” ~Albert Einstein
Well, the two old buzzards did not fall off their tandem bike today. We kept moving from early morning until well after 5:00 this evening, logging more miles on Wilma than we probably will on any other day on our trip.
Our alarm in Carson City, Nevada went off at 6:30. We were at Grandma Hattie's at 7:15 and after a stop for Wilma's breakfast (gas for $3.819) we were on our way to Silver City and Virginia City. We were again on Highway 50 until the turnoff onto 342 for the two old mining towns.
There's a lot of abandoned mining structures and equipment in Silver City and some open pit mining going on. We saw present-day signs both for and against mining in both little towns. Virginia City has some well-preserved structures and a really cute downtown that is both historical and cutsey/touristy. While in Virginia we pulled up to look at the Senior Center and were immediately entertained by the sign on the door that sternly gave notice of “NO FIREARMS ALLOWED”. In smaller letters below it said “Except by Peace Officers”. Sort of makes you wonder what happened in the past to make the sign necessary . . . some of us old folks do get pretty grouchy at times . . .
We retraced our route (on 342) and just outside Silver City we saw a bride and groom made out of various metal parts. The bride had a delicate lace-like “gown” that did little to conceal her girlish figure. They were a fun pair to see and photograph and quite an unusual decoration to be found in someone's long front driveway.
Back on Highway 50 we went through Dayton which has been arguing with Genoa for over 150 years about which one was Nevada's first settlement. Dayton was first called Chinatown.
Outside Dayton John spotted a huge cactus beside the now defunct Oasis Bar. We just had to get a photo of it to show you. Someone, long ago obviously worked hard to construct such an attention-getting cactus and it is still in amazingly good shape when compared to the deteriorated Oasis Bar.
Next was Fallon where we saw signs all over town about the Hearts of Gold Festival that starts tomorrow. Can anyone guess what fruit or vegetable the Festival celebrates? We will let you know who comes up with the first correct answer.
We noticed signs in Fallon saying “Welcome Burners”. Linda thought Burners sounds like a funny name for a high school mascot while John's conjecture is that Fallon is on the way to the Burning Man Festival.
Wilma's mission in Fallon was to help us find Starbuck's, using her GPS. After she said “Destination ahead on the left” we searched in vain on the left and right before giving up and going to McDonald's for coffee and iced tea. McD's actually makes a pretty good non-fat, no-whip mocha. The grass outside looked like a nice place to walk Fannie Mae but as she got back into Wilma we noticed that she had collected several nasty burrs into her leg fur. She wasn't too happy about letting John hold her down while Linda picked them out before that went deeper into her fur. It seems like it's desert like places that have the most vicious stickers.
After leaving Fallon we were soon on what looked a lot like a very large beach. There just wasn't any water. The sand was very light in color. Then all at once we noticed that words were spelled out in dark colored rocks, mostly black, for about a mile along both sides of the road. They were mostly names. (Spanky, Alma, Rose, Amber,etc) declarations of love (Sam heart shape Darlene) names of schools (NSU) and words like peace, love, joy. It was quite a site to see though somewhat hard to capture in photos.
The clouds were fantastic. Lots of white puffy ones and many shades of grays and blues. Just after we went through Cold Springs we had the first in a series of showers. They were cooling and a pleasant change, making the outside temperature around 72 for miles and miles.
As it was getting longer and longer past lunchtime, the rest area Linda found on her map was sounding better and better. When we finally got to it at 1:20 John had a rice cake spread with peanut butter. Linda had some Raw Bits Twang Twang since she didn't get to have them for breakfast. She also had a boiled egg and some cherry tomatoes from the Buzzard's garden.
We changed drivers for about an hour and a half and then John drove the rest of the way to Baker, Nevada where we arrived at Silver Jack Motel at around 5:15.
After getting settled in our room we went to dinner in their restaurant promptly at 6:00 since they close at 7:30. John had an angus burger with a Mediterranean side salad and a diet Coke. Linda had a Greek salad and a pear cider. As we waited for our orders we soon learned why the cafe is called The Lectrolux. The original owner was inspired to mount a witch onto an Electrolux vacuum cleaner. After that people started bring him old Electroluxes and he built things from them too. So the name of the cafe was changed to The Lectrolux. It is quite funky and eclectic.
Speaking of eclectic, there are 49 photos in today's photo gallery. Quite an eclectic grouping of subjects. You can view the photo gallery by clicking here.
Below is a short video of our drive to Baker.
So that was our trip across Nevada from west to east, all in one day. Thanks for coming along.
Well, the two old buzzards did not fall off their tandem bike today. We kept moving from early morning until well after 5:00 this evening, logging more miles on Wilma than we probably will on any other day on our trip.
Our alarm in Carson City, Nevada went off at 6:30. We were at Grandma Hattie's at 7:15 and after a stop for Wilma's breakfast (gas for $3.819) we were on our way to Silver City and Virginia City. We were again on Highway 50 until the turnoff onto 342 for the two old mining towns.
There's a lot of abandoned mining structures and equipment in Silver City and some open pit mining going on. We saw present-day signs both for and against mining in both little towns. Virginia City has some well-preserved structures and a really cute downtown that is both historical and cutsey/touristy. While in Virginia we pulled up to look at the Senior Center and were immediately entertained by the sign on the door that sternly gave notice of “NO FIREARMS ALLOWED”. In smaller letters below it said “Except by Peace Officers”. Sort of makes you wonder what happened in the past to make the sign necessary . . . some of us old folks do get pretty grouchy at times . . .
We retraced our route (on 342) and just outside Silver City we saw a bride and groom made out of various metal parts. The bride had a delicate lace-like “gown” that did little to conceal her girlish figure. They were a fun pair to see and photograph and quite an unusual decoration to be found in someone's long front driveway.
Back on Highway 50 we went through Dayton which has been arguing with Genoa for over 150 years about which one was Nevada's first settlement. Dayton was first called Chinatown.
Outside Dayton John spotted a huge cactus beside the now defunct Oasis Bar. We just had to get a photo of it to show you. Someone, long ago obviously worked hard to construct such an attention-getting cactus and it is still in amazingly good shape when compared to the deteriorated Oasis Bar.
Next was Fallon where we saw signs all over town about the Hearts of Gold Festival that starts tomorrow. Can anyone guess what fruit or vegetable the Festival celebrates? We will let you know who comes up with the first correct answer.
We noticed signs in Fallon saying “Welcome Burners”. Linda thought Burners sounds like a funny name for a high school mascot while John's conjecture is that Fallon is on the way to the Burning Man Festival.
Wilma's mission in Fallon was to help us find Starbuck's, using her GPS. After she said “Destination ahead on the left” we searched in vain on the left and right before giving up and going to McDonald's for coffee and iced tea. McD's actually makes a pretty good non-fat, no-whip mocha. The grass outside looked like a nice place to walk Fannie Mae but as she got back into Wilma we noticed that she had collected several nasty burrs into her leg fur. She wasn't too happy about letting John hold her down while Linda picked them out before that went deeper into her fur. It seems like it's desert like places that have the most vicious stickers.
After leaving Fallon we were soon on what looked a lot like a very large beach. There just wasn't any water. The sand was very light in color. Then all at once we noticed that words were spelled out in dark colored rocks, mostly black, for about a mile along both sides of the road. They were mostly names. (Spanky, Alma, Rose, Amber,etc) declarations of love (Sam heart shape Darlene) names of schools (NSU) and words like peace, love, joy. It was quite a site to see though somewhat hard to capture in photos.
The clouds were fantastic. Lots of white puffy ones and many shades of grays and blues. Just after we went through Cold Springs we had the first in a series of showers. They were cooling and a pleasant change, making the outside temperature around 72 for miles and miles.
As it was getting longer and longer past lunchtime, the rest area Linda found on her map was sounding better and better. When we finally got to it at 1:20 John had a rice cake spread with peanut butter. Linda had some Raw Bits Twang Twang since she didn't get to have them for breakfast. She also had a boiled egg and some cherry tomatoes from the Buzzard's garden.
We changed drivers for about an hour and a half and then John drove the rest of the way to Baker, Nevada where we arrived at Silver Jack Motel at around 5:15.
After getting settled in our room we went to dinner in their restaurant promptly at 6:00 since they close at 7:30. John had an angus burger with a Mediterranean side salad and a diet Coke. Linda had a Greek salad and a pear cider. As we waited for our orders we soon learned why the cafe is called The Lectrolux. The original owner was inspired to mount a witch onto an Electrolux vacuum cleaner. After that people started bring him old Electroluxes and he built things from them too. So the name of the cafe was changed to The Lectrolux. It is quite funky and eclectic.
Speaking of eclectic, there are 49 photos in today's photo gallery. Quite an eclectic grouping of subjects. You can view the photo gallery by clicking here.
Below is a short video of our drive to Baker.
So that was our trip across Nevada from west to east, all in one day. Thanks for coming along.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Yellowstone Road Trip - Day 01
Greetings Fellow Travelers! The Two Old Buzzards and Fannie Mae are glad to have you riding along on what we are calling our Yellowstone Road Trip, even though we will be going to lots of other places as well.
Today got off to a great start. We were scheduled to depart at 6:30 and at 6:27 we were rolling down our driveway (after setting the trip meter to zero and recording Wilma's odometer). For those of you playing the "Weight, Weight Do Tell Me" game, John's weight this morning was 267.6 pounds. He won't weigh again until our return.
Having stopped for breakfast at The Daily Bagel, we then joined the commuters going north on Highway 101. It wasn't half bad, especially since it was a weekday, we could use the diamond lane and we weren't headed to work or jury duty.
After climbing on 580 for a while we came upon lots of windmills as we neared the Altamont Pass. After descending off the pass, the land became flatter and more suited to farming. There were maize fields, apple orchards, vineyards as well as cows and sheep. We also passed by the corporate headquarters of In and Out Burgers in Tracy and a Ghirardelli Chocolate Outlet (hmmm, it boggles the mind to imagine the temptations that must exist behind those walls).
In Sacramento, we turned onto Hwy 50, headed east toward Tahoe and Carson City. If seeing the Ghirardelli Outlet wasn't bad enough, when we pulled off for a rest stop at McDonald's in Rancho Cordova, it was right next to a giant See's Candy store (not your ordinary shoebox size).
Soon we entered the El Dorado Hills and went through Pollock Pines and Kyburz. We pulled off by a wooded area and a stream east of Pollock Pines for a snack of puffed rice "discs" and peanut butter. By the time we were nearing Lake Tahoe the elevation was over 7,000 feet. What a beautiful blue Lake Tahoe we saw as we rounded a turn on the curvy road. While in South Lake Tahoe we passed over the border into Nevada (right before Harrah's Casino).
For Christmas, John was given a book called Off the Beaten Tracks, so before landing at Carson City, Nevada for the night we made a stop at Genoa. It's claim to fame is that it was the first settlement in Nevada. A squatter's government was formed in 1851 by Mormon pioneers in what was a part of the Utah Territory. In 1861 the Territory of Nevada was created and in 1864 Nevada became the thirty-sixth state with Carson City as the capital. We found Genoa to be a quaint, small town with lots of well-preserved homes and buildings. There are also a variety of parks, two museums, gift and antique stores and several food choices. For our lunch we chose the Genoa General Store which had a deli and seats and tables outside. Linda had a turkey panini, and John had a plain old turkey sandwich (no cheese, thank you).
After a short ride to Carson City, we checked in at an America's Best Value Inn.
We had dinner inside the Fandango Casino at their Rum Jungle Buffet. The buffet was pretty easy to find even in the maze of slot machines and other games. The buffet had everything from crepes, BBQ, Asian, Mexican, salads, seafood, soups, fruits and desserts. It was hard to figure out where to start but the old buzzards managed to find enough to eat somehow. Not a bad deal for $11 each. John had grilled tilapia, fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, steamed clams and one tostada with a bit of grilled cilantro chicken. For dessert he had a small piece of coconut cream pie and a sliver of sugar free cheesecake. Even though he spent close to 1,100 calories for his dinner, he still finished the day about 500 calories under budget. And we didn't put so much as a nickel into the slot machines. And, even though we didn't have any rum at the Rum Jungle Buffet, we did have to get help finding our way out of the casino. It seems that once you are inside a casino, they don't want you to know where the exits are or what time it is.
Not a big bunch of stuff to see today, but we did take some photos and have posted 29 of them in today's photo gallery. You can view today's gallery by clicking here. We took some video and will try to post it in tomorrow's travelogue. Just didn't have time to finish editing it for today.
Here's a brief video we shot leaving home and through Genoa, NV.
On past trips the Two Old Buzzards have had a common thread for reflection included in each posting. Some were these: Funny Sign of the Day, Teabag Philosophy, What I'm Thankful For Today. For this trip we are presenting quotations that have something to do with travel.
Here's the travel quotation for today: “Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” John Steinbeck in Travels with Charley. Well, the Two Old Buzzards would not have wanted to travel to Carson City today on a two-lane road but we will try to get off the interstate enough to see something besides the vast world of sameness in Starbucks, Taco Bells, Wal*Marts, Carl's, Napas, Radio Shacks, Super K-Marts, Super Cuts, Walgreens, Lowe's and Bed, Bath and Beyonds. We will try for Beyond. Although, John does love his Starbucks!
We had a flurry of last minute add ons to our “Victims List” before leaving so some of you missed out on the tutorial and the rules for the contests. You can just look at the previous post since that's where it is.
Today got off to a great start. We were scheduled to depart at 6:30 and at 6:27 we were rolling down our driveway (after setting the trip meter to zero and recording Wilma's odometer). For those of you playing the "Weight, Weight Do Tell Me" game, John's weight this morning was 267.6 pounds. He won't weigh again until our return.
Having stopped for breakfast at The Daily Bagel, we then joined the commuters going north on Highway 101. It wasn't half bad, especially since it was a weekday, we could use the diamond lane and we weren't headed to work or jury duty.
After climbing on 580 for a while we came upon lots of windmills as we neared the Altamont Pass. After descending off the pass, the land became flatter and more suited to farming. There were maize fields, apple orchards, vineyards as well as cows and sheep. We also passed by the corporate headquarters of In and Out Burgers in Tracy and a Ghirardelli Chocolate Outlet (hmmm, it boggles the mind to imagine the temptations that must exist behind those walls).
In Sacramento, we turned onto Hwy 50, headed east toward Tahoe and Carson City. If seeing the Ghirardelli Outlet wasn't bad enough, when we pulled off for a rest stop at McDonald's in Rancho Cordova, it was right next to a giant See's Candy store (not your ordinary shoebox size).
Soon we entered the El Dorado Hills and went through Pollock Pines and Kyburz. We pulled off by a wooded area and a stream east of Pollock Pines for a snack of puffed rice "discs" and peanut butter. By the time we were nearing Lake Tahoe the elevation was over 7,000 feet. What a beautiful blue Lake Tahoe we saw as we rounded a turn on the curvy road. While in South Lake Tahoe we passed over the border into Nevada (right before Harrah's Casino).
For Christmas, John was given a book called Off the Beaten Tracks, so before landing at Carson City, Nevada for the night we made a stop at Genoa. It's claim to fame is that it was the first settlement in Nevada. A squatter's government was formed in 1851 by Mormon pioneers in what was a part of the Utah Territory. In 1861 the Territory of Nevada was created and in 1864 Nevada became the thirty-sixth state with Carson City as the capital. We found Genoa to be a quaint, small town with lots of well-preserved homes and buildings. There are also a variety of parks, two museums, gift and antique stores and several food choices. For our lunch we chose the Genoa General Store which had a deli and seats and tables outside. Linda had a turkey panini, and John had a plain old turkey sandwich (no cheese, thank you).
After a short ride to Carson City, we checked in at an America's Best Value Inn.
We had dinner inside the Fandango Casino at their Rum Jungle Buffet. The buffet was pretty easy to find even in the maze of slot machines and other games. The buffet had everything from crepes, BBQ, Asian, Mexican, salads, seafood, soups, fruits and desserts. It was hard to figure out where to start but the old buzzards managed to find enough to eat somehow. Not a bad deal for $11 each. John had grilled tilapia, fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, steamed clams and one tostada with a bit of grilled cilantro chicken. For dessert he had a small piece of coconut cream pie and a sliver of sugar free cheesecake. Even though he spent close to 1,100 calories for his dinner, he still finished the day about 500 calories under budget. And we didn't put so much as a nickel into the slot machines. And, even though we didn't have any rum at the Rum Jungle Buffet, we did have to get help finding our way out of the casino. It seems that once you are inside a casino, they don't want you to know where the exits are or what time it is.
Not a big bunch of stuff to see today, but we did take some photos and have posted 29 of them in today's photo gallery. You can view today's gallery by clicking here. We took some video and will try to post it in tomorrow's travelogue. Just didn't have time to finish editing it for today.
Here's a brief video we shot leaving home and through Genoa, NV.
On past trips the Two Old Buzzards have had a common thread for reflection included in each posting. Some were these: Funny Sign of the Day, Teabag Philosophy, What I'm Thankful For Today. For this trip we are presenting quotations that have something to do with travel.
Here's the travel quotation for today: “Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” John Steinbeck in Travels with Charley. Well, the Two Old Buzzards would not have wanted to travel to Carson City today on a two-lane road but we will try to get off the interstate enough to see something besides the vast world of sameness in Starbucks, Taco Bells, Wal*Marts, Carl's, Napas, Radio Shacks, Super K-Marts, Super Cuts, Walgreens, Lowe's and Bed, Bath and Beyonds. We will try for Beyond. Although, John does love his Starbucks!
We had a flurry of last minute add ons to our “Victims List” before leaving so some of you missed out on the tutorial and the rules for the contests. You can just look at the previous post since that's where it is.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Road Trippin' Tutorial
While this tutorial is primarily to "educate" the more than 30 adventurers joining us for the first time on a road trip, it can serve as an optional review for our "seasoned" victims as well.
We'll be on the road in about two weeks from now and are really excited. Packing has begun as well as taking care of all those things in preparing. We're thankful for John's cousin, Jerry, who has agreed to house-sit once again, with one condition. He has to bring Sammy, who is now at the latter stages of puppy-hood. Earlier followers will recall Sammy's "destruction" of a towel during our last road trip.
There are really four of us on the road for these adventures... John, Linda, Fannie Mae and Wilma. The John and Linda (the Two Old Buzzards) part is simple enough(as sometimes are John and Linda). Fannie Mae is our two-year-old road trippin' black & white miniature Schnauzer. She is our "CWF" (child with fur). She is happy to travel in the passenger seat with Linda, or in her crate (also known as her "special place". Here is the origin of her name: Mini Schnauzers have little stubby tails. When they are happy and wag their tail, their whole rear end moves. Thus, her face may not tell you she is happy, but her "fanny may". Oh yes, that leaves Wilma. Wilma is the name we have given to our 2006 Honda Odyssey. She was named after a favorite restaurant of ours in Sonora, CA, Wilma's Flying Pig Cafe & Saloon. Sadly, the restaurant is now defunct. And, that is the four of us.
Two cardinal rules are in effect when the Two Old Buzzards and their entourage hit the road. First rule: no electronic audio in the vehicle. Simply stated, the radio is always off. Second rule: no television turned on in the motel room. On our many previous road trips, we have found these two rules lead to more conversing between John, Linda and Fannie Mae.
Our new adventurers won't know anything about raw bits (twang, twang). RBTT is a regular favorite breakfast way-of-life for Linda. RBTT is made up of soy protein granules, ground flaxseed, powdered milk, yogurt(if available), shredded coconut and dried fruit (fresh fruit is added if available). The origin of Raw Bits (twang twang), but not the recipe, is from a commercial on A Prairie Home Companion (Buzzard #1's favorite radio show). The "twang twang" part comes from a sound effect used on the commercial. Many years ago John and the kids started calling Linda's cereal concoction Raw Bits Twang Twang.
Daily photo galleries are a favorite on our road trips. Due to limited storage on our web site, we had to take down the galleries from the previous road trips to make room for the upcoming Yellowstone trip. However, you can get an idea of how the galleries work by clicking here to view a gallery of 18 photos of Fannie Mae at 13 weeks of age before and after her first trip to the groomer.
We will sometimes put a link to a spot we like that has a presence on the web. On our Utah Road Trip we made a stop at the north rim of the Grand Canyon and stayed at the Jacob Lake Inn. It was an interesting place so we included a link to their web site which you can visit by (for example) clicking here.
Before our road trip, John wanted to practice using our new point-of-view camera as well as nail down photo and video processing. So, we made a short (43-second) "movie" trailer for the upcoming trip. It's embedded from YouTube.
There, now the "newbies" are educated. We're starting to pack and get things organized. You have been sent the information and rules of the Mileage Madness game, and we hope many of you will play. Remember, you will gain information you need to win by reading our posts. And, we'll have very nice first, second and third place prizes this time around.
In addition, we've added the “Weight, Weight Do Tell Me” game and have also sent the information and rules as an email attachment. Maybe you'll win the pound of See's Chocolates.
While we're on this trip, please feel free to comment on any of our daily postings and photo galleries. We appreciate getting your feedback.
If you are not a geek, we recommend you read no further.
Geek Speak.....Technical info for John's fellow geeks: We primarily shoot photos in camera raw (Canon Powershot G10 and G11), then import, catalog and "process" them in Adobe Lightroom. The daily photo galleries are also created in Lightroom, then uploaded to our web site storage and a link placed in our blog for the appropriate day. Main titles are created in layers in Adobe Photoshop. Video is primarily shot in 1080p HD (Canon Vixia and GoPro Hero2). Video footage is edited in Adobe Premiere, then exported as mpeg2 (for later use in creating a DVD) and converted to Flash video which is uploaded to YouTube. The YouTube videos are embedded into the blog post for your enjoyment (we hope).
Pay attention to this if you are a Verizon smart phone subscriber. We travel with two laptops, a wi-fi only tablet, one smartphone (Droid2 on Verizon) and one not-so-smart phone. John has a 3rd party wi-fi hotspot app on the smartphone that lets us tether one or more wi-fi devices (laptop or tablet) to his phone, giving us 3G data capability and internet access anywhere we can get it on his phone. Verizon was blocking subscribers from using this capability without subscribing to the their "hot spot" service for an extra $20 per month. Recently, Verizon was fined $1.25 million by the FCC and is now prevented from blocking subscribers with data plans from using 3rd party apps which work as wi-fi hotspots. This is from the "For What It is Worth" department and Verizon deserves it!
We'll be on the road in about two weeks from now and are really excited. Packing has begun as well as taking care of all those things in preparing. We're thankful for John's cousin, Jerry, who has agreed to house-sit once again, with one condition. He has to bring Sammy, who is now at the latter stages of puppy-hood. Earlier followers will recall Sammy's "destruction" of a towel during our last road trip.
There are really four of us on the road for these adventures... John, Linda, Fannie Mae and Wilma. The John and Linda (the Two Old Buzzards) part is simple enough(as sometimes are John and Linda). Fannie Mae is our two-year-old road trippin' black & white miniature Schnauzer. She is our "CWF" (child with fur). She is happy to travel in the passenger seat with Linda, or in her crate (also known as her "special place". Here is the origin of her name: Mini Schnauzers have little stubby tails. When they are happy and wag their tail, their whole rear end moves. Thus, her face may not tell you she is happy, but her "fanny may". Oh yes, that leaves Wilma. Wilma is the name we have given to our 2006 Honda Odyssey. She was named after a favorite restaurant of ours in Sonora, CA, Wilma's Flying Pig Cafe & Saloon. Sadly, the restaurant is now defunct. And, that is the four of us.
Two cardinal rules are in effect when the Two Old Buzzards and their entourage hit the road. First rule: no electronic audio in the vehicle. Simply stated, the radio is always off. Second rule: no television turned on in the motel room. On our many previous road trips, we have found these two rules lead to more conversing between John, Linda and Fannie Mae.
Our new adventurers won't know anything about raw bits (twang, twang). RBTT is a regular favorite breakfast way-of-life for Linda. RBTT is made up of soy protein granules, ground flaxseed, powdered milk, yogurt(if available), shredded coconut and dried fruit (fresh fruit is added if available). The origin of Raw Bits (twang twang), but not the recipe, is from a commercial on A Prairie Home Companion (Buzzard #1's favorite radio show). The "twang twang" part comes from a sound effect used on the commercial. Many years ago John and the kids started calling Linda's cereal concoction Raw Bits Twang Twang.
Daily photo galleries are a favorite on our road trips. Due to limited storage on our web site, we had to take down the galleries from the previous road trips to make room for the upcoming Yellowstone trip. However, you can get an idea of how the galleries work by clicking here to view a gallery of 18 photos of Fannie Mae at 13 weeks of age before and after her first trip to the groomer.
We will sometimes put a link to a spot we like that has a presence on the web. On our Utah Road Trip we made a stop at the north rim of the Grand Canyon and stayed at the Jacob Lake Inn. It was an interesting place so we included a link to their web site which you can visit by (for example) clicking here.
Before our road trip, John wanted to practice using our new point-of-view camera as well as nail down photo and video processing. So, we made a short (43-second) "movie" trailer for the upcoming trip. It's embedded from YouTube.
There, now the "newbies" are educated. We're starting to pack and get things organized. You have been sent the information and rules of the Mileage Madness game, and we hope many of you will play. Remember, you will gain information you need to win by reading our posts. And, we'll have very nice first, second and third place prizes this time around.
In addition, we've added the “Weight, Weight Do Tell Me” game and have also sent the information and rules as an email attachment. Maybe you'll win the pound of See's Chocolates.
While we're on this trip, please feel free to comment on any of our daily postings and photo galleries. We appreciate getting your feedback.
If you are not a geek, we recommend you read no further.
Geek Speak.....Technical info for John's fellow geeks: We primarily shoot photos in camera raw (Canon Powershot G10 and G11), then import, catalog and "process" them in Adobe Lightroom. The daily photo galleries are also created in Lightroom, then uploaded to our web site storage and a link placed in our blog for the appropriate day. Main titles are created in layers in Adobe Photoshop. Video is primarily shot in 1080p HD (Canon Vixia and GoPro Hero2). Video footage is edited in Adobe Premiere, then exported as mpeg2 (for later use in creating a DVD) and converted to Flash video which is uploaded to YouTube. The YouTube videos are embedded into the blog post for your enjoyment (we hope).
Pay attention to this if you are a Verizon smart phone subscriber. We travel with two laptops, a wi-fi only tablet, one smartphone (Droid2 on Verizon) and one not-so-smart phone. John has a 3rd party wi-fi hotspot app on the smartphone that lets us tether one or more wi-fi devices (laptop or tablet) to his phone, giving us 3G data capability and internet access anywhere we can get it on his phone. Verizon was blocking subscribers from using this capability without subscribing to the their "hot spot" service for an extra $20 per month. Recently, Verizon was fined $1.25 million by the FCC and is now prevented from blocking subscribers with data plans from using 3rd party apps which work as wi-fi hotspots. This is from the "For What It is Worth" department and Verizon deserves it!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Next Road Trip Coming Up Soon!
Well, it won't be long until we hit the road again!
This journey will take us across northern Nevada to Great Basin National Park. Then we'll venture through Colorado and visit Dodge City. Next north through Nebraska and into the Badlands of South Dakota to Wall...and a visit to the old Wall Drug Store going back to 1939. On to Rapid City. Mt. Rushmore, of course, will be on our list of stops.
Next, it's across Wyoming with a stop at Devil's Tower (you know, from Close Encounters) and a stay in Jackson for a visit to the Tetons.
We'll head for West Yellowstone and a five night stay while we visit the park. Heading home, we'll stop at Arco, ID and hit Craters of the Moon on our way to Elko, NV. Next stop is Tonopah, NV where we think we have a reservation at the Clown Motel (if they are still in business).
From Tohopah, we're tentatively planning on stopping near Bridgeport, CA for the night, then driving through Yosemite and stopping in Sonora. An extra day in Sonora (so we don't have to drive to Morgan Hill on a Sunday afternoon) will let us make another visit to the Columbia Historic State Park, one of our favorite places. Then, home to Morgan Hill.
There will be lots of photos, video and a captivating travelogue. Hope you will join us on the journey. Oh, and did we mention we'll be playing Mileage Madness again?
Next, it's across Wyoming with a stop at Devil's Tower (you know, from Close Encounters) and a stay in Jackson for a visit to the Tetons.
We'll head for West Yellowstone and a five night stay while we visit the park. Heading home, we'll stop at Arco, ID and hit Craters of the Moon on our way to Elko, NV. Next stop is Tonopah, NV where we think we have a reservation at the Clown Motel (if they are still in business).
Our planned accomodations in Tonopah, NV
From Tohopah, we're tentatively planning on stopping near Bridgeport, CA for the night, then driving through Yosemite and stopping in Sonora. An extra day in Sonora (so we don't have to drive to Morgan Hill on a Sunday afternoon) will let us make another visit to the Columbia Historic State Park, one of our favorite places. Then, home to Morgan Hill.
There will be lots of photos, video and a captivating travelogue. Hope you will join us on the journey. Oh, and did we mention we'll be playing Mileage Madness again?
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