Friday September 17, 2010

Hello to all from Bishop California. Today we left Oregon, entered California (you drive through a booth and declare you have no fire wood and fresh fruit...I guess they are worried about bugs), entered Nevada and then back to California where we again had to declare the lack of fire wood and fruit. (tax dollars at their best).

Any way...it it 850pm and we had a long day. The day started with another run and I found a great path that ran along a stream. I saw a heron, ducks and a crazy cat staring into the woods for some 15 minutes. Knees not doing so well...this running thing not my favorite but have not found a gym since leaving Van.

We managed to be packed up and on the road by 9am, and the first thing we did was head to a car wash. Rule #1...don't park the truck under trees over night. Holy sh*t...literally!! We made great time down the I-5 to Mt Shasta California

Mt Shasta CA

 and then hooked East to head toward Reno Nevada.

The truck has been great, but the heavy load and all the mountain passes has taken it's toll. When we are bombing along uphill, the temp gauge seems to fluctuate between mid (normal) and cold. Once we are on flat roads, it seems to be fine. We have reached 7000 feet above sea level many times on this leg of the adventure.

I am sitting in the Best Western as we decided to press on after Reno. We made it to Reno by 2pm and had some lunch and decided to shorten Saturday's leg. The original plan was 545 km today and we ended up completing 789 km. Our first attempt at a hotel was at 5pm in Lee Vining as this would have been a great connection to Hwy 120, 6, 95 and onto Vegas. But this is a small speed bump of a town and they were sold out. So we continued down Hwy 395 to Crestview (a bit bigger speed bump) and found this option to be a $110 room in a bit of a dump. So off we went down 395 again and at 730pm we found a great room for the same $$...even doing some laundry and Bex will hit the pool in the morning.

Tomorrow is a short day in the truck...266 miles/428 km. Vegas is still forecast to be 37 degrees and it cools down to 33 by 8pm!!  We also plan on putting on some sun tan lotion, as we have truck/farmer tans from the sun beating through the truck windows.

Saw some beautiful country around Mt Shasta, and it is funny how the scenery changes once you leave Oregon. Dry and almost desert like. Drove through a forest fire region and saw the damage. Looks bad now but I am sure Mom Nature will take care of it. The hills and passes of California are beautiful to drive through.

Well, off to confirm the route for tomorrow and possibly book a hotel to save us today's anxiety.

Until next time.

Saludos