California, Here We Come

A Desert Rainstorm
Big Sand Dune

High Desert and Mountains

The Biggest Little City in the World

Street entertainers and an closed casino.

Wow!!! 40 miles.

Donner Lake

Snow in the mountains. Notice the railroad track.

When we left Pair-A-Dice we drove 385 miles which is more than we have ever done in a day. That turned out to be fifteen miles more than we needed to travel because someone (me) misread the route on Streets and Trips. The trip was all two lane roads through the high desert surrounded by mountains where we passed more roadside brothels than towns. We stayed at the Desert Rose RV Park in Fernley, Nevada. We had planned on staying a week to get through Memorial Day but they would not let us use the Passport or Escapees discount if we paid for a week. So we only stayed six days, got the discount and left on Monday. Sometimes we really don't understand the logic behind how campgrounds decide what to charge. They would rather have a space sit empty than be guaranteed the money. We spent most of the time just chillin but we did clean the motorhome again since we drove through a desert rain storm and because we had used the Dri-Wash, it was real easy to wipe it off.

One day we drove into Reno, "The Biggest Little City in the World." While it is a gambling mecca, it is nothing like Vegas. There are many empty hotels and casinos and a general rundown appearance to the place. There were some street entertainers to enjoy and of course we contributed to the casinos. We also got to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins continue on their march to the Stanley Cup while we ate dinner.

The drive from Fernley over Donner Pass was truly spectacular with snow capped mountains and beautiful blue lakes. Not so beautiful was our introduction to California highways and a sign indicating "Downgrades Next 40 Miles." If the roads are any indication, California is definitely having a budget problem. But, to their credit, they are working on the road. Driving over the pass made us think about what it must have been like when the forty-niners made the trip. What a pleasant change to be among tall pines in the lower Sierras after spending so much time in the desert. We are spending the next week at Dutch Flat RV Park in Gold Run, California (with a Passport discount) while we await a mail drop. The RV park is located in the middle of the "downgrades next 40 miles," so we still have more downhill to look forward to. When we pulled in there was a couple from the Netherlands who were Rick and Terry Traver's neighbors in Benson. Seeing people we have previously met is happening more and more often as we spend more time on the road.