DAY 234 WEDNESDAY 30th APRIL 2008

Glendale, Utah (Miles to Date: 23700)

On Monday we set off from Cave Junction on a long 1000 mile journey across to southern Utah where we planned to visit most if not all of the National Parks there. So after another hearty breakfast at the Treesort we set off on our first leg to Reno, Nevada some 480 miles distant, travelling through California. In our plans we had intended to make a short stop at Ashland to look around a bit more. As it happens we got somewhat sidetracked so ended up being in Ashland until 4pm – leaving us some 410 miles still to go before we reached Reno. Fortunately all of this journey is by freeway so we headed south to Sacremento on Interstate 5 and then turned east on Interstate 80. The journey down to Sacremento was very scenic as we climbed through the California’s Cascade mountain range, passing by the very impressive, snow-capped peak of Mount Shasta. This 14,179 foot volcano stand 10,000 feet above the valley floor, its isolation from any connecting mountains makes it stand out. It is only the 5th highest peak in California but is probably it’s most dramatic. By the time we reach Sacremento it is dark and we still have 150 miles to go to Reno across the Nevada border. This past of the journey would also have been scenic as you climb up through the Sierra Nevada range over high mountain passes in excess of 7000 feet. In winter this road is frequently closed by snow and is generally difficult to pass, this we note as we pass signs for areas you can pull off to put on snow chains and signs for snow rescue services. Luckily late April/ early May this is less likely but still possible so we head quickly onwards. We reach our destination at midnight, the children are fast asleep on the couches of the motor home so we leave them there and flop down on to our bed exhausted.

The next morning we are woken by the most un-holiest of noises. For one minute we suspect that it might be an earthquake, as recently Reno had been struck by 350 unexplained minor tremors. When we got up we realised that it was nothing more dramatic than a strong wind storm that had blown up over night. Our motor home was parked side on into the brunt of the wind (unfortunately with the way the campsite was organized we could not move it into another direction). High up on the plains below the Sierra Nevada peaks at 5000 feet the winds were gusting up to 50 miles an hour. We had planned to drive 370 miles on this day across Nevada to the town of Ely, this route taking us across Highway 50, known as the countries loneliest road. We feared setting out on very exposed roads, crossing plains with these high winds, so fear being the better part of valour we decided to stay put for another day. This was a great decision as the winds did not abate through out the day. Had we been somewhere interesting it might not have been so bad but we were parked in a great god forsaken concrete lot at the back of the Boomtown Casino adjacent to Interstate 80, 10 miles from downtown Reno. The site itself was devoid of character, facilities and cheerful staff – which is what you are looking for when you are stranded their due to the weather. The city of Reno is the desolate north western tip of Nevada, which itself is a desolate State. Here the main business is as in Las Vegas (and most of Nevada) gambling, except here it has none of the glamour or excitement. On such a cold, raw day we decided not to waste our energy exploring the town.

Luckily the winds have died down overnight and we decided to make a break for it. Instead of travelling approaching 700 miles in two days we are now going to attempt this in one single, long day!!! As we aforementioned our plan was to take Highway 50, nicknamed the “Countries Loneliest Road”. We were taking it from the small town of Fallon across to Ely, in excess of 300 miles, during which time we would pass through only 2 towns of any size (and they were not much to write home about). Today though the sun was shining and whilst the mountains and salt flats were not the same as driving through Hawaii it could have been a lot worst. Around about midway we come the town of Eureka (yes we FOUND IT!!!) which is a bit of ghost town, which you wind your way up though the hills to 6500 feet. Here the weather closes in, and it will remain like this for the rest of our journey. The wind picks up and the clouds come over and we are treated to wind blown fine powdery snow – and it is cold up at this altitude. Finally, finally we make it to Ely and start to head south east across Highway 21 into Utah, through the large open plains and up and down mountains – which was challenging driving. Some 15 hours after setting off, with minimal breaks we reach our next campsite in Glendale, a small village nestled conveniently amongst Southern Utah’s National Parks.