A few people had told us that route 395 south of Reno was a scenic drive... and they were right! It's too bad our clear blue sky finally gave way to some cloudy periods... in fact, we didn't see the sun much at all for the whole drive yesterday.
We enjoyed our time with Danielle and her companion Yankee.
Danielle and Yankee.
Sherman, in his spot outside Danielle's house.
Thanks for everything Danielle... it was great to see you again!
We drove through the middle of the city of Reno, but it's not that busy. And then through the south side and on to Carson City (pop 55,000) where we stopped at a huge Walmart Superstore and did a big grocery shop.
Next stop was the gas station. Carson City has the cheapest fuel around here, and we filled it to the brim at $2.90 USD per gallon ($1.00 CAD per liter). Plus, the route we're taking returns back into California, and fuel along that route is much more expensive... in fact we saw it later in the day at $4.99 a gallon!
Getting the ski hills ready for the upcoming season.
Heading south towards Carson City.
Interesting sculpture!
South of Carson City there was less traffic.
Beautiful scenery.
Near the California border.
Through another mountain pass.
I think we were up to 7,700 ft at one point.
We spotted this strange aircraft.
Scenery along the way.
We went to the Bridgeport library and used their fast free internet for a while, and around 4:30pm I noticed it was starting to get dark. I checked the sunset time and it's 4:45pm now! But I had read of a boondocking spot a mile or so out of town, so we headed up there. The road was rough... Sherman had to crawl over some of the bumps! But, we took our time and it was worth it to make it up there...
Sherman, boondocking at GPS 38.253724, -119.210347 (6,600 ft altitude).
Yesterday's drive 123 miles (198 kms).
It went down to 12F (-11C) last night under a totally clear sky! I think that's the coldest we've ever spent a night in the motorhome! But, the sun just came up over the ridge and we'll soon be nice and toasty. Calling for sunshine and a high of 63F (17C) today.
We're headed further south today... hoping to make it to Lone Pine.
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Yikes! 12 degrees F? That beats our 14 degrees we experienced in October just south of June Lake! Our water pipes froze! Glad the sun will warm you all up!
ReplyDeleteYep, 12F, it was our coldest night as well. Our coldest was was just a teeny tiny bit warmerer and that was back in 2007. So far no frozen pipes though.
DeleteThat strange aircraft is an Osprey, usually flown by Marine Air Corp.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I was hoping someone would tell us! We saw a sign a Marine training base of some kind around here.
Deletetravertine Hot springs is a great place to take a dip. You are right next to it. In Lone Pine as Alabama Hills. great place to camp.
ReplyDeleteWe were camped about a 1/2 mile away from them. We planned on hiking over to them to take a quick dip. :-)
DeleteThe Alabama Hills is exactly where we boondocked last night. It's a very picturesque area, we love it!
Holy Fork! -11C? That's heaps colder than here. Mind you, it's a "dry" cold. Ha.
ReplyDeleteYep, it was pretty darn cold to say the least! Once the sun was on us though, we started to thaw out nicely! ;-)
DeleteI travelled that route frequently when we lived in Tahoe and would go South to family. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous route to drive on. We really loved it!
DeleteThat's bloody cold! But I am a wimp since moving to Vancouver Island - the coldest its been here so far in Comox is plus 3 Celsius
ReplyDeleteIt was too cold really but we toughed it out. That should be the last of the really cold nights now! Luckily it warms up nicely during the day. :-)
DeleteThat is a beautiful area. We drove thru there last year. We enjoy some cooler weather sometimes, but that is below are happy zone:))
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful area. We will have to come back this way sometime and spend at least a month or more just exploring this area. Lots of hiking out there for us to do and lots of free overnight boondocking places to be had. :-)
DeleteI think we now have had the last of the really cold nights. We are just so happy that it is warm during the day and no rain to be seen. :-)
Yup that 395 is a gorgeous route. If you are going through Lonepine camp in the Alabama hills and check out the LP western film history museum... great fun! I'm sure you guys watched a old western movie/TV show or 2 when he was a kid.
ReplyDeleteAs much as we would like to go and visit the Lone Pine Film History Museum we just don't have the time on this trip. We really want to spend a little time in Death Valley NP today as we drive through it and we still have lots of miles to do to get to Mission, Texas in two weeks time. This is something that will have to wait for another visit along with a number of other things. This whole area needs at least a month or more to explore properly.
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