Road Trip Day 1: San Jose, CA to Winnemucca, NV

[days_unfolding]

I'm in a fancy smancy room at the Holiday Inn Express in Winnemucca, NV. I had planned to get farther today, but I hit stop-and-go traffic in Sacramento. I thought that I never would get out of Sacramento; someone would find my car out of gas and with spider webs over it -;) I was feeling tired later, so I decided to stop in Winnemucca. The Holiday Inn was the first hotel that I came to. I didn't feel like looking for other hotels, so I'm in a room with a refrigerator and a king-size bed. (Added later: that bed was the most comfortable hotel room bed that I've ever slept in.)

The only other bit of excitement was that the shutoff valve at a gas pump that I used didn't shut off. Gas spilled all over my car and the ground. Yuck.

It amused me that in Nevada, every establishment has a casino: a combination Jack-in-the-Box and gas station, my hotel, and so forth. I also liked Winnemucca; it's a cute little town.

I wish that I could have taken pictures en route. There was a hole in some storm clouds, and a shaft of light came through it and lit up a hill. Driving through the lights of Reno was very beautiful. (Though I didn't like the flashing signs at the side of the highway. Too distracting.)

It's cool that I'm following the trail that the pioneers used to get to California. Winnemucca was a major stop for them, and of course, I went through Donner Pass.

For some reason, I can't connect to the Internet from here, so I don't know when I'll be able to post this entry.

Comments

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

Winnemucca is a sheepherder town. It has a very interesting history.

If you think you're worrying, during college I made that trip (to Minneapolis) in a '40 Ford that overheated every time I tried to get across the salt flats, and I had to keep returning to Wendover for more water. I finally made it after dark when it cooled down. You young people in your fancy new cars have it real good ;p

Unlike you, I get sleepy when the sun goes down. I can still get to Salt Lake City on first day, though. I usually got to Wyoming the first night, so I could make it to Minneapolis in two days. That's more than most people like to do, though.

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

How many hours a day did you drive when you went to Minneapolis?

I'm doing considerably less -;) I'm trying to drive about six hours a day, enough to make progress without getting exhausted.

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

I would make it in 2 ten-hour days - 1000 miles a day. It's not for the faint of heart. I'd leave the bay area around 4 or 5am so I wouldn't get stuck in Sacramento traffic, and get into Minneapolis after dark. I'd spend what there was of the night in a particular rest stop in Wyoming near Little America that's about the half way point. So it was both fast and cheap ;p