Day 1 National Parks 2011
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I woke up at 3:38am but I didn’t get out of bed until 4:48am to shower. I knew this clean shower will have to last a few days. I will be on the road and there won’t be showers at all. I proceeded to pack sleeping pad and bag. I made tea for the road and stir-fry rice. I ate a tamale for breakfast and finished the rest of the Yaoshan soup too. I finally stepped out of the house at 6am to roll off. As I was backing up on the driveway, I realized I had so much stuff that I could not see through the car rear mirror or blind spots. I ended up spending the next hour rearranging the car so I can see. I ended up rolling off at 7am instead, I was pretty excited. .jpg)
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I went through Farmville and it was beautiful, full of orchards and rolling vineyards, vegetable farms, one after another, a very quiet and peaceful place. I pulled over, got gas and felt really good. I had missed Stacy’s call and got her message later. I felt she want to chat about Oregon but I just wanted to keep driving so I didn’t call her back right away. I am on a mission, seeing how this week went and all the stalling, I just wanted to push forward and get there.
Beyond Farmville, I came across an area and I just felt wasn’t sure of where I was, a different town it seems. I decided to pull over to an old store and ask a man whose name is Bob. Old Bob said i4E pass is closed. I had no idea E4 was closed and that it was also a Sierra Pass. It snowed last night and so the road is closed. Bob is from a railroad family and told me to turn around and suggested Bakersfield Mohavi way or i89 via i49. He told me the connection is up at where the casino is and don’t recommend I stop there. Confusion number two, Why didn’t I know this was a pass too? I told him I didn’t know and he asked if I used the computer. He also asked if I had a old fashion map and told me to use that. I pulled out a map and noticed all the ski resorts on it and it is clear from that paper map what this route meant.
Here is confusion #3, I had no idea how I missed i49 connection and ended up at i12 and i26. I felt I
wasn’t in the right direction, I pulled over to a wielding factory and a husband and wife came to help me. I said I was lost and she ask, “you GPS it?” The husband said i88 is closed for snow removal suggested I go into town and sit and wait for the clearing to happen. Wife suggested I cut through to Lodi and onto Sacramento and go through Reno because i80 is open. I said I’ll check if i88 is closed and they gave me a look of, “You are hopeless, we just took time to help you and you don’t take what we say, you just wasted our time,” they then walked away.
I didn’t check i88, I just went with their suggestion. I see why the energy looked so stressful last night. I saw Bob and this couple as my local road advisors. So this is how it is going to be, ask the locals, they know the current stuff, my high tech planning is not up to speed of the non-high tech locals.
I finally made it to the Northern Sacramento area via Lodi. It was 12:35pm. I was hungry and tired and out of gas. I am still in the Sacramento area after all this attempt to save time, I ended up using up a lot of time and I am still not over the Sierra pass. I took a 3 hour scenic detour. It was unnecessary I felt. I stopped at Barkas Bark Bakery, a German bakery. I tasted the bread and it is dry and bland, a very northern European texture and flavor. It really reminds me of Heidi’s black bread recipe. I wanted a spinach streusel and they baked it fresh for me. This bakery imports all their things, including dough and they make a few to sell but then bake more as they run out. There are lots of varieties in this tiny little shop. My lunch snack was $2.29. I am glad I tried the bread first and didn’t just buy it.
Finally I was on i80 towards Reno, the route and city I had avoided but ultimately couldn’t not avoid. The Sierra Pass was raining and icy. Donner Summit exit was closed, it was all snow and ice and slush. It was 3pm when I passed this area. It was a hazardous drive. There was chain control in the morning. So if I had picked this route I would have had to dig out my snow chains from my very packed trunk and put them on. Either way with the detours or with snow chains, it was all going to take the same amount of time. Time lost it may seem or from another perspective, time spent in trying to get past the snowy Sierra pass in June. It is snowing in June!
I can see a set of mountains on top of the Sierra pass behind and beyond the Nevada desert pass. Upon seeing it I said to myself, “that is where I am going!” in a clear strong knowing without knowing what and where that was. This was quite interesting to me.
Confusion #4 On the Nevada side, I got off at i80 to get onto i395 in order to reach Crescent Junction. Well, that wasn’t necessary, I could have reached it by i80 but I wasn’t looking at the map, again! Somehow, I was still going off on GPS way totally ignoring what the locals told me to do, again. I even pulled over by the college at TJ Sandwich place to ask for directions. The female staff recommended I go back to Reno and i80.
Confusion #5, I continued forward on i395 not knowing where I was. I was thinking I was already so close to it but I was in reality closer to Reno and it would have been better to listen to the local to go back to Reno. Another confusion, and difficult challenged state.
I finally made it to Crescent Junction, I got onto i50 and pulled over for gas. It smelled like the staff smoked behind the register and then I realized I am in a different state. I have officially left the nonsmoking state of CA. I used the restroom where there was an all female staff so it was a clean female restroom. At this gas pump, the windshield soap was foamy, totally clean and strong. I also ate my stirfry rice at 5pm. Chatted with three people on the phone, returning their calls, taking care of business at Fallon City, and then I brushed my teeth for the night.
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| This was the old Pony Express Route, a great place to ride if you had to cross the state this way. |
I began driving again at 6pm and drove until 9pm. These three hours were all Nevada desert mountain, very pretty and not boring like I had thought. I stopped at Eureka at 9pm and pulled into a gas station to get the restroom break. The staff looked up and was ready to leave after locking up for the night but he let me in. It was a gross restroom but I needed to use the restroom desperately. The town was an old town, felt ghostly. I decided to not sleep in this town and drive 8 miles out East into the mountain and found a pullout to park for the night overlooking the horizon and desert meadows. The moon was out. It was chilly cold. The stars were beautiful. I pulled the cooler into the driver seat to make room to lay back in shotgun seat to sleep. I pulled the sleeping bag over me and changed into sleep wear. The sky was amazing. This was a better way to sleep than in some old town, ghostly, grimy, dirty hotel room. This was the best spot to be in, 10:14pm.
Miles driven today 455 miles
Time on the Road 14 hours
