Bonneville International Speedway, West Wendover, NV

After leaving Reno we stopped at West Wendover, NV.  Most people would ask why we would you stop at West Wendover.  Well West Wendover, NV is known for being on the edge of the Bonneville Salt Flats where land speed records are set.  It is the closest town to the speedway being only four miles west of the actual access road to the speedway.  In fact there are no other towns near the salt flats other than Wendover, NV. The actual racing takes place in September but this year it was cancelled due to there being too much rain which made the salt unstable for racing.  People warned me not to drive on the flats because your car could sink through the top salt layer and get stuck even though it feels solid walking on it.  They also warned that the salt would stick to your under carriage of your car and you would need to wash it off since the salt is very corrosive to your car.


You can see the salt flats from the rv park we stayed at.

Here is our neighbors $1.5 million home on wheels with a matching trailer.

 They claim you can see the curvature of the earth at the salt flats but I didn't see it.

Here is a part of the salt flats under water which I guess is not uncommon but usually doesn't last into September.

There is an old Air Force base here where pilots were trained and practice bomb drops were made prior to the Hiroshima bomb drop.

This is a sculpture on I80 as you cross the salt flats.

 Ever wonder where your Morton salt comes from

 More mountains.  Did a lot of climbing again today.

Lake Tahoe, California

Today we drove south to Lake Tahoe.  We drove around the entire lake starting down the east side and then after having lunch in South Lake Tahoe, Ca. we went up the west side of the lake.  Traveling up the west side is where we found the most beautiful part of the entire lake, in our opinion, which is called Emerald Bay.  The water there is a green blue and is very beautiful.  The lake is actually split between California and Nevada with about two thirds of the lake being in California and one third in Nevada.  The lake is very large measuring 22 miles long and 12 miles wide.  The biggest thing that enhances the beauty of the lake in my opinion is the mountains that surround it. After going around the lake we stopped at Truckee, Ca for some refreshments before heading back to Reno.

Here are some pictures

Redding, California to Reno, Nevada

Today we took off cross country and abandoned the interstate highway for secondary roads cutting cross country through the National Forest from Redding to Susanville, CA and then on to Reno, NV on highway 395.  We had about 225 miles to drive.  It was a very scenic drive where we got to see some of the largest pine trees I have ever seen.  It was two lanes most of the way with very curvy roads but we took it easy and had no issues.  The motorhome did great even though we pulled some very long steep uphill grades on several occasions.  For those wondering the downhills are very easy since I have a two speed engine brake.  I have went down seven percent grades for seven miles and rarely even have to touch the brakes. The only issue we have ever had occurred in Washington on a very steep downgrade where they had ground down the road for repaving.The problem was they ground down the lane I was in at two different heights that kind of rolled like waves,  This didn't bother the motorhome but the car started jumping on one side and then the next.  I slowed to 45 or so and it was still doing it.  I pulled over thinking I must have a flat tire or something but everything was ok.  I think it was the way they ground down the pavement in the lane we were traveling in.

For the next three nights we are staying in Reno, NV.  While here we plan on driving around Lake Tahoe which to many I have heard is one of the most beautiful places in the country,  We also plan on doing some gambling one day where Huli will win and I will bum money off of her since I lost all of mine.  We also plan on having dinner one night at the Western Village Casino which I learned from are neighbors in Redding has the most awesome food you can imagine.  It's not a downtown Reno casino but outside of town around four miles,  They said you will not believe how good the food is but it is a well kept secret.

After we leave Reno we are heading to Salt Lake City, UT to see my much older brother Skip and his family,  We are staying one night in West Wendover, NV,  On Friday we will drive the two or so hours to Salt Lake City where we will spend the weekend.  After that we are going to put the pedal to the metal and get home quick.  This is where we may do our first over night at a Wally Mart,  Not sure yet we will have to see.  I don't plan on making any reservations but want to just stop when we are tired and ready to stop.  This will be a new experience since a long day is seven hours for us. Freightliner said their seats are made for twelve hour driving days.


Things are really dry here

At one time that may have been a lake.

Reno

Eugene, Oregon to Redding, California

Last night we drove into Eugene after the football crowd left the city.  We could see the traffic jam on Interstate 5 both before and after the game.  Eugene is a city of about 157 thousand people and the college area was very nice.  We had to go by Autzen Stadium while we were here. Now every time I see the Oregon Ducks play football I'll know where they are playing at.

Today we drove from Eugene to Redding which was a trip primarily involving going up the mountains or down the mountains.  We saw Mount Shasta which is close to Redding which still had snow on it which was neat to see.  We stopped at a rest park in California and I went over and talked to a guy taking a break next to his motorcycle.  Wouldn't you know he was just chillin smoking a joint while he was resting.  I guess we made it to California.

Here are some pictures from the last day or so.

My photographer buddy Huli took this of my friend smoking a little weed before continuing on his journey.  He only gets 82 miles on one tank of gas.  That sucks.  To put it in perspective we can go 700 plus miles if we wanted to but rarely go that long between fill ups.  His bobber has a seat with absolutely no cushion.  I ask him how it rides and he said not well.

Typical shot of today's travels.  Either going up or going down.  The motorhome does good on 7% grades we can go around 45 to 50 miles per hour.  We have went up steeper grades.  The slowest we have ever gone up hill is 37 miles per hour.  Usually at the top you see several trucks and other vehicles pulled over to cool off before continuing.  So far our motorhome rarely gets over the mid point on the engine temp gauge regardless of how steep it is.  We won't win any races but we get there.  In this picture I am getting ready to pass this person pulling a trailer.

 Mount Shasta.  Awesome.

The water used to be all the way up to the trees.  Going through a four year drought.