Welcome to our 50th Anniversary road trip....

Since we would be going 641 miles this day we began at 5AM, before the motel breakfast would be served….but I’m sure it would have been good, the rest of the motel experience was comfortable.  We filled up with fuel and struck out via the route David recommended the night before.  We began in the rain and it would rain most of the day….again!  We ate our breakfast bars while we picked our way to Rt. 50 on the west side of I-15….in the dark….in the rain.  We chose to use Rt. 50 because of the enthusiastic reviews about the scenery along the way.  It went from one side of Nevada to the other, ending at Reno.  It is officially known as “The Loneliest Road in America” and it sometimes follows the Pony Express route through the old west.  The only concern I had was fuel stops….but David had reassured me that fuel was available and that we would be ok.  The road is awesome, it’s only a two lane but it’s in excellent condition and the speed limit is 70 mph!  The road winds around most of the low mountains as it tries to stay in the flatlands.  Going through the canyons the scenery was breathtaking.  When we drove down one of the little mountains, the road would sometimes be straight as far as we could see….and then disappear into the base of the next mountain. 

As we crossed into Nevada from Utah and we began ascending the next mountain in the Red Canyon area….it began to snow!  It had rained all the way so far but now SNOW.  The road had about an inch of slush but the little front wheel drive KIA was ok.  I had not planned on snow, I didn’t really think about it.  We kept moving west, we knew where the ‘cheese’ was that day.  The slushy road lasted about 10 miles and as we descended the other side of the mountain the road took a ninety degree turn to the south.  The road had to go around the Osceola Mountains and the ‘Swamp Cedar Natural Area’.    When we got to Ely it was time for brunch….McD’s would do just fine.  While we were in Ely we noticed a gaggle of muscle cars that were part of a Rally.  They all had large white number plates on them and they were all “special” cars….in the rain….in the snow….  The further away from Ely we drove, the thinner the snow on the ground was….till it gradually disappeared before we reached Eureka.  When it wasn’t raining or snowing the vistas were just magnificent ….please take the time to watch the slideshow below to get a flavor for the immensity of the landscape.  We continued on Rt. 50 through Eureka, Austin, Fallon to finally end in Fernley where we joined I-80 west.  From there we cruised about 65 miles around Reno to Truckee, CA.  Between Reno and the Nevada/California line, the clouds started to turn dark grey and the rains began again.  There were places along I-80 where the Truckee River was almost overflowing the Interstate so we listened to the radio for flood warnings.  We didn’t hear any so we kept motoring west till we got off the Interstate at Truckee, CA

One of the things we wanted to do when we made it to California was to visit with Linda’s friend, Linda V.  Linda had known Linda V. since they were both in 7th grade through High School graduation at Norte Vista HS in Riverside, CA….a long long time ago.  And I may not have ever met my Linda were it not for Linda V.   Linda V. and my best friend, Lee, were dating at the time and he wanted to double date so Linda V. brought her friend, my Linda, with her to a Halloween party.  I would tell my Mom the next day that I met the girl I was going to marry at the party!  Yup….and we would marry about 15 months later in May of 1965.  Linda V. was also Linda’s Maid of Honor at our wedding and Lee was my best man, so we really wanted to make a point of visiting them both on our 50th Anniversary trip especially since we had not seen Linda V. since 1972!

We planned to meet Linda V. at a local Mexican restaurant in Truckee, the El Toro Bravo, and when we parked at the restaurant, Linda V. was there!  I love a plan when it comes together!  We told the owner we needed a private area and we would be there a few hours.  We explained to him what we were doing and where we came from….he was very accommodating and seated us in an adjoining semi private room.  The food was perfect and the service was attentive and sensitive….just right!  We reminisced for a few hours but we still needed to travel another 70 miles to our destination, Auburn, CA.  So we said our goodbyes and stepped outside.  The rain had stopped but it was snowing!  Fortunately it was sloppy wet snow that melted as soon as it came in contact with the ground.  The visibility was marginal but the roads were just wet….very wet.  As we were coming down the mountain, Linda called her Uncle Joe in Auburn.  Since we were going to visit him and his family the next day, she asked him how bad the snow was at his home.  He said the sun was shining and the ground was dry, they needed some rain!  YUP….we WERE in crazy California.

Since we knew it was going to be a long day on the road and since we were going to be in Auburn two days we wanted to rent a nice motel that was close to Linda’s Uncle & Aunt’s home.  I checked the reviews (4.6 out of 5.0) and found the Comfort Inn Central in Auburn, CA….a big mistake!  During our trip we would rent 17 different motel rooms….this was the worst of the lot….and it was $85 a night, off season!  I will not dwell on it here but if you want details please contact me.