As many of the readers of this blog know, I started writing back in May to chronicle our RV travels. I started writing this update at the end of September (but back dated to stay in trip sequence) and now finishing it the end of October. So much for writing discipline. Remember I’m retired….
TRAVEL MODE: GOING FROM POINT A TO POINT B
There are lots of “travel days” where Luke drives while I navigate, watch for animals, take photos, and work with my laptop IF we have internet connectivity with either my Verizon Aircard or, as the case in Canada with no data service, use local Wi-Fi. After taking notes during the day, I would then do more homework online about what we saw and then I would write the blog to document where we’ve been and what we did. The blog is our record of the trip and is available for review for others who want to meet up on the road (which happened a lot in Alaska) and for those who are planning future trips.
Some days I have a lot to write about, but then there are other days that are, frankly, boring! Our “detour” trip from the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to visit family in Pleasanton, California was one of those trip legs I have had trouble writing about, thus the delay in writing this blog.
WYOMING TO CALIFORNIA
We had time in our schedule after Escapade in Gillette, Wyoming before we needed to be in Albuquerque, NM the end of September. A call from our daughter asking for a little “mom and dad” time was all it took to fill in our travel plans. Okay, California here we come via Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada.
Our first decision was which way to head west from Jackson, WY. We could take Teton Pass, which looked like the obvious westbound route, BUT I remembered reading lots of travel postings that this was NOT a big rig friendly route. We would drop a little further south in WY and take Hwy. 26 towards Idaho Falls.
The route along the shore of Palisades Lake proved to be an easy 2-lane drive and picturesque. (Sorry about the window reflections)
Driving into Idaho Falls we hit major road work and traffic delays, but we were able to view the Snake River Gorge below us.
NEVADA – NOT MUCH TO SEE
From Idaho Falls we headed south on I-15 to Pocatello, then cut back west along I-84 to Twin Falls. We still had daylight driving time so we continued on to Jackpot, Nevada, just across the NV-ID state line. There wasn’t much to see, but we racked up 333 driving miles – a longer driving day than normal.
In Jackpot we paid to stay at Pistol Pete’s Casino RV park, had dinner at the casino, and then tucked in for the night. As we were preparing to pull out the next morning we had one of those all-too-familiar greetings: “Aren’t you CoolJudy?” Yep, an Escapee Club member staying in another section of the park noticed our SKP decals and came over to say hello. Bob and Sally recognized my mug shot from the Escapees Golfing thread. It’s always fun to run into Escapees on the road.
If you have driven through Nevada you’ll know why I have so few photos of this barren land. This day Luke drove 420 miles, our longest (and most boring) day’s travel on this five month trip!
Being passed by “triple” big rigs is about the only excitement we had between Jackpot, NV and Boomtown, NV where we parked at Cabello’s.
BACK IN CALIFORNIA
The last time we traveled I-80 westbound over the Sierra Mountains, we were in white-knuckle mode through the miles of roadway re-construction. This trip, the westbound side was pretty well finished and it was smooth sailing.
I-80 runs through Auburn, CA, just across the American River Canyon from where we live in Cool. We had already decided to NOT stop at the house, so we waved as we passed by.
Luke glances across the canyon where we live along the rim on the other side. We can see I-80 from our house.
We arrived mid-afternoon at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, just a few blocks from our daughter’s place in Pleasanton. This is a familiar stop for us and we are getting to know the workampers and other “regulars”. Family time for the next 12 days.
NEXT: FAMILY TIME
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