Home again, home again.

So Friday came and we headed for home.  We said good-bye to Fred & Christine, packed up the car and hit the road.  We did not get very far when we spotted a few cars on the side of the road looking at something.  So of course, we had to stop to see what they were looking at.  It could be a moose!

This is what they were looking at

If you zoom in on this you see a momma bald eagle and her fledgling.  We felt that they were saying good-bye to us - more like - until next time - I think.

So we head out to Jackson to a bakery recommended to Christine by a friend of hers.  They are said to have the best granola to be found on the planet. Since I was the only one to try it I can say it was pretty damn good.  I am not sure I like Jackson or maybe I didn't like the people that came in around the same time we did.  Young, well off and loud and they seemed to take over the entire place.  They were from the bay area (I saw a license) and were all in cowboy hats and boots.  There was a man who looked like a model - like he should be on the cover of gay magazine - well kept, nice hair (that is how my mother judges if a man is gay) nice gym body, earrings and his little wife.  Short, cute and cutoffs and boots on.  As they stood in line she picked up some napkins and said - wouldn't these be good for the house in Tahoe.  He says - yeah baby those would be great.  She says I'll get them.  

They were $45 for four of them. She got eight.

They ordered their food and took up a lot of space outside and just generally bugged me.  Maybe it was because they were young, in shape and well off?  Three things I hate in people.

We took the required photo of the stag horn arches that are at each corner of the town square.  I listened to one man say - these aren't real - these are plastic.  Stupid man.

Then we hit the road for the trip home.

We left Wyoming and headed towards American Falls, Idaho.  We went thru places where I thought AAA you did it again - where the fuck are we?  We drove thru lots of farm country wondering how do people live out here.  There was lots of irrigation equipment - big wheels with tubes running between them, that I think they move around the fields to water.  We were driving down the road when all of a sudden the car got drenched.  It was a good thing Mare and I had our windows up at that time otherwise we would have gotten soaked.

We drove by Massacre Rocks State Park it is a spot on the Oregon and California trails, the Snake River runs thru it.  The Snake River is over 1200 miles long, did you know that I did not.  It seemed that  every mile we drove it was alongside the Snake.  Supposedly, there were a few fights between people crossing the plains and the natives - wow surprise surprise - people defending their land from invaders.  

We got to American Falls - it was VERY windy and hot.  91 degrees in Idaho in late September - is this natural?  We visited a nice rest room - as I have said before - women of a certain age...

Yes, we were here.

We continued on to Nevada.  Lots of Nevada is ugly - route 80 is long and flat and has lot of exits with funny names.  Winnemucca - say it fast - it is funny.  It roughtly translates to One Moccasin - Winnemucca was a Paiute chief.  The railroad came here.  Followed by Basque sheep herders - believe it or not, Winnemucca hosts an annual Basque Festival.  It had a vibrant Chinatown - all gone. and the sex workers that live here have to register their cars with the cops here.  

Then there was Pumpernickle Valley - I assumed that said valley must have been settled by Germans that made bread.  Well... you know if the Google can not give you any information about the name of a place, it is just not worth going any further in the search.  So Pumpernickle Valley if I go by your exit again, I'll pass you by.

Now here is something that was not in our trip tic - this area of route 80 thru Nevada is the haunt of a serial killer.  Yeah, I said serial killer.  According to the FBI there have been over 500 bodies left along American's highways - and a lot of them along this stretch!  So, never travel it at night (not that you can't disappear in the day) but night makes it easier for those serial killing truckers (that is the FBI theory, not my own) to grab you.  Never travel it alone and only stop at well lighted places for gas.  Oh and drive fast, really fast.

It was getting dark and we decided we would stop in Elko.  Yes the thriving metropolis of Elko, Nevada.  We actually got a really nice room, had an ok sandwich for dinner and a nice breakfast the next morning.  We decided to make a stop at Virginia City!  On the hunt for Hoss  and Little Joe.  On the ride to Virginia City we noticed lots of motorcycles on the road going the opposite direction.  We are thinking - well, this is a nice road to ride on.  Nice and smooth, flat, not a lot of traffic.  When you take this road, you come up this hill and you are in Virginia City.  Yeah us and 50,000 motorcycles!  Yes, I said 50 thousand!  It seems that this particular weekend was a very large and well attended motor cycle weekend in Virgina City and Reno!  Yeah us!  We took a right and just make our way out of town without seeing any of it.  Will just have to get back some day.  Onward!!

We passed Reno and headed for home.  We were on 580 South for a minute and we thought, wait 580 goes East and West, right?  Well, down by us it does.  But up here, it goes North and South and it is were Jax Teller met his maker.

So, finally we are back in California coming down thru Donner Pass.  We all know what happened at Donner Pass - and I sure hoped that Tessla we passed on the road had enough charge because...

Finally Sacramento is in view.  Then Tracy.  Then finally Pleasanton

I want to say this was a wonderful trip.  I know in my blog I have left things out, like the stuffed animals on our beds in Yellowstone, or the fact that pigs are everywhere, even in the most beautiful natural places you can imagine.  Or the fact that I might have gotten a little cranky at times.  Or how I was scared about bears, but tried not to show it.  Or what a great job Mare did as Snack Monkey.  Or how there were so many places on this trip where I just wanted to stop the car and explore.  Or how excited I got when we saw our first bison.  Or how there was a hint of sadness in Yellowstone for those that were not with us and were supposed to be.  Or how hard can it be to drive an RV?  I'm sure my beloved could drive one without too much trouble.  I did not leave anything out on because I did not want to blog about it, but because I would be here for a month, trying to remember and writing it down.

I also want to say that this country is beautiful and I think most of us do not see enough of it.  We need to get on the road and see it.

I also want to say that you can see when travelling the highways that this country runs on trucks and truckers!  Without them nothing would get anywhere, be kind to them and never cut a trucker off.

Until next trip.