NY to CA-5

Day 9 Sunday 7/16/17

Today's trip continued with what seems to be an unintentional theme running through my blogs; that of changing landscapes and topography. With each there have been color changes as well. There was the green corn that went on forever in NE. As the elevation increased, the gray and slate colors of the rock formation of WY dominated. The barren plains of WY also presented straw/gold colored grasslands that went from horizon to horizon ringed by rust colored mountains. And now passing through UT and headed for NV, there's the great expanse of white...just plain ol' white. Salt.  It was all on my right side, or north side of me while driving. As mentioned last night, just 12 miles west I would be passing the southern tip of the Great Salt Lake and that scenery persisted along most of my 236 mile trip into Nevada. However, more amazing and more the norm has been I-80 being straight...right to the horizon consistently; flat and straight. If there were any curves, they've been to navigate down mountain passes that geology dictated; but once free, there the highway set its course due west once again. One would ask about how boring it must be but on the contrary, it has not....well, not for me, anyway. My eyes are all over; left horizon, right horizon as well as straight ahead. I'm always checking both side mirror to see who's on my tail. I held my speed to 70 even though UT also has an 80 mph limit. Once you see just a little of this lake you ask, "How did it come to be?" Utah.com describes it nicely:

"The Great Salt Lake is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River. At the current level the Great Salt Lake is approximately 75 miles long and about 35 miles wide. Located in several wide flat basins, a slight rise in water lever expands the surface area of the lake considerably. The first scientific measurements were taken in 1849 and since then the lake level has varied by 20 feet, shifting the shoreline in some places as much as 15 miles.

Great Salt Lake is salty because it does not have an outlet. Tributary rivers are constantly bringing in small amounts of salt dissolved in their fresh water flow. Once in the Great Salt Lake much of the water evaporates leaving the salt behind.

Great Salt Lake is the remnant of Lake Bonneville; a great ice age lake that rose dramatically from a small saline lake 30,000 years ago. The most conspicuous reminders of Lake Bonneville are the ancient terraces etched into the landscape along the lake's former shorelines. The terraces were eroded by wave action and are relatively flat areas that follow a contour line. Look south from Buffalo Point for an outstanding view of Lake Bonneville terraces carved into the island as high as a thousand feet above the Great Salt Lake's surface. After the ice age the earth's climate became drier and Lake Bonneville gradually receded to form Great Salt Lake.

Great Salt Lake is too saline to support fish and most other aquatic species. Several types of algae live in the lake. Brine shrimp and brine flies can tolerate the high salt content and feed on the algae. Brine shrimp eggs are harvested commercially and are sold overseas as prawn food. The oft maligned brine flies do not bite or land on people and are the primary food source for many birds that migrate to the lake. For most of the summer brine flies form a ring around the entire shoreline and rarely venture more than a few feet from the water's edge. Biologists have estimated their population to be over one hundred billion.

The ever-fluctuating Great Salt Lake has frustrated attempts to develop its shoreline. As a result much of the lake is ringed by extensive wetlands making Great Salt Lake one of the most important resources for migrating and nesting birds.

Great Salt Lake draws people for a variety of recreational experiences and to enjoy what John Muir called "one of the great views on the American Continent."

 

As far as the eye can see

I pulled off to take some pictures.

As far as the eye can see

Salt Salt Salt

Saw this huge mound of manufactured snow for the ski resorts.
Just kidding! It's all salt and your guess would be just like mine.
What is the first name that comes into your mind when you ask,
"I wonder who's manufacturing all that salt?  

Yup, Morton

I pulled off to a rest stop just before the exit to the Bonneville Speedway. Temperature was 100° but I needed the break and had to see this famous site. I was able to walk right up to the shoreline.

The plaque at this location was erected in 1972 by the Goodyear Rubber Company. The text follows. A fascinating piece of history.

"WELCOME TO THE BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS AND UTAH'S FAMED MEASURED MILE - SITE OF THE WORLD LAND-SPEED RECORD RUNS Utah's famed measured mile is located approximately seven miles beyond this marker, well in front of the mountains you see on the horizon. The elevation along the course is approximately 4,218 feet above sea-level.*** The total length of the course that includes the measured mile varies from year to year, but for recent runs it has been laid out in a path 80 feet wide and approximately 10 miles long, with a black reference stripe down the middle. Due to the curvature of the earth, it is impossible to see from one end of the course to the other.*** Timing of world land-speed record runs is under the jurisdiction of the United States Automobile Club. World land-speed record times represent an electronically-timed average of two runs over the measured mile, within a one hour time period - one run in each direction.*** The first land-speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats was set on September 3, 1935 by Sir Malcomb Campbell. His speed was 301.13 miles per hour.*** Craig Breedlove holds the honor of being the first man to go faster than 400, 500, and 600 miles per hour. His record of 600.601 miles per hour, set on November 15, 1965, was finally broken on October 23, 1970 by Gary Gabelich.*** Gabelich's new record is 622.407 miles per hour. Both Gabelich's rocket engine 'Blue Flame' and Breedlove's jet-powered 'Spirit of America' were equipped with specially designed inflatable tires, pre-tested to speeds in excess of 800 miles per hour."

The following four photos represent a 180° sweep of the lake from left to right.

Notice the folks in the distance who
decided to take a walk.

All the photos taken up to this point have been on my right, to the north of me as I drove west. On the southern side, the views were postcard picture perfect. I must admit they turned out pretty good when you consider I wasn't looking and going 70 mph.

Also on the left of me, to the south, the Union Pacific ran parallel to I-80 in many spots. Did you know Union Pacific can move one ton of freight 456 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel. Freight trains are four times more fuel efficient than trucks on a ton-mile basis.

Each of these locomotives can deliver 6,600 horsepower.
The freights I seen usually had 4 locomotives

Encountered impressive engineering feats along the way.

I can understand the need for these tunnels
for the overpass....

... but I couldn't understand the purpose for having
this one and....

...these in the locations they were situated. I'm
pretty sure someone had the right idea. I didn't
bother to stop and ask.

And finally, my arrival at the Iron Horse RV Resort in Elko, NV.

Arrived 1:42 pm; gained an hour
by crossing into the Pacific time zone.
Temperature at 101°, no humidity
and a stiff breeze. I retracted my awning
soon after extending it for the photo.

An aerial view of the campground.
Notice all the shade trees?

Clean, manicured, and lots of amenities. They team with the Hilton Garden Inn next door and there's shuttle service to and from. Guests here at the campground have 24 hour use of all the amenities at the Hilton. More info on their website. Well, the winds have died down, the temperature has dropped to 84° and that's it for today.

Tomorrow, 300 miles to Reno KOA at Boontown in Verdi, NV, 4 hours, 13 minutes away. See you there.

Day 10 Monday 7/17/17

My Site K41

Well, here I am In Reno, Nevada, the last leg of my exciting journey (Part I - Westbound). Part II - Eastbound will be by way of I-40. By tomorrow afternoon I will be with my son, Chuck, daughter-in-law, Silvia and grandson, Aaron in San Jose, CA just 250 miles and at least 4 hours away. I have a feeling I'll lose time with the remaining mountains (Sierra Nevadas) that will require slow going. No matter. So? Where to start?

The Drive: All along I-80 today I was reminded of  the "Lake Wind Advisory," (Lake Tahoe is just 22 miles south of Reno) and a "Red Flag Alert" for fires in effect until 8:00 pm tonight. Boy, can I attest to the wind advisory. There are signs posted where necessary warning of a "High Wind Area". There was a lot of 'rockin' and rollin' driving today. Did you ever land in an airplane that had to deal with cross winds? Well, same thing driving a high profile RV like Winnie at 70 mph. There were a couple of blasts (gusts) that scared the bejesus (is that a word?) out of me. Nevada's landscape for the entire trip was desert like; the color for today? Straw/drab brown. The arid conditions were perfect for wildfires. I fought with myself not to take any more pictures. So, I spent my time thinking about other things like:

• The pioneers that walked or rode in covered wagons all this distance to settle in CA. How did they know where they were going? What did they eat?
• The workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad; many were immigrants, many were ex-soldiers of the Civil War. What kind of life must that have been?
• The workers who built I-80
• What was it like to encounter the many Indian tribes already settled in these parts?
• What was the "Iron Horse" and the settlers to the Indians? From the Indian perspective, that is. One of the chief engineers for the railroad was killed by Indians.
• What must this landscape and road be like during the winters. I saw may signs stating, "I-80 closed ahead when lights are flashing." That's nice but where do you go?
• Throughout this desolate, unwelcome environment there are homes here and there...well off in the distance. I asked, "How?" Then, "Why?" 

Views that caught my eye.....

Yes, another twin tunnel.

How do workers on either side of a mountain
know just where to dig and then greet each other
in the middle?

This looks like a burn scar resulting from a previous
grass fire. I saw two or three of them as I
traveled across the state.

My friends at Union Pacific working again today.
No it's not the same photo taken the other day.

To me, it looked as though the otherwise drab, colorless
and barren hills to the south developed freckles.

A lake in the distance but no civilization anywhere
around. There wasn't even a road to it or around it.

Another burn scar.

Interesting, no?

My first glimpse of all three: The Truckee River, the railroad and I-80.

The Campground: When I arrived, it was 93° inside my tin can; outside it was a hot, sunny 89°. As in Elko, the yesterday afternoon, the stiff breeze continued and with just 16% humidity, being outside was actually tolerable. Try as it may, my AC just huffed and puffed but couldn't get the temp down under 90. Finally, I noticed it was cooler outside so off went the AC and all vents and windows were opened. The temp outside is 75, inside 78. Some shots of my surroundings:

I'm in a very nice corner (actually on a bend) lot and received
a little shade but the sun was setting in front of me.

No one next door

From behind looking west down the street. As I'm here just
overnight, nothing was set up. Like yesterday, it was too breezy
to extend the awning.

No shade for these folks

The campground was near capacity. Looking west from
my site on the bend....

....looking north. Shade is scarce.

From the rear of my RV; facing east....

I-80 is only a stone's throw away. In this view, it's passing
over the Truckee River; it'll be easy to once again
hop back on tomorrow and head into San Jose.

Beyond the linked fence is a cliff that drops
a distance to somewhere near the Truckee River.

This wooden construction seems to be redirecting
 water from the Truckee to some other location.

The one area of disappoint I've had on this trip: not all KOAs
sell stickers/decals with their name on the logo. I was looking forward
to plastering the side of Winnie and proudly display where I've
traveled. So far, about 4 or 5 are not included

Little by little, states I've visited (and slept in) will fill my map.
I've got a long way to go.

To conclude tonight's blog, with one more travel day to go, I thought I'd review some statistics regarding my trip so far. I've:

• Traveled through eight states in ten days
• Drove 2,822 miles
• Spent $472.00 on diesel
• Used 240 gallons of fuel
• Spent $376 on campground fees; Average $35/night

And so, it's time for bed. Each day has been more exciting than the day before and I'm eager to make the next day's drive so that I may spend the evening creating what I hope is an exciting experience for my readers. My next blog will probably be a "diary" of my week with my family. Till next time, stay safe, dry and happy.