Actually on the road 15 minutes early for the last leg of the cross county road trip, I was able to see Salt Lake for the first time. It is vast and flat for miles, but surrounded by mountains responsible for Salt Lake.
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| Surrounding mountains (and factory of some kind). The run-off from the mountains has a high concentration of minerals. |
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| Water evaporates, leaving the minerals (mostly salt), forming the shallow, but vast Great Salt Lake. It is a terminal lake (water in, but no streams out). It is the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere. It is more salty than the ocean and, consequently, not much fun to swim in as it burns your eyes and irritates in general. You can, however, float easily. (Courtesy of Tom and the smart phone! Yay for Google!) |
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| Salt is mined right along I-80. |
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| An artist's touch to the otherwise drab landscape. |
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| It looks like snow and ice, but it is NOT today - 92 F! |
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| Crossing the Nevada state line |
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| Beautiful ride today, too! |
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| Reno, NV skyline |
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| Near Tahoe |
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| Welcome to California! Shortly after this sign we had to stop for an agricultural inspection. The produce industry is so important to CA that they will not allow you to bring in fruit or veggies from other states. Because of the NYS plates, we had a few extra questions and had to show them our cooler. |
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| A new mountain range for this voyage - the Sierra Nevadas |
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| A brief stop at Donner Pass. This Pioneer Monument stands on the site of the Breen cabin where the first rescues were made. There were 91 altogether in the Donner Party campsites from 1846-1847. 49 survived. 42 perished. |
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| MK considers pioneer life briefly. |
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| When we weren't engrossed in the vistas, Tom and I finished the Tom Sawyer audiobook, listened all the way through Dr. Doolittle, and began Moby Dick. I will reflect on these over the next few weeks. I am enthralled by the cleverness of the authors and inspired by the vocabulary. |
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| We are here! Yay! Tom has my room ready and even bought new towels in my favorite color, yellow. He is a good son. (Please note, Nate is a good son, too. I am a lucky momma!) |
Departure from Portville, NY
Friday, August 10
odometer reading130,282
Arrival to Modesto, CA
Friday, August 17
odometer reading 133,254
2,972 miles safely traveled!
Amen! Amen! Amen!
And Tom has poured me a Zinfandel, determined I will learn to like dry wine. Pasta is in. Asparagus is steaming. Homemade marinara sauce heating up. Yup, things are going well in retirement!
I am so happy to know you are safely across the land! Understand 'briefly' considered pioneers. And yes, you have 2 boys to be proud of! :) Smiling 4 U!
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