We left home around 8:30am and made it to Reno, NV in 3.5 hours! But that's because Bree was driving, Mike was sleeping because he'd just gotten off of night shift. We stopped in Reno for lunch, parked at El Dorado but somehow entered through Silver Legacy and ended up at a Circus Circus restaurant. The cafe has an odd clientele for a weekday lunch hour. We had the details of Keno and unmarried cousin pregnancies being discussed on one side, cooked chicken vs. uncooked chicken in front of us and a single lady with a full bottle of wine at noon on the other side. Needless to say, we ate quickly and bolted before the families moved in for lunch. Bree vowed never to enter Circus Circus again, and she doesn't even have a fear of clowns.
We continued on our way to Ely (pronounced El-ee apparently), NV. Mike had only had about an hour and a half of sleep but drove for two hours before Bree took over. It took us over 9 hours to reach Ely from home. The trip was scenic but LONG. Highway 50 isn't called the "Loneliest Road in America" for nothing. It reminded us of Death Valley with painted hills and the trip to Idaho with the vast emptiness. There was a large sand dune similar to those in Death Valley. Mike commented that if the sand dune had been in California it would have been designated a National Park. But in Nevada, it was a recreation area.
It was surprising how few cars we saw, and you can see pretty far! Lots of RVs, they move slowly, and lots of older gentlemen on motorcycles. It reminded Bree of Dad and the rest of the "Mild Bunch" on their long trips. We only saw cows, no other wildlife, although there were many signs attesting to their existance. It is a running joke that when in Nevada, the sign that to warn you of cows in Nevada is called "Hesistant Cow" sign because the image makes the cow look like its not quite sure if its crossing the road. Compare for yourself, a typical sign versus the Nevada version. (Ignore the UFO addition) We also saw several deer crossing and moose crossing sign but the scariest one said "MAJOR DEER CROSSING AHEAD." How many deer are required for it to be a "major" crossing?
We pulled into Ely around dinnertime only to find they didn't have our reservations. Luckily, there seem to be three lodge/ motel/ hotel establishements to every one non-lodging business. We ate sandwhiches for dinner, (living it up!) and plan on getting to bed early to get up early.
Tomorrow its on to Great Basin National Park to explore for the day, before moving on to Bryce Canyon. We're crossing our fingers on camping spots at Bryce Canyon as we plan to stay there a few days. We'll see!
Total miles today: 536 miles
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