Fuelin' Around: Nevada

Yesterday we drove from Vacaville, CA to Baker, NV.

Nevada via Highway 50 is a whole lotta nothingness. I guess that's why they call it the "lonliest road in America".

While on Highway 50 we:

1. Attended the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival (including cantaloupe ice cream, a cantaloupe daquiri, an indian taco, mud volleyball, and square dancing awesomeness)

2. Stopped at the Grimes Point Archaeological Area to see some 8000 year old rock carvings around what used to be a 700 ft. Deep lake (and is today piles of dry rock and sand). This was not all that interesting, but was a good reason to get out of the car.

3. Saw a mile or two of roadside sand where people had left messages, one after the other, spelled out in small rocks and pebbles. One of them even said, "marry me"...although michael said it would have been better if it said "marry me or walk home". Would have been one long walk! :)

4. Saw remnants of a Pony Express station and of a telegraph repeater station (that in effect made the Pony Express obsolete).

We kept driving until past midnight and got to the Great Basin National Park. Unfotunately, every single campsite was filled (maybe due to Labor Day weekend?). Because there was nowhere else to go, we 'created' a campsite and stayed the night anyway. Didn't sleep all that well; both due to an oncoming sore throat and a bit of worry that the camp ranger would come wake us up and throw us in jail.

This morning, we had an awesome breakfast at a little shop right outside the park, collected our Nevada bumper stickers, and got on the road to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

~denise