Traditions.....

7:12 am - Thursday - October 13th - Bishop, CA - 43° F, 39% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the northwesst.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today in Bishop, CA at the Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgrounds.  On this date in 2019 my son, Chris, and I were installing our new Winegard automatic HD dish at Ramona Oaks RV Resort.......↴ 

 

The drive south from Gardnerville, NV to Bishop, CA is only 156 miles, but packed into that 156 miles is some of the most beautiful scenery in the U.S.  Even though there are a lot of high elevation summits, and passes we must traverse as we wend our way southward, I look forward to it each time we do it.  However, I get ahead of myself.

The last time we filled our 180 gallon diesel tank to the full mark was on April 12, 2022....exactly six months ago.  The best price in town, according to Gas Buddy, was at the local 7/11 mini market at $4.99/gallon.  That is about .48 cents more per gallon than we paid six months ago.  At any rate we had only driven 408 miles since April 12th (round trip to Likely Place and back to Gardnerville) so I figured we would take on about 60 gallons.  We arrived at the 7/11 around 9:30 am, and by 10 am we had poured 64 gallons of fresh diesel into the tank to top it off costing us around $324.  I was able to get the first 20 gallons at the discounted Gas Buddy price of $4.92, but you can only pump $100 of fuel per day using the Gas Buddy card, so the final 44 gallons cost the $4.99/gallon I mentioned earlier.  Ulimately the $100 was reduced to $98.60.

We were back on US-395 a tad after 10 am and heading for our first summit of the day.....

....Simee Dimeh Summit sits at 5,797', and would be the lowest summit all day.....

....once over the summit we descent to Topaz Lake......

....and a short time later we re-entered California where we will be for the next 6 months at Glamis North.....

.....next up was the uphill climb along the Walker River.....

.....up to Devil's Gate Summit sitting at 7,519' before descending once again to Bridgeport, CA.....

....the first thing you see as you enter Bridgeport from the north is the Valero fuel station sporting some of the highest gas and diesel prices we have seen in 10.5 years of our nomadic life.....

....we took a 40 minute break in Bridgeport walking from one end of town to the other and back before continuing our journey to the next summit, and highest point on US-395.....

....if you hit this stretch of US-395 at the right time of year you will see rivers of gold in the form of quaking aspens flowing down the mountain valleys, and gorges......

....of course, no trip north or south on this stretch of US-395 will ever be complete without stopping at the vista point just south of the summit....the Mono Lake Vista point.  I believe it is against the law for a Hockwald to pass this vista point without stopping and taking a few pictures......I remember my parents stopping here each summer as we made our way to Lake Tahoe for a few weeks every year, and TLE and I have kept the tradition alive for the 51 years of our marriage.....

TLE took a short video of our descent from Conway Summit to Mono Lake

.....after passing through Lee Vining we continued south past Mammoth Lakes, coming eventually to Crawley Lake, where we do stop occasionally to take a break, and we did so this year.....

....we arrived safely, and without incident at the Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgournds around 2 pm, and within minutes had paid for a site for one night....site #188 in the middle of the field....

.....we'll continue on our way to SoCal Thursday morning, and should be at the Elks Lodge in Fontana by mid afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sacrilegious?

7:18 am - Wednesday - October 12th - Gardnerville Ranchos, NV - 39° F, 53% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the south......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 80° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were having lunch  (Kobe Beef sliders....yummm!) and some brews at Wenatchee Valley Brewing Company in Wenatchee, WA.....↴

We slept in Tuesday until after 7:30 am.  While it is not nearly as quiet here at the Elks Lodge in Gardnerville, it is still very quiet, and we slept wonderfully!  Our main reasons for spending two days here in Gardnerville was that TLE had an eye appointment at the Indian Hills COSTCO, I needed a haircut (there is a Supercuts nearby), we needed to top off our 180 gallon diesel tank before we enter California (diesel is $4.92/gallon here, and $6.29 where we are going), and the same for the VW.  Diesel and Premium unleaded are over a $1.25 more per gallon in SoCal than here.  Our plan as we head south each year is to always top off our tanks before we enter California, especially the diesel tank.  Why, because we can drive all the way to Glamis North Hot Springs (this year), and back into Nevada (Gardnerville) without having to fill our tank anywhere in California, and that saves us a lot of money!  Wednesday will mark the first time we've added diesel since April 12th, and after today we won't add diesel again until April of 2023....crazy!

TLE's eye appointment was at 10:30 am, so we left the Elks Lodge around 9:50 am to make the 25 minute drive.  I dropped TLE off in front of the COSTCO, while I headed over to the fuel station where Premium was going for $5.59/gallon (OUCH!).....it was only $5.39/gallon at the Casino in Alturas.  I wandered around COSTCO (there's always a lot to see, right?) while TLE had her eye appointment, when she was done we stocked up on some alcohol, and San Francisco Bay Coffee beans.  From there we headed to Supercuts for my haircut, and then to In 'N Out Burger......

Isn't she lovely?

......we always get the #2 combo (cheeseburger, fries, drink.....Dr. Pepper for moi, and 1/2 Diet Coke, 1/2 lemonade for TLE).  While TLE saved an alfresco table in the shade on the patio I put in our order, filled our drinks, and got some catsup for the fries.  It was a beautiful day in Indian Hills, so we just took our time eating, and enjoying pleasant conversation.

From there we headed over to Walmart to get a couple of things, then to Trader Joe's for a few more things we only buy there.  Not going to Trader Joe's when there is one nearby (just like In 'N Out Burger) almost seems sacrilegious....lol!

We were home around 2 pm, and while TLE put away our purchases I fiddled around in the trailer for a while.  When everything is put away in its place it is really hard to find stuff I need sometimes.  Anyway, I found what I was looking for, and then put everything back I had pulled out to find that for which I was looking.

Elaine has been trying to get me to play card games with her, and for the 10.5 years we've been vagabonds I have successfully resisted, but she finally convinced me to learn, and play a card game called 'Phase 10', which she plays daily with her good friend Darlene McCloud when we visit she and Tom in Wittmann, AZ each year.  I finally capitulated, and played my first game Sunday evening at the Honey Lake Rest Area.  I actually enjoyed it, but holding 10 cards in one's hand for hours on end makes one's thumb sore, so while we were at Walmart Tuesday TLE bought some card holders.....

.....I have to admit, 'Phase 10' is kind of addictive, and now with a card holder the sky is the limit for me....lol.  Tuesday night, after playing 'Phase 10' for the past two nights, we switched things up and played Backgammon.  After 4 games I was up 3-1, so TLE decided to call it a night, and hope for better results Wednesday night....lol!  My theory is that Backgammon is about 70% luck (how the dice fall), and 30% skill/strategy.  Luck was with me Tuesday night.

After 6  months of living in one place, even though we loved that place, it is nice to wake up to a new view each day, and to be moving again.....

Thanks for stopping by!

On the road again.....

 8:25 am - Tuesday - October 11th - Gardnerville Ranchos, NV - 49° F, 39% humidity, wind - CALM....clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 81° F.  On this date in 2021 I successfully resurrected my friend's John Deere loader/backhoe, which had been sitting for 18 months.......↴

The Honey Lake Rest Area was way quieter than we expected, and we had a very pleasant slumber.  We didn't get up until 7:30 am with the sun well into the sky.  Usually we just pound out  miles going south to Carson City, or Gardnerville, but I am so glad we kept our first day to under 100 miles.  I had time to fix the aforementioned turn/brake signal issue on the trailer, and we avoided driving through Reno in rush hour traffic.....a big bonus all unto itself.

The sun was hitting the right rear of the engine bay, and with the aid of that sun for a couple of hours the big Detroit Diesel 6v92 warmed up enough to start without the aid of the block heater.

We used our new Renogy 2,000 watt inverter for the first time to heat water for our coffee, and it worked flawlessly....nice!  After cleaning our large two piece windshield of the flying insect carnage from the day before we were on our way further south by 9:30 am.  Traffic was light, as I set the cruise control for 60 mph, and just held onto the steering wheel whilst enjoying the view.  The terrain between the Rest Area and the Nevada border is pretty flat, and the road is pretty straight for miles......

....pretty soon we were gliding down the long decline into the Reno/Sparks basin, and crossing over I-80.  The freeway south of I-80 has been terrible for years (rough, cracked concrete), but NDOT (Nevada DOT) has been working to fix that for years, and for the first time in 10 years driving that stretch was relatively pleasant......

.....after the I-80 US-395 becomes I-580 for about 30 miles, and the road climbs slowly out of the Reno/Sparks basin and then descends into the Carson Valley....

......as we near Minden/Gardnerville you can see the mountains that border the Lake Tahoe Basin to the west of US-395.....

Just over those mountains lies fabulous Lake Tahoe

...we arrived at the Gardnerville Elks Lodge around 11:30 am, and within 5 minutes had backed into site #4.  As you may recall, there are 5 paved sites here, and they all fit our 62' length.  We get 50 amp electric, and water for $20/night, plus very quiet nights as we are way off US-395....

....I set up the Starlink 'dishy' on the roof of the trailer as I was pretty sure there would be other RV's later in the day, and I was right.   Once again, we had internet within 10 minutes of powering up the Starlink router.......

.....once we were done setting up for two days we headed out to a familiar micro brewery.....Shoe Tree Brewing Company, located about 5 miles from the Elks Lodge.  Next door to them is Pizza Factory, which will make, and deliver a pizza to your table at the brewery, which serves no food.....

....the afternoon was so amazingly pleasant as we lingered over our pizza and brews....we actually had two pints each, which is rare for us, and especially TLE.  Of course, whenever I drink beer a long nap follows shortly thereafter......we arrived home around 2 pm, and after putting away a few groceries we bought I settled into my recliner and napped for two hours!  

We had a pleasant evening watching the sun drift over the Tahoe Basin mountains, and by 5:30 pm the sun had set on our portion of the Carson Valley.....

The sun, she is gone at 5:30 pm!

....I want to thank all of my loyal readers for indulging me these past couple of months while a took a break from blogging every day.  I did miss it, but I did not miss the struggle to write about the same thing every day, and try to make it seem somewhat interesting.  Now that we are moving again, and soon to begin a new adventure I will be posting everyday for the foreseeable future!

Thanks for stopping by!

Escaping the gravitational pull of LPG&RVR......

.. 6:15 pm - Sunday - October 9th - Honey Lake Rest Area - 72° F, 23% humidity, wind 8 mph out of the west northwest......partly cloudy with a big view of the eastern horizon....we are dry camping at the Honey Lake Rest Area south of Susanville, CA.......↴

....on this date in 2018 we entered our 48th state in the Newell....Delaware.....↴

As you know from experience, all good things must, of necessity, come to an end, and Sunday, October 9th, 6 months of nothing but good things came to an end for us at LPG&RVR.  Before we dropped the trailer onto the hitch for the first time in 6 months we headed over to the Clubhouse around 9 am to turn in cart #20, and have a farewell breakfast at The Grill.....

I love how the 1/2 and 1/2 sits in the bottom of the cup

.....the views were beautiful, and I noticed the driving range grass has greened up considerably in the past couple of weeks since we had that three days of rain......

A little frost lingering on the putting green

.....after breakfast we headed in to say good by to Kathy, who is the chef of The Grill......she hails from Hungary originally.....TLE and she developed quite a friendship over the past 6 months.....

....we finished around 10 am, and walked home to begin the serious business of preparing to escape the gravitational pull of LPG&RVR.  It took a couple of hours, but we were finally on our way a little after 12 pm, which is cool, because we only planned on traveling around 90 miles south to the Honey Lake Rest Area just south of Susanville, CA to spend the night.  

While we were doing our brake/turn signal check prior to departure we found the left brake/turn signal was not working.  I spent about 30 minutes trouble shooting the problem, but finally decided we would get going and I would fix whatever the problem was when we got to Honey Lake.  The drive south was beautiful, and as I always do I turned to TLE and said "It's good to be moving again" to which she replied "yeah".....

Final pictures of employee row....the leaves are really turning quickly now

....the 90 mile drive was completely without incident, and we arrived at the Rest Area just before 2 pm, at which time I returned to the left brake/turn signal issue.  Within a few minutes I found the problem.....a bad wiring connection, so I took it apart, and redid the connections.......

Never use these blue splicers.....they stink, and will always fail at some point

....within 30 minutes I had fixed the problem, and we now had a left brake light, and left turn signal once again......

All fixed

.....once that was done TLE and I decided to take a 1 mile walk around the Rest Area, which consisted of 3 laps in all......

Our usual post walk 'usie'....lol!

.....I took a a post walk nap, and listened to some music on Sirius/XM radio's Classic Vinyl (channel 26).  TLE  made dinner around 5 pm, and by 6 pm we were seeing a beautiful sunset.....

........we'll continue onto Garderville, NV tomorrow where we will spend a couple of days at the Elks Lodge there before continuing to SoCal, and our winter job.

Thanks for stopping by!