25 Jun Wind…the perceptible natural movement of the air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction.
Sorry for the long-winded title.
The lack of good and quality sleep hasn’t defeated Dave. He carries on with excitement and joy in this journey despite feeling like a train has hit him. This next day the boyhood thrill of being able to see and walk on the Bonneville Salt Flats, after seven hours of driving, which are a 30,000 acre expanse of hard, white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin in Utah, where many motor sport competitions have conquered land speed records, was realized. I think if I had said yes, Dave would have happily taken Clifford and CR right onto this expanse of flatness. A good reality check was watching someone, aka, Mr. Not So Smart, driving his family sedan onto the flats and becoming good and stuck. Need to leave these experiences to the professionals Mr. NSS.
Mr. NSS
Immediately after the flats we found our camping spot. BLM land a short drive off Route 80, isolated and quiet. In this expanse of a glorious mountain range, there we were. Amongst beauty and colors that took your breath away. Once the other lone soul, who was four wheel driving on paths nearby left, we were alone. Not another human, but us. It was a bit daunting at first, but peace came quickly and we enjoyed our night off Leppy Pass Road in Wendover UT.
BLM land
Setting off towards our next destination, Lattin Farms, a Harvest Host site in Fallon NV, proved to give us another “experience” that will forever be something Dave and I laugh about and share with anyone who will listen to us.
As we drove, those “Dave and Hedy Winds”, that have been made official by some atmospheric organization I’m sure (not), were quite literally sucking the fuel out of our truck. At least that’s what it seemed like. The closer we got to exit 83, we came to the realization that we were coming dangerously close to running out of gas. Wow, a first for us both. We had assumed that at the exit we would find fuel. Nope. So at Trinity Rest Stop, love that name, we pulled in and discussed. This rest stop was truly just a bathroom and some tables. No other amenities. Our gauge said we had 17 miles of fuel left and with 37 miles to go, that wouldn’t work. As 60+ mph winds rolled over, taking our average consumption down to 6 mpg, we knew we weren’t gonna make it.
Me inside CR waiting for the gas man 🙂
We carry a 5 gallon container of gas for emergencies. Dave had to reposition the truck and camper so that when he tried to pour the fuel in, it won’t go flying because of the wind. Didn’t make even a dent. Here I love inserting into the dialogue, the fact that my husband has praised me during this trip for becoming smarter as we travel. How that is possible at my age, no idea! Two thoughts populated my brain. We could call our emergency road service, which we did and were told we could expect someone to arrive in about 60-90 minutes. Or, we could unhook CR from Clifford, leave me and CR at the rest area, and send Dave and Clifford back down route 80 about 20 miles to get gas! Amazing how the gas mileage improves when we aren’t towing. Brilliant, Dave tells me. Yeah Hedy! That’s what we did. I sat in the camper, quite positive that me and the camper would be flipping over at any moment. As Dave drove to get gas with the wind pushing him, he gained mileage. Ahhh.
About an hour later, Dave returned, we hooked up, and made it to our stop at Lattin Farms. Probably getting 4 mpg at this point. I would have loved to go watch the sheep and dogs outside our camper, but we couldn’t stay outside. In fact, we couldn’t even keep the slides open, the noise was deafening.
Lattin Farms
It was Sunday, most restaurants weren’t open, so a Sonic burger filled us for the night and we drifted off to sleep, I think :
Our plan was to head west this next day, but as I walked across to go thank the owners of this farm, their manager Don struck up a conversation with me. When I told him we were planning on continuing on Route 80 he suggested we check the weather. Donner’s Pass had had significant snow fall, and there were advisories to use chains. Hmmmm. I had a most wonderful conversation with Rick and Ann Lattin. This farm makes amazing jalapeño and cantaloupe jam. Yum. One thing I asked, could we stay one more night till the weather improved. Of course, was their much welcomed answer.
Back story on the Donner Pass, is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake about 9 miles west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada mountains themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual approach from the west. Anyone remember hearing about the Donner Party in history class? The Donner Party, was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train in May 1846. They were delayed by a series of mishaps and mistakes, and spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Evidence reveals what the Donner Party ate during their final days of being snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. – After eating the family dogs and other animal meat, some members ate bones, hides, twigs and string. – Human bones were not recovered but researchers believe some Donner Party members resorted to cannibalism.
Clifford love
Really didn’t want to come even close to a problem so we happily stayed one more day. Got some housekeeping items checked off and enjoyed a sweet lunch in town. The best part was being able to pack some items, as the next day we would drop off Christopher Robin in Sonoma CA for a much deserved extended stay and rest at a RV storage facility, and head onto Oakland CA to spend sometime with our kids, Matt and Sara.
CR resting in Sonoma CA
Thank you God. Dave had the best night sleep since early in March! Our drive up and over the Donner Pass on a sunny day was wonderful. Snow was beautiful and thankfully on the trees and not the road. Five hours later we left the 5th wheel and made the trek about an hour away to Sara and Matt’s place. Momma’s heart was beyond excited to see the kids and spend time with them.
Self Explanatory Smiles
For Us, It’s Not Abad Day 🙂