West Trip - Day 9 - Desert Travel Day

    Today was a big travel day. The Holiday Inn Express near the airport in Salt Lake City was pleasant, but we woke early and were on the road by 8am. We continued along route 80 West,  and the landscape yet again took another shape. Gone were the hills to the north, replaced with sage-brush flat-lands with mountains in the distance on either side of the road. We passed by the Great Salt Lake and it was quite a sight, the shores of which were completely white with salt. Soon we reached the Bonneville Salt Flats. This area is a completely flat remnant of an ancient salt lake, with a stark white "salt" surface. It almost felt like we were driving across a snow field. The flats are famous for hosting land speed attempts, many world records were broken here, and continue to be.

     We pulled off to a rest-stop and were immediately hit with a wave of heat. The desert environment was in full swing, completely arid, and probably nearing 95-100 degrees, even in the morning. We walked out onto the salt flats themselves, and actually tasted the ground, not fully believing that this entire landscape was made of salt. It certainly was, the thick salt crystals were very potent.

     Continuing along Interstate 80 we passed into Nevada. Right after the border, probably 100 feet past it, was the first Casino/Hotel. Nevada wasted no time exploiting the weak, tortured souls that seek gambling to get away from their daily stress ( only to find more stress when they inevitably lose all of their money). The

wind was causing quite a ruckus as we continued through the desert and mountain terrain along 80. It was a fight to keep the Xterra in the lane at times and quite nerve-wracking. We were very focused, and in our driving "groove". Before we knew it, we were 3/4 of the way across Nevada, and turned south along route 95 heading towards Fallon, NV. The chaos of Interstate 80 was behind us now, and we were headed into serious desert desolation. There was nothing but sage-brush flats, juniper trees, and rocky outcrops, with a backdrop of mountain terrain. Sometimes in the distance we could see the vortex of sand kicked up by the wind, the dust devils. Small mini-tornadoes that seemed menacing, and as we actually passed through one, realized they were not.

      We passed near Walker Lake to the south and in Hawthorne( near the site of a military base), took route

359 south-west heading towards the California border. The drive was peaceful and relaxing. There was hardly any traffic at all on this route, and an unmistakable feeling of isolation. Along the route there were numerous cattle crossing signs, and it would seem that the entire area was free-range for them. It did keep me alert as the driver, extremely "rare" steak was not on the menu yet.

     Driving over a hilly range, we were now heading due west, and passing over a rise, we could see the magnificent Sierra Nevada mountain range in the distance. The peaks were seemingly jutting right out of the desert floor. Route 359 took us due west now and there we passed the California border. It was becoming very late in the day, and the sun was settling behind the mountain range. We were tired and ready to settle down. Passing into California though, was a big relief. At the California border, the route number changed to 167, and took us to the foot of the Sierra Range. At that point we took a left, heading towards the Tioga Pass road, which would bring us into Yosemite National Park in the morning. There is a small town at the end of the Pass called Lee Vining.

     We drove through the town and weighed our lodging options. They were slim, as every small hotel had NO VACANCY. Heather remembered a small Inn that we drove past on our way into Lee Vining. We turned around and made our way back. They had one cabin left, that a couple passed on ( fools), and we even got a discount since the cabin slept 6, and we of course are only 2. The cabin turned out to be rather nice, though antiquated, but had a bed, and that is all we needed.

     Of course we were really hungry at this point( around 8pm), we checked out the restaurant that was within the hotel, but were not too interested in the expensive items on the menu.  Heather had been craving pizza since Yellowstone, since that was one item that was not served there.  Therefore, we decided to drive back up into town to a small pizza shop that we passed earlier.

We ordered a cheese pizza that turned out to be a mistake. It was covered with what seemed like 5 extra bags of cheese and was a grease haven, with no sauce. We had a piece, and hoped for the best with pepto within our reach. Basically we decided it was an epic fail, and made a note to never eat pizza in Lee Vining again, and possibly California. Although dinner was a flop, we went to bed excited, eagerly awaiting our adventures in Yosemite the next day...