Tim flew in to get us and bring us back to Reno with him. He got to Mom's house on Monday around noon, and we woke up and loaded the trailer the rest of the way (I was stopped the night before by the presence of a skunk in the yard). We left for an 8 hour drive at 3:30.
I had not in my memory seen Saltair, so that was cool. It looks like a big warehouse with roof decorations from an Eastern Orthodox Church.
There was a cool tree sculpture by the road.
I had never seen the salt flats before, and I thought they were really cool. I wondered how the pioneers felt when they saw that West of their great city. And what the Easterners thought as they came across on the trains. I felt sorry for the guys who had to build those tracks. It was honestly the emptiest wilderness I've ever seen. Parts looked like they concreted the desert. It was really amazing.
Then we reached Wendover and it started snowing.
3 hours later or so, we were only in Elko, having survived driving conditions that were awful. At times we couldn't see the road at all. It was blowing snow so hard that we could only see the taillights of the car in front of us, not even the car the lights belonged to. It was a white knuckle drive, dangerous to fingernails everywhere. Luckily, the baby and both toddlers fell asleep not too far into it.
By Elko, both Tim and I were too tired to drive the rest of the way, and we realized that, if we had no more storm at all, we'd get in at 4:00 am--and if the storm stretched across the state, we wouldn't get in until morning, if we made it at all. The big 'snow tires or chains required with checkpoint' signs dissuaded us from even trying it.
So we found a room in the Motel 6 for $50, and bought dinner at the Albertsons across the street.
Today, the weather and roads were totally clear, so we left at around 11:30 and got back in time for Tim to hurriedly unload before he dashed off to his show.
So our one day drive took 2, and since I hadn't had a shower, change of clothes, or (most importantly) my vitamins, I was feeling pretty lousy the whole drive. (I get both depression and anxiety with intrusive thoughts when I don't take my vitamins).
Now we're staying on the 10th floor of the Reno Regency looking out on Circus Circus, this giant spherical building, and the rest of Virginia Street, Reno's 'strip'. Great view, right? The room is quite small, with only a half-sized fridge despite advertising indicating the room would have a full-sized fridge. But Tim is here, and the kids seem happy enough, so I'm content.
