some more falling water shots. Above is a view of the guesthouse.
On a path from the guesthouse to the main house, is a statue of ...
the main part of the house ... the living room
part of the art collection, of which central and south american art is most prominent
One of the classic house poses
had to get some pics of cowboys, out on the range, this time in Utah, by the salt flats.. Great skies out here. And for those of you unfamiliar with technology in general, clicking on any photo open it up in full size, and is really the only way to see these in all their glory. Nikki took some great shots, and it would be a shame if all you saw was in stamp size format.
more cowboy stuff
this is obviously not from an episode of "the Virginian"
As you will begin to see, we have changed our route. Following Susan's recommendation we took Route 50, and it was fab. Well worth it. They we called the Yellowstone Park road advisory number. They advised of bad weather, and of needing snow tires. This was just when we were due to hit the park. We also had intended to enter the park from the South entrance, through Grand Teton and then Yellowstone, per Bob Aines' recommendation, but due to inclement weather, we decided to avoid all this, and drive through Wyoming along the foothills of the rockies. First part of the journey was via Salt Lake City. the salt flats are amazing. Otherworldly.
Here we are driving along a straight road, with salt flats on either side.
The salt flats we spoke of.
Myself and Nikki could only guess that this large sign, along the main road in I-80 into Salt Lake, was a remnant of the Winter Olympics, of a few years ago. Very colorful and weird cojones.
outside of Ely, on the open road, with the clouds forming looking shadows
more open road in Nevada.
They do not care much for Senate Majority Leader, and NV democratic senator, Harry Reid !
Ely railway station, now a museum
Well, last we wrote, we stayed in Ely NV, on Rt 50, loneliest road in America. The B&B we stayed at was called the Steptoe Valley Inn. It was great, each room had a balcony, it was a former bordello apparently (in a past life back in the 1880's or so). The people were really nice, and they owned/ran a bbq restaurant next door. they actually have the B&B up for sale, so if anyone wants to buy a B&B in move-in condition, in a western nevada town, here you go (http://www.steptoevalleyinn.com). Some shots of the town in olden days can be seen above
The interior front part of the inn. Tall ceilings.
Chatting with the owner (myself with my back to you, and owner in white top on right).
Exterior of inn
The BBQ restaurant they own, next door, with train decorated smoker.
Carson City, where some long lost cousin of my buddy, Bill Gottschalk in Michigan, is moving to greener pastures.
Carson City casino. One of several million casino's all across Nevada.
Nice building, restored to a fine state.
Fabulous scenery as we took Route 50, the loneliest highway apparently, according to local lore. Straight roads where speeds in excess of ..... high speeds ... are apparently possible.
a fellow traveller. We thought that we were tough driving across the desert in an old car. This dude is even tougher. Doing it by bike. The whole route 50 thing, came from a recommendation that we got in SFO. The previous owner of our car was Harold Williams, and his wife Susan. Susan told me that the best trip she ever took by road, was Rt 50 up to Salt Lake City. Seeing that we were taking an interstate, I-80, it seemed like a shame to miss out on a great route. So we followed Susan's advice and were glad.
Leaving California coast on a rainy blustery foggy day
Only to climb toward Lake Tahoe in sunshine
The climb up the Sierra Madre's showed the still present snows at higher altitudes
Then the descent down ... after Lake Tahoe, toward Carson City
another great macro, that Nikki took. Beautiful flowers out here ...
i think that I am taking a video .... on one of the trails ... they have 8 miles of trails along the coast here for you to use
the steps down to the beach
Porsche - Dangerous - Unstable ...... very funny babes ...
Some deer walked not 20 feet from us, until they notices us and disappeared into the long grass
gorgeous shot by Nikki of local flowers .... great macro shot
locals having some sun time on the beach
map is out, as we trek back to hotel
coastal view
I love these shots Nikki took of the buildings .... some very interesting ones indeed. She is truly the photographer in the family. No idea what is going on with the man and woman above. Some angel dude with a big sword as usual I guess, about to whack somebody?
The birds almost look like they were designed as part of the roofline
This was a picnic table outside of the town tourist center. I have no idea what so perturbs me. Perhaps it has to do with drinking pepsi instead of wine for lunch (you have to be careful on these roads and treat them with the utmost respect or they can bite you --- see next shots --- therefore no wine until car keys put away for the night).
a parting shot of Mendocino and the beach there .... ethereal almost
the roads will bite ;-)
all of these wood sculptures come from drift wood, and look like plants, flowers, blending together in a very beautiful way
We had to promise Mr. Chocolate that the photo that Nikki took would not be used for commercial purposes. I guess you can't be too careful these days. The bear paw, that we purchased was delicious. Nikki (and the rest of america I am sure, as I am fairly ignorant of these terms) calls it a turtle, and is a mixture of chocolate, nuts and caramel. Gorgeous. Tasty stuff.
somebody's rather nice house
the wine store that was closed, but the owner was there, waiting for a call from his electrician, and invited us inside to purchase what we wanted. He had a really good supply of hard to fund cult wines, and smaller wineries offerings. A name to know. "thewineshoponline.com"
some of the locals ;-)
