from Wyoming to Wyoming ....

On the road in Wyoming ...
Some tough hombres in this part of town
and a couple of friendly faces ..

Caspar, WY ... downtown
more Caspar WY shots

post Salt Lake on the way to WY

Wide open road
Natural beauty
Dinosaur Alley
Evanson WY, home of good mexican food --- !!!
Inside the mexican restaurant - very tasty food indeed

cowboys

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"

Here was arriving in Salt Lake City with the snowcapped mountains looking, and a SouthWest airlines flight about to land.

Past Ely, and via Salt Lake City

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.

Ely Nevada and surroundings

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

The B&B and the smoker for BBQ restaurant

Ely, NV to Lander, Wy

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.

the high desert in Nevada

more from the nevada desert. Excuse the bugs schmearing (we're from new york - no "smearing" for us) the windshield. Mount Airey summit at 6679 ft above sea level, in the nevada desert.
Enjoy ...

toward Ely, NV

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.
Thank you Susan. You were right. It is a fabulous road.
Here is some video, to prove the point ... enjoy ...

Rally Across America begins - Sea Ranch, CA to Ely, NV

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

Outside Carson City, we find an In-and-Out burger joint. Had to try it. Fabulous burger. They are only on the west coast, make burgers from fresh (never frozen) meat and make fresh fries from whole potatoes each day.

back at the lodge - last day

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

return drive from Mendocino

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

nicer coastal view, again with nice shot of flowers in foreground by Nikki

M. cont'd

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 ;-)