Fallon, NV
After
loading Sophia I had a quick Carl’s breakfast of coffee and egg burrito….ah,
con salsa y mas café! Then out on the
road riding back on 299 thru Shasta to the Whiskeytown Visitor Center. They were open and I got my SCMA Parks
Passport stamped and invited volunteer Ranger Joanne and volunteer Polly to join Sophia
and Snoopy for a photo.
Then,
it was back towards Redding with a brief stop at Shasta just to scan the
demolished buildings or their remnants of times past. Once thru Redding it was heading east on CA-44
towards the north end of Lassen National Park and then to Susanville to pick up
US-395 to Reno and Carson City.
And
this is when Snoopy decided to rebel.
Let me explain. I had noticed on
a few previous stops that he was becoming a little impatient with me and
perhaps pouting a little. I wasn’t sure
exactly what the problem was, but I figured he’d resort to his happy, feet
dancing little self in short order. I
was too busy with my own issues and goals to really sit down with him and ask
what the problem was.
Well,
as we neared the north entrance to Lassen NP he started barking, and kinda
nipping on my jacket coat. Like, WTH
dog? What got into you? So I pulled off the highway at the Lassen
entrance, unstrapped him from his perch upon all the gear, and WHAM! He gave me
an earful! Seems that he has been
feeling slighted for the last three months.
He claimed that this trip has been all about me and not much about him
and he would like to start doing things more of interest to him! So here is the beginning of Snoopy’s Trip
with expectations of more pics of him in the future having some fun. and he reluctantly agreed to pose with me on the last photo!
Back
on the road again we didn’t get too far…..seems we were crossing Eskimo Hill
Summit at 5933 feet and Snoopy wanted to have his picture taken here. This mongrel is really testing my patience!
A
little bit later we reached a Vista Pt and were able to see Lassen peak as well
as Mt. Shasta (waaayyy in the distance)….I had to fork over a quarter to humor
Mr. Snoopy again so he could view thru the telescope.
I
really enjoyed this ride….did it once before when I first started on my summer
ride. I had departed “Frantic” Yosemite
for Lassen, camped that night in 42 degrees, then headed north on 44 to 89
instead of heading to Susanville.
The
road is scenic, lots of trees, some prairies, a few cattle, saw a deer (never
saw the 2nd one), and clean, fresh, pine scented air. The temp was cool and I was able to get by
with my favorite long sleeve white t-shirt with a short sleeve T over it. Later, as the day and shadows grew I decided
to put on the leather jacket to avoid the wind chill.
Susanville
seems like a low key town, not much happening nowadays compared to earlier
mining days. I found out later that
there is a prison and a correctional facility located here and that the town
was featured in a PBS documentary titled “Prison Town”. Supposedly actor Danny Trejo, one of my
favorites in Heat starring Pacino, DeNiro and Kilmer, served time here in
either the prison or correctional facility.
Anyhow,
I decided to take a break from the ride and treat myself to my favorite lunch
place….Subway. I ate half of the
footlong, refilled the coke for the road, and then headed out on US-395 for
Reno. I figured I could still reach Reno
and Carson before nightfall but would probably be pulling into Fallon around
8pm. Hopefully there won’t be any problems
finding a motel.
The
road from Susanville to Reno was very different from CA-44 as it ran through
the Lassen National Forest. This very
northern end of US-395 ran along the base of mountains to the west and what
seemed like a lake or wet flatlands and open desert prairie to the east.
Overall 395 is in great shape and condition and I was able to speed at high 70’s
and low 80’s. Somewhere a few miles shy
of the NV border the road splits with a nice median and then in NV it becomes a
super highway like an interstate, very well built and out of Reno to Carson it
seems like the road had just opened up.
Garmin kept trying to take me off the new highway and onto a parallel
road which probably was the old 395…but I ignored her and stayed on the new
construction.
Once
in Carson it was an easy few lights to get into the heart of downtown and the
point where US-50 heads east off US-395 (Carson St). This highway is
tagged as “The Loneliest Highway”. I
will run from Carson City NV east across northern NV and into Ely and then into
UT where it overlaps onto I-70 and runs into CO. Snoopy and I found the “Nugget” casino downtown
and he insisted on some photos. He then
wanted to go inside and see the action but I convinced him that we were running
out of time and needed to move on towards Fallon and find a motel. But we did get some pics of the Nugget in the
background.
As
we rode out of Carson US-50 didn’t seem too lonely. There was a lot of business along the road
and then there was a lot of suburban development. With the new highways being constructed I
figured these were developments for folks commuting into Reno….but I recalled a
lot of development around Reno….so maybe not.
This stretch of the road is a very windy and sandy stretch. We rode quite a ways before coming to a major
crossroad that was heading north…don’t remember what highway it was but it
seemed like a major connector; it was here that I made a stop and got something
to drink for me and Snoopy….sure was hot and dry out here.
Back
out on the road again we came across a pretty good sized lake or reservoir that
seemed a little low….but that seems to be the story for every water hole here
in the southwest. The sun was setting,
light was getting dimmer, and I still had no Fallon in sight. The road seemed to stretch onward into the
distance and I could not discern any town lights in the distance. I was getting concerned that perhaps Fallon
was off the highway or something. Then
the road sort of T-boned into a pretty well constructed highway. I was briefly disoriented and thinking I
needed to go left but that was heading west and wasn’t logical; so I turned
right and headed east, not seeing in town lights, and fully expecting that
Fallon was going to be a bust.
But
I was wrong. Finally Fallon town lights
showed up in the distance. And I noted
an America Best Value Inn sign advertising rooms starting at $49. Luck was with me as I entered the outskirts
of the town the motel was one of the first businesses to be seen. I got my room, unloaded the gear and promptly
devoured the other half of the Subway sandwich from Susanville. I think I drank two bottles of water with it.
Since
I didn’t eat much today, and I expect not to find much on the road to Ely,
about 250 miles away, my plan was to consume a full breakfast in addition to
the motel’s continental fare.
I
only did 300 miles today…but it was a long day with all the stops, photo’s, and
dealing with Snoopy’s needs. But it was
a good ride overall.
Hope
the road is a little lonelier mañana.
C ya mañana,Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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