Lone Pine to Reno -- DETOUR

Hwy 395 Closed!

I left the lovely Boulder Creek RV Resort at around noon today. I would have left earlier, but I did a short workout when I woke up, and had to take a nap to recover. The drive up to Reno was pretty, but fairly uneventful. I stopped at a tiny BBQ joint in an even tinier town called Lee Vining. It’s a tourist stop across from Mono Lake. The tri-tip sandwich was almost as uninspiring as the service.

After lunch, I headed north on the 395 toward Reno, hoping to reach the city by about 8pm. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case. After crossing over into Nevada’s Douglas County, I hit a huge line of traffic. After about 30 minutes of listening to the AM station for traffic updates and waiting for information from passing cars, I found that the 395 was closed due to fire evacuation. So, I turned around and headed south to meet up with the 208. From the 208, I took Alternate Route 95 up to Fernley. Fernley is situated at the junction of the A95 and I80.

Along the way, I was fortunate enough to see some beautiful landscapes... cool mountain streams meandering through open pastures, and shallow creeks cutting through deep canyons with sheer cliff faces on either side. As I've said before, things happen for a reason. I was also treated to a fiery sunset on my way in to Fernley.

I only had another 35 miles to Reno, but it was already 9pm and my eyes were getting tired. (That’s what 9 hours of driving will do to you.) So, I pulled into a rest stop off I80 and settled in for the night. I’d rather not stay in a rest stop, but between the three big rigs parked here, my multitude of alarms, locks, and security stickers, I feel well protected from any kind of theft or vandalism while I’m here.

Tomorrow, I should make it all the way to Redding.