Day 2, July 5, 2009

Our second day started earlier than we had planned, but that was on purpose.  We all woke up so we got an early start.  Good thing, because it took us forever to find a convenience store.  Jacob opted to not get fuel based on our planned stop, but we still had to get milk for Mason and Brynn and some form of non-healthy breakfast. 

We set off but made a quick stop to see the Great Salt Lake.  It is interesting to see such a large expanse of water that looks like you could almost run across it.  Then we headed on over the salt flats.  Those were interesting for a bit, but they got old too.  There were a lot of places where people pulled off and set up rows of bottles, lit camp fires, and someone even put a small cedar tree out and decorated it.

Salt Flats West of Salt Lake City

We started getting low on fuel, but Jacob was pretty sure we could make it to our first scheduled stop in West Wendover.  And we did.  We fueled up and headed out.  The day started dragging on and the drive didn't seem to be getting anywhere, but the scenery did change a little.  Somewhere around Elko, Nevada (we think) we saw some pretty mountains and some large cattle ranches.  Mason and Brynn were doing a great job of being good, playing, and having fun with each other

Brynn loved playing with her baby

Mason colored a lot

Mountains somewhere in the middle of Nevada, we think near Elko

We finally made it to Winnemucca.  And let us tell you, that place was busy!  We stopped for gas first, and had to wait on pumps with all kinds of people pulling in and out and trying to cut, sometimes with campers and trailers.  Then they don't know the difference between curbs and drive entrances and exits there, so we had to take it easy getting into and out of establishments.  We crossed over to a Burger King that appeared to be under construction, and it was really busy too.

We finally made it out of there, with Megan at the helm.  Now we can say we've "been everywhere, man"!  Turning off the highway, we followed a long, slow line of cars up SH 95 toward who knew what, but hopefully Oregon also.  When we were almost to Oregon, we cut off to the west again to follow some almost desolate road through a desert.  There were some old broken down buildings along the road in one spot, then pretty much nothing but brush, sand, and rocks.  And mountains.

Ultimately, we did make it to Oregon.  And ultimately, the dry land turned a bit greener.  There was a nice, quaint little farming valley around Adel, Oregon that was refreshing compared to....basically all of Nevada. 

Valley around Adel, Oregon

Farming in Southern Oregon

                                   

We needed a bathroom stop BADLY, and when we made it to Lakeview we were about an hour overdue and had some fun (sarcasm).  There was really no good place to stop, so it wound up being a tiny, not so clean gas station.  After our slight reprieve, we headed over to Klamath Falls.  As we neared Klamath Falls, we saw quite a bit of smoke from a forest fire.  We also started seeing some slightly taller mountains, that were also closer, with more pine trees.  Just what we were pining for!  Get it?  I know...that was bad.  It really was a nice change and made us feel like we were finally on real vacation!

The city turned out to be larger than we thought, but not too large.  It was really a nice city.  Jacob recommends it at any rate.  We got a room at the Motel 6 with a sewage leak in a corner of the parking lot, and one of the stair wells was closed, so we had to carry all of our stuff around a longer way.  Mason and Jacob swam a little before dinner.  We ate at Denny's, which turned out to be a mistake.  Not at all like the Denny's we ate in on our California trip (except the one in Kingman, AZ wasn't great).  They took forever and the food was marginal.  However, the kids were pretty good and Mason really surprised us with his ability to write his ABC's on the back of the kid menu.  We saved it to show Grandma Becky later when we met in Montana.

When we got back to the hotel, there was the Black Bear Cafe right next door that we missed.  That was Jacob's biggest regret about the day, not trying out the Black Bear Cafe.  So if you're ever in Klamath Falls, give it a try and let us know how it is.  In case we ever go back.