Summer 2011

An easy ride today. We left South Lake Tahoe at 7:30am and were settled in in the Hi-Desert RV Park by Noon. Why such a short trip? First, we wanted to be near the half way point to Salt Lake City. Second, we were familiar with this RV park having stayed here five years ago. Third, there are few other options between Winnemucca and the Utah border. Tomorrow's trip will be a few hours longer, but still not a difficult day. If we had continued on to the next major town on I-80, Elko, we would have essentially made today's run tomorrow and visa versa.

The route from South Lake Tahoe took us in the reverse routing we took from Reno when we traveled here from Diamond Lake. Once in Reno we picked up I-80 to Winnemucca. The temperature started rising as soon as we crossed the mountains over to Carson City, NV and reached 94 degrees by the time we reached our stop for the day. It is expected to break 100, but we don't care... we are sitting in the air conditioned comfort of our home on wheels.

Winnemucca is located in the broad valley of the Humboldt River. It is a high desert region, which is probably the best definition for most of Nevada (at least the northern half). Winnemucca was a trading post on the Humboldt Trail to California and it seems like it is still a transportation center.

The hardest thing for me to grasp is that the town has been under a flood warning for the past several days. What little we saw of the Humboldt River showed it to be at its banks, while there may be homes in the low grounds, most of the town seemed to be high enough above the river to be out of harms way if a sudden downpour causes the river to rise. That may be wishful thinking by me, but from where I sit, I can see that we are quite a few feet higher than the valley.