NAMPA TO PIOCHE

Well, well exactly where have we disappeared to!

Sorry to drift off on you like that! We have been on the road and off the map. We of course like to post every few days but well - on the road like this - that isn't always possible. In the last week we have been happily enjoying some scenic backroads. The little towns along these backroads don't exactly lend themselves to wifi. 

Anyway - enough of that - lets get back to our traveling. I only have so much battery power tonight.

Leaving our friends in Nampa on Saturday we made great time over to Nampa - yup - we got far. We had some things to pick up before hitting the open range of Nevada. Our two big stops were The Vitamin Shoppe to get stocked up for our trip AND to Best Buy where I went ahead and splurged on a new camera for this trip. We LOVE it so I'll do a post just on our camera.

By the time we got all of our shopping done in Boise and then stopped in at Mountain Home for a Walmart stop we didn't get on the road - seriously - until late afternoon. 

We were very happy to be AGAIN taking the scenic route of 30 - the Thousand Springs Scenic Byway -  through Hagerman and Buhl - one of our most favourite drives and places.

Then onto Jackpot, Nevada. Funny, we've driven through Jackpot many times but have never slept there - well - a first for everything - right?! We got in just after it got dark.

Pulling out of Jackpot Sunday morning. 

Up next - a whole bunch of Nevada landscape shots. I LOVE the golden grass and fall colours of Nevada. We've done this route twice before but going UP not DOWN. Things sure look different from the other direction. 

And what else is there to do driving down through Nevada then to take pictures - just be glad I didn't post them all! Yup - Beautiful Boredom! And yes - all the pics are taken through the windshield of the van!

This is cattle country!

Very nice - a animal bridge.

Yikes! S N O W!

Tell me HOW do the people of Wells LIVE there! At the base of this mountain that ALREADY has significant snow! brrrrrr

And back past the Pony Express rest area. We didn't stop here since we had just stopped for lunch at the gravel pit at Lages. I know, I know - a gravel pit?! Well, it is THE place to stop there - RVs and Semis were coming and going. It is right at the intersection of the 93 and alt 93 and so gets a lot of traffic.

And back through the Heeby Jeeby town - and yup - still Heeby Jeeby!

Guess you can get ANYTHING in Nevada. This sign makes us shake our heads every time!

Most of the day it looked like this. It's a wonder that Derek stays awake.

After stopping in Ely for gas we got on the 5/60. Now - this stretch over to the 93 was a first for us. We weren't quite sure what to expect because the map shows a pass of 7,733 ft. We decided to chance it since we wanted to head more east this year. Sad to miss the warm springs of Ash Springs and the free campground at the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge. 

It wasn't too bad - a bit steep at times - so we went really  s  l  o  w  at times - but we made it up and over.

And then  d  o  w  n.....

Great looking rock!

Down into the Great Basin.

More windmills.

Thankfully - that lonely road up ahead isn't ours. We take a right here to Pioche. But I do KNOW that this road turns left just at the base of the mountain - rather than going up and over. We came from that direction back in 2008. 

Now in Lake Valley the scenery hasn't changed a whole lot - yup - still in Nevada!

Ok - so glad we are not going at his pace!

And finally our town for the night - Pioche, Nevada.

Funny, as Derek and I were right here we realized that we had taken a tour through Pioche back in 2008 and had totally forgotten about it until we had a sense of deja vu.

Freecampsites.net told me that we could camp for free at the Pioche City Park - and how right they were. So once we found it - behind the white Courthouse - we settled in for the night.

A long day - over 300 miles. But that put a lot of miles between us and the north and leaves us moving into warmer temps.

Next post - our great ride from Pioche to Snow Canyon State Park in Utah. 

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: I'm a bit out of touch at the moment having spent so little time on the internet for the last week. How about heading back over to the Bayfield Bunch - looks like they pulled into their home in Congress while we've been away. We'll be going through Congress in the near future.

Be a Fan