Across Nevada

Oh my gosh. It was 40 degrees this morning in the high sierras. My little purple coat was hardly enough.

Yesterday Miss Dodie took the Ansel Adams Photography class at Yosemite, and boy is she getting artsy with the photos. You should check out the photos at Daisy's blog. Just follow the link to Daisy and then Mom's photos. In addition to photography, Ranger Christine taught her about bears in the park and hybrid buses, which are really cutting down on the emissions in the valley. Way cool.

Then today, Miss Dodie learned to drive the RV. She did two hours, 4 mountain passes, and she backed up twice, once into our space tonight at Valley View RV Park in Ely Nevada. Yep, I crossed the state line today into Nevada.

I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning. Tuesday, that was day three of

my trip, we were still in Yosemite in the Valley. We left about 2ish and drove to Tuolomne Meadows. Along the way, we saw where Uncle Carl, whom I have not yet met but know lots about, worked on the survey crew to widen the road to two lanes near Lake Tanaya. Very scenic job, if I must say so. Course that was long before anyone alive today was born. He said he got extra pay for climbing the glacier polish rock.

When we got to Tuolomne Meadows, we found the campground full, but just outside the park, we got the last remaining space at Ellery Lake, a beautiful spot in the Inyo National Forest.

It got down to 40 in the night, 9500 feet. Miss Margaret and Dodie and Daisy hiked to Ellery Lake, a pristine little spot. This morning the moon was still up, and I was photographed in front of it.

Then we took the road down to Lee Vining. Uncle Carl said to be real fresh and real slow for that section of trip. Miss Margaret did great. At the bottom was Mono Lake. It looks so flat. I guess all lakes are flat by definition, but the land around it is flat.

We took Hiway 120 east just south of Mono Lake. It felt like being in the Sahara desert with Pine trees. Not that I have been to the Sahara. yet. It was called Lunar Craters area.

It was a long day across Nevada to Ely. We chose Ely because it had elevation. That means it's not Las Vegas Hot. In the middle of the trip we stopped at Benton to see Hot Springs. Well, that didn't work out. There's a B & B with several tubs, but since they were all used last night, they were cleaning and refilling them. Nothing would be ready till 3 pm.

We couldn't wait, because we didn't want to spend the night in the middle of the desolation. Miss Margaret was afraid she would run out of propane if we did and then the frig would get warm. This RV thing is more complex than I thought.

So we kept going to Tonopah. What a bleak little place. We got diesel and met the Navajo Hotshots. They are firefighters, and they were on their way home from California fighting fires. Pretty cool. I wish I had a picture!

Then Miss Margaret went on a search for propane, but she struck out three times. She kept begging people to save her lettuce, but they were so heartless. Sorry, no one here to fill your tank.

Somewhere along the way, Miss Dodie started driving. She learned to downshift down the 6% grades and navigate the curves. Then she started backing. It was just amazing. Miss Margaret is very excited that we can make great time now without stopping so much for breaks.

Tonight is my very first night in a private RV park. The park has wifi, tv, showers and full connections (electric, water and sewer). It's like being at home. I can't wait for my shower in the morning. I hope they have fruity soaps.

Tomorrow we hope to reach ZION National Park. More then!!!