Blogs from Reno, Nevada, United States, North America - page 3

Geo: 39.5245, -119.812Wide open valleys, devoid of any vegetation more than waist high. Absent of brilliant green. Absent of shade or towering pine. Lucky to have green grass call it home. Rabbitbrush, thistle, juniper, sage. (Nothing on earth can compare with the scent or the hue of Sierra Nevada sagebrush. I remember coming come from New Zealand, after living there for 6 months. My mother picked me up at the airport and we drove out to Washoe. I hung my head out the window like a dog, bliss filling my nostrils at the prodigal smell.) Mountains in every directions at various distances. Those closer clothed in greens and browns of juniper, pinion, ponderosa. Each range growing more and more aqua as the distance grows, until the furthest mountains are just a pure, deep blue. Some people, ... read more

This, my first attempt at blogging, is a work in progress. Uploading photos, sifting through archives in Adobe Photoshop, labeling pictures, and creating a story is time-intensive. Time has been the most costly resource for me of late. There is much that needs to be amended and edited in this blog. It's completion, if that comes to a fruition, may take months or longer. Before you explore this blog, let me warn you that I may still be considered crazy for making this and other trips. Still, you only live once, if you don't suffer some sort of reincarnation. So let me explain the blog title. The "western rectangle" is a path from Reno to San Francisco to Los Angeles to Flagstaff to Reno that roughly, very roughly resembles a rectangle. Rather than simply going in ... read more

Monday 4th October San Fran to Reno = 220 miles. California into Nevada State. Reno to Salt Lake = 520 miles. Nevada into Utah State. Went for breakfast at Denny's in Reno & both had a grand slam breakfast then hit the road. The first few hours were quite average freeway driving. We passed a sign on the road which said "You are now entering Mountain time", we wondered if this was a time line but hopefully we'll find out later on. We arrived at the salt lake plains which were absolutely breathtaking. It is easy to understand why they hold the world record land speed records here because not only is it flat but the salt plains can be seen for miles in all directions. Half an hour into driving the salt plains we ... read more

Driving through Mammoth Lakes (aimlessly) I see a faux-German lodge that tempts me to google for German cuisine. Unfortunately, the nearest authentic german food is over a hundred miles away, in Reno. Having nothing much else to do, I set out for Reno. I arrive in Reno, but the german restaurant/store - "Bavaria World" is closed, so it has to wait until tomorrow. The next morning I hit the gym to work out in exchange for what I already presume will be a feast. And a feast it is. Arriving at Bavaria World, which has a modest looking storefront in a somewhat seedy part of Reno, I enter and am immediately enraptured by the delectable goodies in the bakery/deli and the authentic items on the menu. This is a lot of stuff I'm going to have ... read more

Leaving Redwood National Park we had decided that Lassen Volcanic National Park looked about halfway to Lake Tahoe and so would spend the night there. Again we were blessed with glorious weather and this part of California really is beautiful when the sun shines. The wonderful mix of mountains, forests and rivers comes together superbly. The drive to Lassen took a bit longer than expected as the roads were quite twisty and turny (brought back memories of New Zealand) so we had to take it easy and admire the views. The road to Lassen Volcanic National Park slowly but steadily heads upwards and then finally this big, snow capped volcano rises in view. I am not to sure of the status of the volcano but I don’t think it is extinct and so we were probably ... read more