Tripping out, for a few weeks anyway

Otay, Buckwheats.  The drive home from Oldcootsville was fairly uneventful.  We headed back through Vegas to Tonapah, Sparks, through the Siskiyou and Klamath ranges of the Cascades to Ashland, then to Portlandia and home last week, in time for Easter weekend.  

We hung around Sun City for a couple extra days to see my nephew and his boys when they came to my brother's house on spring break before going to Sparks to see my niece and her family.

Bozo and the Ohio contingent

They're off to a D-backs game and we hit the highway.

Stayed in Sumerlin (West Las Vegas) and ate at the Ohjah Japanese Steakhouse again.  We tried it last summer on our Burning Bridges tour and stayed on the west side of Vegas to do it again.  Great sushi and sashimi.  In Tonopah we did out usual stay at the Hi Desert Best Western, just across the street from the Tonopah Brewery and BBQ house.  That is a good place for the "que".  They also have some real good in-house brews.  

This time we drove all the way to Reno on US 95 through the Paiute Walker River reservation.  Unfortunately we didn't have a camera ready after we passed through Schurz at the north end of Walker Lake.  Just as you head out of the valley you pass a set of hills on the east side of the highway that look like spumoni ice cream.  Three rounded  strawberry, pistachio and chocolate colored hillsides next to each other.  We saw similar colors about 10 miles further up the road on a ridgeline a few miles away.  If you're in the area get a photo.  Our next trip through there will include a stop for the shot.

US95 north through Nevada from Sparks

Back into real mountains, green and with trees

Even got to snow elevations

Welcome back to the northwest coast.  May have been California but sure looks like Oregon and Washington

Dunsmuir Brewery Works in Northern CA.  Good beers and elk burgers.  We drove south after hitting I5 so we could eat lunch here. 

This place became standard lunch stop when we were driving to see Rae in San Francisco 

Blacktail deer in the creek-side courtyard of the Plaza Inn at Ashland Creek.  They came out at twilight just below our room window.

Lake Britton in the Lassen National Forest on CA Rt 89

Driving through the Siskiyou's was pretty much the last senic part of the trip.  We stayed in Ashland for the first time.  It's a nice little town, despite the Shakespeare festival theme throughout the town.  We stayed at the Plaza Inn at Ashland Creek, right in the center of town and walking distance to multiple shops and restaurants.  If you're there try the Brickroom for good food.  You are reminded that you're still in the mountains when the deer wander through the outside courtyard next to the creek.  We had about 5 of them just at twilight.  

The last day we hit Oregon City and had dinner with our friend Leah.  This is a standard stop on the way north now.  At least we get to see her once and maybe twice a year depending on our travels.  Our next trip is to Glacier in early May.  There may not be a lot of outdoor activity available, where we're staying has fishing and rafting trips but they don't start till after the end of that month.  Hopefully it won't be too cold and nasty.  I hope to be able to get to Glacier Lake and I know the road through the park will probably still be closed.  We'll be checking it out for the first time.  Maybe later this year or next year we'll get there in the summer, but then you have to deal with all the other tourists.  I may still take some rods and reels jut in case.

Ciao for now, on traveling.