We spent a couple of days driving west to east across the state of Nevada, with a stay in Reno on the first night and Elko the second. In Reno, we got to do a nice late-afternoon ride on the Truckee River Bike Path. Near the trail's eastern terminus, it became more rural, and I was really enjoying myself when I noticed that I had yet another flat tire. Goatheads, blah! Fortunately, Barry has gotten really fast at changing them with all the flats we've had this summer/fall, so we were soon pedaling again. Heading back west, we got to check out Reno's downtown, which was quite a bit nicer than expected. Check out this cool sculpture. We knew from reading about the Laughing Planet Cafe, our newly discovered favorite eatery in Eugene, that they'd recently opened a Reno location. Barry had found it on google maps, so we were able to ride there for dinner -- it was just a couple of blocks out of the main downtown area. They had outdoor seating and a nice bike rack, so it was the perfect place for a couple of hungry cyclists to grab some grub! I got one of my favorite bowls, the Indian-inspired "Bollywood bowl" with chicken, veggies, rice and a spicy coconut sauce; and Barry went with a huge veggie burrito with HOT habanero salsa... ...and of course his favorite "Highway to Kale" salad! So good! After dinner we had a rollicking ride back to our hotel a few miles away, a slight downhill all the way with a tailwind. It was getting a bit dark, so we were glad we were able to go super fast, wind in our faces. It was one of the true joys of bicycling: feeling like a kid again for just a little while now and then! The next morning we hit the road again (in our car, not our bicycles!) and drove eastward across the state. There's some interesting (to me) topography in this part of Nevada. We landed in the small city of Elko for the night. Although we'd never heard of it before, Elko is the largest city between Reno and Salt Lake City along I-80. And here's a "fun fact" from Wikipedia: "Elko is mentioned as the one place he would like to be if he could choose, by the lead character, "Phil the Weatherman", played by actor Bill Murray, in the very beginning of the movie, Groundhog Day." I love that movie but surely don't remember the Elko mention! About the only thing I remember about Elko, as I write this post a couple of weeks later, is the long walk we took to pick up a few things at a local grocery store. The sidewalks were under repair and all torn up. What a mess. Here are the only photos we took in Elko, which the mural claims is "the best small town in America". After leaving Elko, we continued eastward and visited Salt Lake City for the first time -- stay tuned!
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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