California here we come!

August 24

What a beautiful day to start a road trip!  Blue sky ... and who cares about the heat since we're travelling in an air-conditioned car!  The first leg of our trip takes us to Spearfish, SD in order to visit a friend of Dan's that he hasn't seen in 8 years.  It's a easy drive along I90 all the way ... and even South Dakota is looking good this time of year, with green fields stretching as far as the eye can see; only the gates on the interstate and the signs advising the the interstate is closed ahead, remind me of what a treacherous stretch of road this can be in the winter.  For now, we just wish the car had autopilot to go along with the cruise control ...

August 25

Day 2 of our drive to CA was another 10-hr drive from Spearfish SD to W. Wendover NV (just about on the UT/NV state line).

Most of the day was spent driving through Wyoming, where we cut a diagonal across the state.  Wyoming is still the wild west ... the mountains stretch along the horizon and the high plains are still used for grazing and huge ranches.  So little, yet so much.

Snow fences line the interstate for miles ...

Lovely colored cliffs in Wyoming

We cut across northern Utah thru Salt Lake City.  In Utah, the high plains give way to the mountains, which is the sight we've been looking forward to the most!  After living at sea level for 1.5 years, seeing mountains again was awesome!

Our plan was to stop in Salt Lake City for the night, but since we were making good time, we decided that finding a motel attached to a casino was much more attractive, so we headed for the Nevada border. Gotta love the casinos as they make it so easy to lose money!  We got a room for $40 and free drinks at the bar while playing video poker.

August 26.

Nevada. Yuck! The high desert is about as much fun as the plains of SD.  No way to get around the fact that to get to California we must cross the entire state of Nevada.

Miles and miles and miles of road.

Driving cross-country is not unlike sailing ... both types of cruising require a route to be plotted, shifts at the wheel to be planned, weather forecasts to be watched, periods of boredom to be tolerated.  Arriving at Reno was a welcome afternoon treat because that meant that we were 3 hrs from Chico and about to enter the beautiful state of California. 

Leaving I80 for State Rd 20.

beautiful

FINALLY!  CHICO, CALIFORNIA

August 26 - September 2

Brother and Sister

Best guacamole EVER!

pool party!

 

Owen

Bike riding in Bidwell Park

 

Giant cedar trees

 

We were last in Chico in December 2004 for Christmas with our two kids.  WOW, that's almost 7 years.  The passage of time is most evident in the two boys ... who are now responsible young men.  Fortunately, my brother Jimmy never changes, and his wife Julie is both a wonderful chef and sweet soul.

Next time we visit (which we will do again, because after all, we're retired!), we'll make a point to leave on a Monday and not a Friday.  It was hard to leave Chico with the weekend coming up, but the check-in for our condo is Friday.  We are leaving a day early to get back for Sean Devereaux's wedding, so we pushed on.  Better to always want to go back .....