Yesterday was mostly a blur. After checking out of my motel (and having to go back because I’d left my atlas in my room – what is it with me forgetting my map? Oh, and the maid lied to me and tried to keep it but I spotted it on her cleaning cart), I pointed my car (what I thought was) east to find Crater Lake.
20 minutes later I realized that the sun was in the wrong part of the sky and turned around. Didn’t lose too much time.
The drive along scenic route 138 (the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway) was fun driving. The Malibu is a fun car to drive – who’d’ve thunk it? It’s in need of a slight alignment because I had to correct for steering a bit, but it had enough power to make passing a pleasure and not a fright. Best I did was just touching 100 MPH (indicated) on a fairly straight uphill section. Maybe I can do better in the desert today on my blast down to Vegas…
Crater Lake was awesome. I got some pictures (I just dropped them in that gallery – haven’t had a chance to make ’em pretty or weed out the bad ones)… but I didn’t stay too long. The cafe wasn’t open, and I didn’t want to wait to eat in the lodge. Flirted with the girl at the gift shop where I bought a bottle of water and a shot glass (I collect those). Or maybe she flirted with me – she caught me looking at her while I was waiting in line and she smiled back at me and asked me if I needed help with anything. She was cute – a Latina. Her nametag read “Eda”. Ah, if only I hadn’t been in a hurry…
Then I drove hard south, along Klamath Lake to Klamath Falls. Road trip rules: no corporate food. So I stopped at a diner called Blondie’s that bragged about their homemade buns. I ordered the smaller cheeseburger (1/4 lb) because I seriously wanted to watch what I’m eating on this trip. Imagine my surprise when the woman dropped a burger the size of my skull on the table, along with enough fries to feed a small South American village.
After lunch I tried to find some wifi but the only coffee shop within walking distance I could find that had it (after asking around and looking very much like a tourist) was closing in 15 minutes. “Seriously? You’re closing in 15 minutes?” The woman confirmed that and seemed puzzled by my shock. I guess I’m weird for thinking that closing at 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon is strange. Maybe she had a hot date?
But I had enough wifi to check my route, and I texted Tracy to tell her that if I drove straight through I could be in Vegas that night! What I didn’t know at the time was that I had mis-Googled. I was 5 hours away from Reno, not Las Vegas. I have no explanation for that – wasn’t that tired, full stomach, plenty of coffee in me. I must have been in a hurry because the shop was closing.
It was in the 80s in K-Falls, and for the rest of the day – including the night time – the temperature never dropped below 79° F that I could see. Yeah, it’s hot, and it’s only going to get hotter as I head south through the freakin’ desert.
In Alturas I stopped for gas ($3.39/gallon for regular unleaded) and snacks and realized that there was no way I’d be in Vegas unless I drove all night. I didn’t want to drive all night, so I decided to stop around Reno.
In Reno I realized that I don’t really like Reno and, after applying some more caffeine, I kept going for a bit. I finally got a room in Fallon, NV.
I still have 386 miles to go – assuming I hit the road in the next hour, don’t make any detours, and just stop for meals, I’ll see the shiny lights of Sin City around 6 PM. So… probably later than that, because I like making detours and eating.