SPARKS-NV

August 17th: We left Elko-NV, very early in the morning; about 4:30 AM. We wanted to put as much distance between us and the smoky haze as possible. The plan was to get to Reno before before nightfall.

Just trusting Elohim.

 Sunrise and salt plains in Pumpernickel Valley-NV; 5,100 ft. elevation. The painted sky looked different every 5 seconds.

Sunrise & Gilded bottoms of bright white clouds; sunrise in Pumpernickel Valley-NV

Smoky haze in the background; Pumpernickel Valley-NV

Smoke haze hanging over the valley; Pumpernickel Valley-NV.

Sun lit hill; Pumpernickel Valley-NV

There were lightening flashes piercing the dusky sky in Crescent City-NV … and that continued into Winnemucca-NV; there was no rain, just bright flashes of bright light every now and then.

It started raining in Battle Mountain - and the smell of smoke was strong. Holland started planning a reroute, if the smoke got progressively worse. I was really struggling to breathe easy; and we were both passing  the inhaler between us (it's Holland's inhaler, and it is stronger than mine: Holland insisted I use it, too).

Battle Mountain-NV from Elko-NV; 1 hr 6 min (70.6 mi) via I-80 W

Winnemucca-NV; nothing was open at 6:30 AM, so we pushed forward.

Quarter-sized raindrops; it was over almost as quickly as it started.

Route to Reno-NV

Obviously Elohim has a reason for rushing me thru these places; I'm okay with that.

We pulled into a Rest Area along the highway around 7 AM, but the parking lot was on a hill and the 5th wheel was slanted to the left, so I suggested we go back downhill to a graveled turnout I spotted - so that's what we did.

We'd only had 2-3 hrs. sleep the night before, so we pulled over in a secluded gravel pullout, and opened the bedroom slide out for some shut-eye before moving on; Crosgrave-NV

Woke refreshed; changed clothes, and on the move again.

We'll settle for a star …

Stopped here for something to chew on - it's slim pickings for hours between towns.

Breakfast in Mill City-NV. I love crunch wraps - and this one was not the usual fare Longview-WA dishes out; this one had been made with mashed black beans and spicy cumin instead of the bland refried beans. It was delish!

A big, fat, fluffy cloud; feeling Elohim's love for us; Lovelock-NV

Driving along, we saw a good sized dust-up (not 'dust devils' because they weren't madly swirling - just kinda sucked upward by the wind) between Lovelock-NV & Fallon-NV.

Bleu threw his front paws up on the console and started nudging our arms, so we started looking for someplace to pull over. We saw a Rest Area sign and turned right. The Rest Area had an interesting set-up … and informative Historical Plaques - I was thankful Bleu's bladder prodded us to turn in there ;-)

3 different weather patterns happening all at once, here.

Pulled over at a Rest Area to ease Bleu's bladder; Fallon-NV; the relief station was designed to resemble an old west street building.

An Historical Marker ~ the California Trail went thru here.

California Trail Marker at Fallon-NV Rest Area:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Trail)

I looked up and saw my Home rounding the bend ~ Husband, Bleu, & home on wheels. It was a hot day and Holland wanted to make things easy for me. He's the greatest :-)

A little bit down the road, Holland's shoulder was prodding us to find someplace to park for the night, so I synced my cell with the truck's GPS … and immediately got a message flashing across the phone screen that my phone had been {disabled}.

WTHeck

So, I got on my Tablet and surfed the internet - strangely, that worked.

I tried the KOA first because we have a membership with them, but as usual no one was answering the phone (we will not be renewing the worthless membership). I tried another RV Park number, and a site was secured :-)

We didn't make Reno tonight … but we will. Holland's shoulder needs a break, and this is as good a place as any.

My cell got a 'disabled' message before it went dead. Good thing I had my Tablet with me.

I never had that happen before; Holland explained a possible reason.

A very nice place to hunker down - Holland booked the site until Sunday afternoon.

Sparks Marina RV Resort:

(#1200 E Lincoln Way, Sparks-NV)

Sparks-NV

Sunday afternoon, we'll be in Reno :-)