Heading out of San Francisco on I-80 East, we had our first stop already planned; the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. We had been there last year and did the factory tour already, but we also knew they had a good café in their visitor’s center and plenty of RV parking, so we stopped there. Needless to say, we also purchased too much candy.
Soon, we were in Nevada. After crossing some of the steeper mountain passes, we were in the desert plains. Pretty flat and boring here, compared to where we have been this summer, but the weather here is much warmer than most of the weather we had in Alaska. Soon it was necessary to start the A/C. Our first overnight was in Sparks, NV near Reno. We didn’t have to unhook the car, but we wanted to go out to dinner and do a little shopping. We got a coupon at the RV park for the local Fuddruckers and then went to Target and the world’s largest sporting goods store, Scheels. Although we did not need to buy any sporting goods, we did find some pet supplies.
More hot, boring driving the second day. We stopped off in Lovelock, NV for lunch at a nice little Mexican & American restaurant. Then on to Wells, NV. The next morning, Geoff discovered we had stayed at a different RV park at this same exit from I-80 in 2009 when we were traveling westbound.
Day three, got a late start because we were only going to Salt Lake City. Ellyn is going to stock up on some sewing supplies for a quilting class she is taking in Des Moines, IA. We stopped off in West Wendover, NV, just before hitting Utah, for some inexpensive buffet at one of the casinos. Of course we blew it by stopping at the one-armed bandits on the way out. Ellyn lost $20 in short order but Geoff won $5 at video poker, so we only paid $15 extra for our lunch. D’oh!
Next, a long, nearly straight, drive across the Bonneville Salt Flats, at nowhere near a land speed record, around the end of the Great Salt Lake, and into Salt Lake City. We’ll be setting up here for 3 nights before heading into Wyoming, the first of three states we have not yet visited since starting RVing 3 1/2 years ago.
