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19 April 2006 -
Wednesday
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When we awoke at 5:45
am Tom turned on the coffee maker just as he had done so many times during
the past two weeks. The light came on
but the pot wasn’t perking! And just
when we thought those early morning predicaments were behind us. Since the maker was purchased at the
beginning of our trip it surely couldn’t wear out that fast! After fooling around with it for a short
while we gave up, as it appeared that the device was getting electricity but
the heating element had just died.
Soon we got on the road and stopped for coffee at a McDonald’s; the
stop turned into breakfast, as we had to wait for a new pot of coffee to
brew. At about 7:00 am we
entered Interstate 80 at an elevation of 2000 feet and headed east into the
beautiful Sierra
Nevada Mountains. As the altitude
increased we encountered snow along the side of the road that appeared to be
at least three to four feet high and many drifts twice that depth. Eventually we crossed through Donner
Pass where the height above sea level is 7245 feet. Here we
Fred & van at Donner Pass, California began the long descent that would eventually take us into
Nevada. We stopped in this area for a
break whereupon Fred bought some gasoline as he thought we were already in
Nevada. All through our trip as well
as in California we had avoided paying $3.00 a gallon for fuel. When Fred discovered that we were still in
California and the gas was priced at an astounding $3.26 a gallon he quickly
stopped the pump! A complete fill-up could wait until the prices were more
reasonable. After passing
through Reno we
called ahead |
to our cousins Pat
and Sue Scruggs
to let them know that we would be arriving at their home by the late
afternoon. Utilizing our mapping
software we calculated that we were about 470 miles from Salt Lake City. All in all, the ride through Nevada was
uneventful with one notable exception.
As we cleared a hill just east Elko we were pleased to see the
snow-covered Ruby
Mountains glistening in the afternoon sun light.
Ruby Mountains on Interstate 80, Nevada Although we were to see
many snowcapped peaks during this day this sight would surely stay with us for
some time to come. Upon entering Utah
we were treated with another extraordinary sight of the Great
Salt Lake Desert where for about 50 miles we drove over the famous Bonneville Salt
Flats. Here we looked at mile
after mile of land so level that it is where the World speed record of over
600 miles per hour was set. Around 5:30 pm we
finally entered the Salt Lake City area and by 6:00 we found the home of our
Cousin Pat Scruggs where we were warmly greeted by he and his wife Sue. As Sue has been an avid genealogist for
more than two decades we were eager to compare notes on our Scruggs family
line. Our hosts offered us the use of
their guest room that included two single beds and our own bathroom. After many nights sleeping in the van we
certainly did not take such good fortune lightly. Following a wonderful meal prepared by Sue we settled down for
some pleasant conversation about a variety of family topics including the
current Scruggs
DNA mystery. Subsequently,
two very tired travelers sought the refuge of the glorious beds awaiting
us. We had traveled over 600 miles
this day, the longest of our journey. |
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