Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Rolling, Rollin’, Rollin’ …

What can I say?  Well, not much, I’m afraid.

Traveling northbound, I have not been in a rush, so when I spotted the lakeshore campsites at Upper Pahranagat Lake National Wildlife Refuge just north of Vegas, I pulled in even though it was only shortly after noon.  I had hoped and expected that similar diversions would slow my spring migration north, but it has not worked out that way.  I have been sticking to highway 93 up through Nevada in order to avoid the traffic and pace of the I-15.  While very scenic and wide open, there have not been many tempting places to overnight, or longer.  Same thing for photos.  P4233007

Lots of nice country, but somewhat repetitious.  So, instead of being tempted to stop early and camp, the days have been somewhat longer, only stopping when darkness is imminent.  And driving slow and easy seems to be saving fuel! 

North of Ely, I checked out a side road that had some campgrounds on it, but it was getting up into the 7000’ elevation range and pretty close to the snow line, P4223002

and the pavement ran out, so I carried on in the lower elevation valley, eventually stopping at a historic Pony Express crossing.  P4233004

Even this area was pleasantly cool at night, and in the morning, I reluctantly searched for some jeans in the closet, thinking this would be the end of the shorts for a while.  But I was wrong, and before I had moved the rig, I could tell it was going to be much too warm for the long pants yet!

I stopped for a bite in Wells, Nv, and topped off the tank again.

I see that in this section in northern Nevada, they have fenced the highway to keep the critters off the highway; then like home in Banff, have built wildlife overpasses.

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I don’t know who is copying who here, but they also are using these wildlife ‘jump-outs’, designed to allow animals to jump over the fence in one direction only.P4233011

Speaking of fuel, either I am on a lucky streak, or things are different in Nevada and the north country, but my last three fills have all taken place at the pump, not one of which asked for a zip code.  I had a bit of an unusual experience while fuelling up in Arco, ID. ( Arco is in Idaho, right Al?)

I pulled into the first station in town and was just putting the nozzle into the tank when staff from the station came running out yelling.  At first I didn’t know what was wrong.  Then they said, “If you are filling up with diesel, just wait a moment as we are lowering the price by 10 cents a gallon.”!  So I stood by the pump and watched the price go down, while the guy with a long pole changed the price on the overhead sign!  Now that’s what I call service!  Bring on the gas price wars!

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I guess you could say that I’m Alberta Bound! (Gordon Lightfoot)

6 comments:

  1. I kind of like that Basin and Range country. Seems lonesome and empty. And I saw the overpass things in Banff for the first time and thought they were cool, keeps the critters from getting run over.

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  2. When you said the guy came running out yelling I thought maybe you were about to dump a load of gasoline into your diesel tank. Just as I filled up my motorcycle a few years back with diesel fuel. Not good!! Always good to see humans putting the safety of animals first. Saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert years ago in Kitchener Ontario. First saw & heard him sing in a dingy little pub in Halifax Nova Scotia back in 66. Nice road pics.........

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  3. Beautiful pictures along the road. Not often someone tries to save anyone money. Be safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  4. We stopped at Pahranagat Lake every year for a few days right by the water. One year we saw a great big catfish taking down a duck. It was amazing. Lots of people go birdwatching there.

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  5. Any idea what the camera was hoping to catch under the bridge? I can't believe they put it in to catch anyone parking under the bridge, in violation of the the nearby sign. Maybe they want to know if wild animals are bypassing the bridge. I wonder what the fine will be?

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  6. It's looks like your having a great long road trip. I like your collection of photo's. Your are showing the good example that if we have a long trip it is better to full our diesel tank. Good for you because you get some discount.

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