NEVADA!! On the Return...

September 25, 2026: Woke up on the pullout on Highway 299 in Northeast California. It's cloudy, but warmish. Drove through gorgeous, colorful fall countryside toward Nevada!

Next...Nevada. Eeeewww. Drove down Highway 447 through ugly, barren, desolate desert, but the hills in the background gave the lack of scenery some interest. 

I might have stopped for the night in the desert, but there were so many dead vehicles on the side of the highway. Most of them spray painted or windows bashed out. It did not feel safe. I wouldn't want any hooligans thinking my van was uninhabited as I sleep and opt to shoot or bash out the windows! Very quiet drive. I think in 130 miles only four vehicles passed me. But the drive was not that relaxing as I was still stressed out from Les Schwab in Klamath Falls telling me I needed struts replaced at over $1,000! I kept listening for weird noises or suspension oddities when driving over bumps. Nothing.

Around 1pm I arrived in Fallon, Nevada, and immediately found a car wash. Spent extra time spraying the pressure hose into my wheels onto the brakes in case that would help. Les Schwab was right next door! I figured maybe I should get another opinion. It was a long wait, but I love I can drop in and be seen that day! Any other auto mechanic and it would be four days to four weeks for an appointment at the risk of being told after four weeks, "Oh, I guess we can't work on your van after all, but we'll charge you for an oil change!"

As I waited, the Les Schwab manager in Klamath Falls called me. I left a bad review online. He said he counseled the mechanic on better customer service. He also said they don't take apart brakes for a free inspection. I said, "I clearly told them I needed someone to check to see if the brake pads were cracked because of the ongoing loud noise. If I would have been told they wouldn't do that, someone should have said something, I would have driven away, and avoided this whole fiasco!!" Note to self: Les Schwab in Klamath Falls on Washburn sucks!

In Fallon, I didn't realize I was waiting for the MANAGER! What a delightful man!! He looked everything over, test drove with me in the van, but we never heard the sound. Maybe the car washing worked? (The next day the noise was back and constant, although not as loud and the following day, no noise at all? As usual, I have no idea what is going on! It's all a confounding mystery!) He took the brakes totally apart and showed me the parts, said the noise could be coming from metal filings, or rocks, or dirt or the scratches (not cracks) on the brake pads. He re-greased the brakes since they had NO lubricant, showed me the struts and told me my struts are NOT leaking! NONE OF THEM! What a relief! I can't tell you how thrilled I was with their customer service. Even the woman at the counter was very empathetic and helpful. I'm really at a loss on how to find a good mechanic since I so often encounter bad, incompetent, or dishonest ones. The manager left me a Les Schwab baseball cap in the van as a gift!! WOW! It makes me want to move to Fallon just to have a good mechanic, but another customer was telling me how cold it gets here in the winter. No thank you!

Best time to be at a Walmart...5am...before they open!

I'M IN NEVADA!!! I headed to Walmart. Walmart lets nomads stay the night! They don't even care how long one stays! I treated myself to Haagen Daz Rum Raisin Ice Cream...it only cost $3.50!!! It's usually between $6-7. I had hoped food in Nevada was cheaper, but other products are steadily rising in cost. A box of Spindrift is now a dollar more! Walmart also gives out free plastic bags AND they don't charge a deposit for cans. Oregon and California are like fascist states with all their rules and restrictions. I AM SO GLAD TO BE IN NEVADA! It's 78 degrees, low of 58 degrees! Tucson is down to 90 degrees! It's almost time to head south, but I'll be going through Las Vegas, and maybe Lake Havasu and Yuma which are still in the 100s so I'll be taking my time as I study the weather.

September 26, 2026: Spent the day at Oak Park in Fallon. There is what looks like some kind of little festival for kids with games and free giveaways. There is a live band, too. The music isn't bad, mostly oldies, but the singing is horrible!! It's not the worst band I've ever heard. They are attempting Creedence Clearwater Revival now. The singer needs to stop.

Trauma recall...many years ago a friend invited me to their camping/picnic/anniversary weekend party. Too much humanity is always a risk, but outdoors is often safe since there is so much ventilation. Her husband, brother, and friend had a "band". The worst I've ever heard. I kept thinking how self-centered these three older men were to think they should perform for anyone, but I think their bravado and musical incompetence were because they were so stoned. I wasn't. Maybe I should have been? It literally hurt my ears it was so off-key. I was embarrassed for them. No one attempted to sing, thank god. My friend was looking like it was the best music she ever heard. Weird how old memories just pop up with so little provocation. This park band is doing the Beatles now. Please forgive them!

Parked overnight at Walmart again which could be risky on a Saturday night. Weird woman roaming the parking lot in the middle of the night darkness and some cars with loud music rolled in and out a few times, but otherwise quiet. Not sure why Walmart is such a midnight attraction in these little towns. The store usually has security, too, but I didn't see any here.

September 27, 2026: OMG! It's almost the end of September! Dreams do come true! Headed south on Highway 97. Not much to look at with desolate desert in all directions and mountains in the background, but not many people on the road:

Landed at Tamarack Beach on Lake Walker.  My parking spot is a little too close to the highway to be quiet, even on a Sunday, but hardly anyone here and glorious view of the lake:

It was going to be cloudy in Fallon, and there are some clouds here, but enough sun breaks to power the solars. My needs are simple: sun for solar, sky for Starlink, gas in the tank, food in the fridge, and a van that runs well!

I'm reading Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True. He's a great storyteller.

September 28, 2026: OOOOHHH! End of the month!!

Rain forecasted today, only today. Everywhere else, including Las Vegas, three days of rain. Even though I'm running out of food, I'll stay put for another day. The only place to get food is Las Vegas. I'd rather not go to Las Vegas yet, but I don't have a choice. This kind of planning is a van-life skill set as I negotiate all aspects of time. How can I avoid heat? How can I avoid rain? How can I avoid clouds? How can I avoid running out of food? Or water? How do I avoid running out of gas? How do I avoid running out of plastic bags? How do I avoid running out of solar power? It takes a lot of organization.

It only lightly sprinkled for about fifteen minutes. The weather forecast never really makes it clear what's going to happen and I imagine the worst. I read my book, listened to music, relaxed...wished I had some yummy snacks.

September 29, 2026: This morning...not a cloud in the sky!! I couldn't stop taking photos as the sun was coming up!

I'm out of food. What to do? Its five hours to Las Vegas going south, BUT I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!! If I continue south I won't go backwards and return and I'm not sure I'm ready for the heat in the south. Reno is 2 hours and 15 minutes away...they have Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, and Walmart. That's where I headed!

This is a huge disadvantage of Nevada I've discovered on every trip into the state - healthy grocery stores are in Reno and Las Vegas. No where else. This makes traveling in this state difficult as it's too easy to run out of food and be forced to travel for hours to restock.

There were lots of signs warning drivers of horses...hmmmm. Wild horses? Later I'm driving down a neighborhood road that connects to the next highway and...horses roaming all over the street! Later I saw several herds roaming on the side of the highways. Now I know I'm in the wild west!

Photo isn't that great. I was at a stop sign and didn't want
to take too much time in case someone came up behind me and the horses
were moving fast.

Highway 341 lead me right into Virginia City. I almost drove right on past then I remembered this is a town that was on my "must see" list so at the last second I turned left and found the main drag. OMG! It was gorgeous! Old Wild West town with a glorious Main Street!

Again, these photos are taken from a stop sign. It was too early for shops to be open, but if I though my ankle could handle walking up and down the boardwalk, I definitely would have parked. Oh well! Damn ankle!

Highway 341 was twisty turning all the way up the mountain and down the other side showing magnificent views of Reno in the distance. I didn't stop at the viewpoint as it was across the other lane and around the corner. Too dangerous. Shopped, saw more wild horses on the way back, and passed through really gorgeous oasis valleys of greenery nestled in the dry, dusty desert. It was a bit miraculous.

I got back to Walker Lake around noon. Everytime I look at this lake it seems to be a different color! No clouds and no rain. High of 69 degrees!

The weather is beautiful, no chance of rain, I have food, I have a good book, even internet, but no phone...can I stay forever? Ah, no. There are a lot of signs on the highway about snow chains. I can imagine this place gets really cold in the winter! But I love it here! There is only one other person here in a RV up by the toilets and garbage bins. There is another campground just north with more people. I like the privacy here. This time I chose a spot closer to the lake and further away from the highway. The gravel on the driveway seemed a little deep so hopefully I can get out. It's very windy and peaceful.

September 30, 2026!!! Last day of September!! I took a short hike down to the lake to test my ankle. Walked very carefully and slowly. Felt a little pinch at one point, but OK. I really miss walking and hiking!

The water has receded about 100 feet and the beach stunk like a sewer. The view of the lake is much nicer from a distance!! I'm glad I didn't attempt to park closer to the water. Here's a view in the other direction with Big Blue almost in the middle:

In addition there is dog doo-doo all over. Yesterday a man in a truck drove right past me down to the lake. He gets out, opens the back of his truck's canopy, and lets loose about fifteen large dogs! People are so rude!

It's a sunny day! High of 75 degrees! Not a cloud in the sky. Later in the afternoon I thought I'd melt...and it's only 75 degrees! Hmmm...

OCTOBER 1, 2026: OMG! OCTOBER!!!!! I took another walk to the garbage recepticle and by the time I got back, I was in pain. Too much. Worked on computer. Did my back exercises all day. I haven't had much exercise lately since I can't walk and my back is starting to seize up. I need to get back to Tucson to swim.

October 2, 2026: Left Tamarack Beach around 11am heading south on Highway 95. It was almost uneventful until I ran over a BIRD! I thought it would fly away. I wondered why it was standing on the cattle guard. Squish! Got to Goldfield around 2pm. The town is considered a "ghost town" with really cool, old stone buildings, but it's pretty run down beyond the old buildings. Many of these stone buildings are being renovating.

Stayed overnight at the Goldfield Information Center which has a big parking lot and signs that say "72 hour limit". This surprises me because the apps say it's a rest area and the state of Nevada has an eighteen hour limit. I'm only staying until morning then leaving early for my mad dash to Tucson since it's still really hot between Las Vegas and Phoenix so no overnights between here and Tucson. I thought Goldfield would be cool at 81 (according to my weather app), but I rolled in and it was 86 degrees. Oh well. Might as well get used to it. Friday night...I feel safer here than somewhere remote. At dusk I kept hearing burros braying so loud I thought they were right outside, but never saw any!

October 3, 2026: Quiet night. Got up early and started the marathon drive to the state border! I drove through Beatty on the way to California and don't recall seeing the casino on the corner...it's decorated with metal sculpture all around, lots of what looks like giant gears that would be in a clock. I considered stopping for a photo, but didn't. I wish I would have. 

Temperatures down Highway 95 and 93 were between 95 and 100 degrees. I kept right on going with only one stop at Walmart for water and gas in Pahrump. At around 3pm I crossed into Arizona!!