Day 23 - Arriving home in Autumn

From Columbus, Ohio, to home, we drove through leaves that were changing further and further. Western PA is especially great for viewing beautiful forests. But, most important, we arrived home in time to grab spinach fettuccine and sauce-makings at Highland Park Market and have a homemade dinner with Penelope. (Okay, it was pretty late by the time we sat down to eat, but it was good.)

On the way, I read a book on the Spanish Frontier in North America to Maynard. I learned tons about the Spanish development of Florida, the Mississippi Delta, Texas, New Mexico, and California. Cool stuff.

Signing off, now. End of trip!

Day 22 - Kansas, Ill, Ind, & Ohio

We're charging home fast. Hope to make it some time tomorrow night!

The Eurovan seems to have a wonky switch or fuse; don't know when lights will work or fan.

Am ready to be home.

Day 21 - Down from the mountains to Kansas

Maynard kept checking the rear view mirror as we drove through Pueblo, CO, and east, away from the mountains. Today was sunny. Yesterday the rain, clouds, and shafts of light in the Nevada & Utah deserts explained why folks there are true believers -- whether in religion or aliens. Among other things, we passed cosmic ray collectors yesterday. Today was more practical. Lots of grain was being piled as seen above (the wind was strong; the grain seemed to me to be getting dirty). Also, we saw over 20 miles of "stored" auto-railcars. At 55 railcars to a mile, that's a lot of unused stock. Strange. In 2006 the threat to railroads was that scavengers were stealing pieces of track because the scrap value was so high. Now we see many miles of unused equipment parked in odd spots, on tracks that may not be used again. My last thought for the day is that I have to look up the red spiky plants that are being grown in many fields. Can't figure out what they are.

Day 20 - Route 50 through Utah into CO

The strange thing about deserts is that no two look like, nor does any desert look boring. However, we haven't taken enough desert pics on this trip. I wish I hadn't left my camera back in Pennsylvania! These rocks are from Utah and Colorado; there were odd sections in between with former lakes, sand dunes, and vast expanses. Maynard likes to bet on the length of a stretch of road ahead -- we had several straight stretches of over 20 miles. 'Long toward the CO border, we met a twin Eurovan. It's owner lives in Park City and camps with her two dogs in spring and fall. That's the only time she uses her Eurovan. Tonight we're in Gunnison.

Day 19 - The loneliest road in America - Route 50

We left Sacramento early this morning, taking interstate 80 to the east side of Reno where we picked up route 50. Folks are trying to make this road a tourist memory like route 66 with even less luck. Route 50, built for the telephone lines as well as rail and roads, is aptly nicknamed "the loneliest road in America." Lots of straightaways across deserts of sage and dry lakes. Lots of up and downs on twisting roads through mountain ranges. Most of the day we were above 3800 feet, even at the low points. Now, in Ely, Nevada, we're in the heart of the Great Basin. So far the car has behaved.

Days 15, 16, 17, & 18 - SP Annual Conference

Men with trains. Here are pics from several layouts Maynard visited. During the rest of the conference, he attended presentations and we both worked to sell the trains he brought. Success! We're bringing home only 1 box, having brought 5 boxes. Even better -- the Eurovan was repaired on the last day of the conference, so we'll be leaving Sacramento according to our original schedule.