1 bus to Milwaukee WI

... spending the night at Wendover UT

BB is awake at 5 AM today and looking at the weather. Chains are required for Donners Pass.

I'm not awake until 6 AM and the chain restriction is lifted by then. I call for our NV permit based on us leaving the hotel by 7:30 AM and getting to the state line by 9:30.

Eggs and bacon.

We pull out at 7:30. It has been daylight for a while but we wanted to know if the chain restriction would be lifted before we left.

As we are driving the signs are saying 'chain inspection ahead.' But the CA website has no mention of it now.

1st stop is Gold Run rest area. Plan was to stop at Donners Pass rest area but that is closed, because of the snow. At Gold Run we look online again. It is still mentioning a CHP inspection closer to the summit but we keep going. About this point I mostly decide that in the future we may ALWAYS go south to get out of CA. I don't want to test the chain law. My local company says we need to carry them, this company does not.

We are at 6,000 feet when we start seeing snow. The pass is at 7,000+ feet. Lots of snow plows out. It looked like the slow blower that was working on clearing the rest area was up against snow that was 6 feet high, as high as the in-take on his blower. And this is just an early snow.

We did see one cop with someone pulled over in the 'chain up area' but that may or may not have had anything to do with chains.

We get to the CA/NV line about 15 minutes after the permit starts, traffic was a little slower in the hills today.

Inspection station is closed.

2nd stop is the Flying J in Fernley for fuel. Some people. A truck has pulled into line for a pump that is close. That is not an issue for me, but they pulled in at an angle so that you can not get to the next pump unless there is no one in line at the 2nd pump over. The truck was sitting there empty when we got there and when we left.

6 mpg so far. No way of knowing how full the tank was. Gauge shows full, but it did for the first 200 miles. I didn't need fuel yet but Fernley is the cheapest until we get to WY.

When we leave there is someone waiting in all lines for fuel, including for the pump that is closed. Too much traffic right then for me to stop and tell them that pump isn't working.

3rd stop was in Winnemucca for fuel and food. First it was for fuel at the Flying J. By topping off here I can get to Rawlins where the fuel is cheapest in WY. I was expecting to put in 20 gallons, I had to squeeze to get in 10. So 14 mpg on this leg.

Second stop in Winnemucca was for food at the Pig. We ordered, food is ready in five minutes. It is just starting to rain when we walk back to the bus to eat. We sit on the step and start to eat ... and it rains. Our legs get soaked before we move inside. By now BB is freezing and soaked and ends up dumping part of her sauce on herself. She's done eating.

Once she cleans up we start the bus, turn on the heat and eat the rest of our food as close to the door as we can. We should have eaten inside but we didn't know it was going to rain ... it is NV where it seldom rains.

4th stop is the truck stop in Elko. I put in three gallons of DEF. I have to come into the pumps backwards so I try to pick mostly empty places to do it. I had to go inside to get my receipt and I hadn't looked at the pump number so I just said 'about three gallons.' I signed and walked out looking at my receipt. Then I see the last four of the credit card number, it is not mine. Then I see this has a company name on it, not mine. So back inside I go to get the correct one. This person re-swipes my card and finds the correct one.

5th and final stop is the Quality Inn in Wendover. It has been dark for well over an hour, second night in a row. We could have stayed in Elko but the Comfort Inn has a sharp turn to get in and then a few nights ago I was told 'one spot per vehicle.' And the Best Western has a low overhang to get into their parking and it was 2-3 times as much, even using our voucher.

BB is still stuffed from lunch so I grab an apple from the breakfast area and eat a poptart I had grabbed from a breakfast area in Brainerd a few weeks ago.

... and shut out the lights.

Load board

US - 255

IA - 69/67

MN - 15

WI - 7