It all started with the pleasant notion of driving our son to the bay area for a three month computer course. It ended up with 4,700 miles over the road, fifteen days, nine states, and fifteen family members visited. It was just plain fun and may make a nice diversion while folks dig out from the snowpocalypse. Pictures below the fold -
The Sapp Brothers restroom in Sidney, Nebraska:
I can hear your scepticism now: "Surely not! There can't be classy bathrooms at a truck stop in Sidney, Nebraska!"
Ah, but these were classy - very! Each woman's room (there were several one-person rooms) was tiled, floor to ceiling, and as immaculate as the Ritz. But the final touch of class was that each one had a bidet - fully functional. The men's room (singular) was nice ("About library nice," my son described them) but not so snazzy as the women's rooms. I suppose Sapp Brothers knows their clientele. Worth a stop if you're passing through Sidney and are a woman.
The second day was long (four states) because I80 was closed the first day for snow and ice. Thank you, state troopers! We were much happier snug in our beds in North Platte than we would have been skidding on the highway. We left winter behind somewhere in Utah, and saw the Great Salt Lake by moonlight. We arrived in Emeryville the third night in time for a family dinner with our daughter, and stayed with her for four nights.
The bay area adventures included a family bike ride to the Actual Cafe, a cafe focusing on good local food and community ventures. Their bicycle bingo sounds like a hoot, and their indoor bike rack made it easy to feel safe about our bikes while we ate. We had brought along bikes in the hope of riding in Death Valley but this family ride was an unplanned pleasure. It was the first ride with all four of us at once for about eight years.
Bicycle rack at the Actual Cafe in Oakland:
Another bay delight was planned by our daughter, who made reservations for happy hour at the Water Bar. One dollar oysters were splendid, but even more so was the view from their patio, where we could watch the lights on the Bay Bridge. We didn't have even a guilty twinge enjoying the mild air while a polar vortex was hitting back home. The bridge was a joy to watch. This is a panorama - open the image in a new window to scroll across it; download to get the higher resolution. I don't know why Photobucket won't serve up the original to your screen; sorry.
A panorama from The Water Bar:
Just at dusk, the light show started. This installation is a delight, and arrangements have been made to bring it back as a permanent display.
A bridge of light, floating above the bay…
Other bay adventures included two family dinners with all the bay area family members and setting up our son at his housing for the period, at a place called Hacklantis, short term housing mostly for programmers and other tech people. My son describes it as "Camp Wapsie for nerds"; my husband called it a flophouse. Take a look at the AirBnB photos and decide for yourself.
To reach Death Valley, we crossed over the Sierras and drove south along their east face.
At Death Valley we met up with Tall Papa's brother and his wife, who came in their RV. We shared home cooked meals there (we had cooked chili our last night in the bay area) and the two of us camped out while they slept in the RV. Death Valley in January is so mild that camping out was not a problem.
During our full day at Death Valley, we walked and hiked along several of the trails. Badwater Basin is the lowest spot in North America. This great salt flat turns into a shallow lake every few years when enough rain falls.
Badwater Basin at Death Valley (panorama):
Sea level at Badwater Basin:
This shot gives you a feeling for how blindingly white the salt is. A more subtle feature is about half-way up the rock face. See the itsy bitsy sign? That's sea level.
Death Valley, Artist's Drive (panorama):
The second morning we dealt with a very unexpected problem: rain. Since the weather didn't favor long hikes, we used the shorter break in it to explore the Borax Museum, an engaging amateur museum about the role of borax in Death Valley and in American life in general. There were indoor displays in addition to these outdoor ones.
The borax museum at ranch at Furnace Creek (panorama):
After saying our goodbyes to folks in the early afternoon, we drove to Las Vegas and found a decent place on the south side of town. The next day we stopped at the Lake Mead Recreation Area, which has a splendid array of bike trails in addition to all the boating sports you might imagine. We got in a second short bike ride on a converted railroad trail. Lake Mead was much more inviting than Hoover Dam, which was packed with cars and now has a security check point you have to pass through before even driving up to the dam.
Hover Dam, near the Lake Mead Recreation Area:
From there we drove to Flagstaff. By the simple expedient of asking the desk clerk, "Do you have any rooms with a view of the peaks?" we got a room that had this view:
The San Francisco Peaks, after a snow fall in Flagstaff, Arizona:
Three very restful nights in Flagstaff, where the hot tub went a long way to curing my legs of their Death Valley hikes, and two pleasant days with my brother and his wife, my nephew and his wife and a great niece and nephew.
The whole route:
What a beautiful country.