After a shower we went to Nicole's to collect our free breakfast bun, courtesy of the Sierra Motel, and mailed some postcards for Amy and Eric. We set off quite late in the day; it was almost 11:00.
We went East along highway 70 and then North up the 395 to Doyle. We stopped for fuel just outside Doyle and then set off again and didn't stop until we got to Susanville. Bill saw a shoe tree along the way but I missed it (twice). At Susanville we had coffee in McDonald's. I was hoping to use their wifi but it was locked! We nipped over to Starbucks to use theirs instead.
 |
| Outside the Sierra Motel |
We had planned to go North but it soon became apparent that this was not meant to be. For one, the roads leading East are quite sparse to the North of Susanville and two, the weather forecast indicated bad weather to the North for the next couple of days. The satnav also indicated that it would be quicker to travel back down the way we had come to, eventually, get to Yellowstone. It was the weather that swung the decision as we had had enough of rain on Sunday, so it was back down the 395 towards Reno.
We stopped at another Starbucks, before Reno, to decide whether we should stay there or continue. We decided to carry on as it was 16:00 and had found a motel to stay at in Lovelock, Nevada which was 100 miles away. We refuelled shortly after leaving Starbucks and continued to Reno.
 |
| 'Super 10' Motel Room |
The traffic along the I-80 in Reno was a nightmare. One accident and a closed lane made for long tailbacks, which we patiently waited in as Bill thought that filtering was not allowed in Nevada (having checked this: lane splitting is legal only in California). A further accident had occurred a few more miles down the 80 but we were soon past the trailer that had become detached from the pulling vehicle. After this we were able to enjoy an almost empty dual carriageway for the remaining 80 miles to Lovelock. We both wondered why this road was a dual carriageway as the traffic was so light; we saw less than 10 cars going in our direction in 80 miles.
 |
| 'Super 10' Bathroom |
Our visit to Lovelock was a bit of an experience. Our motel was horrendous and proof that you get what you pay for. The room was shabby, the bed sheets and pillow cases were worn and holey (but thankfully clean). The bathroom had towels for curtains and was decorated floor to ceiling in green tiles. The couple who ran the motel were a little strange. The husband was friendly enough but drawled more than once that he was fed up of snow and rain and wanted to return to Texas. We talked briefly to a man apparently living with his two kids in one of the motel rooms a couple of doors down. He used to drive trucks but had been laid off. Still had enough money for cigarettes though (not fags in America - that will get you in trouble). There was only one place to eat in Lovelock, which seemed to be a fairly dead industrial town, and that was the Sturgeon Casino restaurant. It wasn't pretty but the food was ok(ish). Bill was not impressed with the menu and opted for vending machine Ritz crackers and a bag of crisps. I had petite rib steak, mashed potato and vegetables (sweetcorn), with a soup starter. We were served by a lady called Alice, who must have been as old as Nanny Bet. She was sprightly for her age and had the wit to match. We asked why she was still working at her age.
 |
| Lovelock |
She informed us that she had to as she was not rich like us. When we asked for more coffee, Alice apologised for the "Young punk waitress" who was outside "puffing on a cigarette", instead of making the coffee. We liked Alice so left $25 for the $19 bill. We asked her to keep the change and told her it was for her and no one else. Before returning to the room and watching a bit of tv, we walked round the casino. It was full of fruit machines only. I tried my luck one one dollar in the mega bucks machine to try to win the $11 million dollar jackpot but my luck just wasn't in. I won't be returning to Lovelock in my lifetime. We planned to head for Wendover, Utah the next day.
The odometer read 45288 miles after parking up for the night, which means that we have ridden 263 miles this day.
