Monday, July 16, 2012


July 13, Carson City, Nevada.

The past few days have taken us through some of the high desert areas of Idaho, Nevada and Northern California. As you might expect, it has been hot! This year has been unusually hot right across the US. Many of the areas we have been travelling through have been well above the old century, 100F, or above 38C in the new currency. Travelling through desert areas, the high temperatures are not too difficult when you spend your day in an air-conditioned car, but when you step outside, you know it!


In this part of the world, we love to hunt out 'ghost towns'. Some, like Garnet, Idaho and Bodie, California are a bit off the beaten track, and that is a good thing as the summer holidays get into full swing and roads become choked with families on road trips (how dare they!). Both Garnet and Bodie were old mining towns that struggled on into the early years of the 20th century.


Their isolation allowed some of the character buildings of the old towns to survive the end of the mining boom and the enormous growth that swept across the US throughout the 20th century. Both have been preserved rather than restored, so they look much as they did when the last residents walked away from the dying towns. On the other hand, the Nevada mining town of Virginia City, outside Reno, has become a bit of a tourist theme park. Nevertheless, Virginia City does retain some charm and it leaves one with a feeling of what a rip-roaring gold mining town might have looked like.

And oh yes, Nevada does have casinos, and yes we did play and yes, for once, we DID win.


July 16, Fort Bragg, California.

Down to the Pacific coast today after a couple of days with family in Sacramento. Our timing was fairly good. The week prior to our arrival, the Sacramento area had a string of days well over 100F (around 40C). Things had moderated to the low 30sC for our stay.

Our route today took us through the wine area of the Napa Valley just north of San Francisco and the beginnings of the Redwood forests of the coastal ranges.

Shivering in the motel tonight with temperatures down to the mid teens Celsius.

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