50 States, 15 Days To Go

Carson City NV to Bishop CA, 153 miles "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson There's nothing like the smell of rain in the desert. From fresh rain on the paving to the aroma of damp sage, it is truly a sweet fragrance. And better yet, smelling it while leaving the restaurant after a day's ride is done. Oh, yeah. We started with clear skies and climbed into the mountains, up to over 8,000 feet in elevation. The highway rose and fell, and with the descents came awesome views. The Sierras loomed large to the right, with the last remnants of a winter's snow. The ecology morphed from high woodlands to desert to scrub. What's amazing is the vast open areas, from one horizon to another, looking like the rangeland of Wyoming, only rising and falling in a dramatic manner. Toss in a few lakes for better views. What a surprise to cruise Gardnerville, Nevada for the first time. We expected a pathetic little town like Mina or Goldfield, yet the G-town teemed with life, plenty of newer buildings and people. While QG visited a quilt shop, I chatted with a couple of local ladies and they love their town. Both California refugees, escaping overcrowding and taxation. We decided to go to Bishop on 395, rather than go south on 95, as we've done that dozens of times. Bishop is in California, so we entered Cali for the sixth time this Adventure. We could wear this state out. Okay, maybe not. We rolled though a few other dinky towns like Walker and Bridgeport. The turnoff for Mammoth Mountain tempted but we'll visit it some other time, another feature we missed this trip. Bishop teemed with trucks, cars and people. And when we checked into the Motel 6, surprise, the rate was one of the highest in the country for them. Opening day of fishing season. Fortunately they had room in the inn. As soon as we stopped, the rain that threatened all day arrived, what great timing. And now, quilted and sewed, Quilter girl! The Quilt House in Gardinerville was great fun. The shop is big and well lit with the fabric displayed in shelves on one side by color and by collections in the center in cribs and on benches. They had a wonderful bin of $.99 scraps and a whole bin of stacks of 30 fat quarters for $30. I am so close to home that I grabbed one of the fat quarter groups and 10 of the scraps. It is like finding treasure! I also found a great fabric that had mountains on it. It was a camping themed stripe that had some great stripes. I wish I had a great idea for a quilt with the whole line of fabric because it was awesome. It got colder and colder as the miles went by and we were riding into the clouds. We stopped at one summit and put on our Gerbing pants. I grabbed my heavy jacket and gloves too. It only got worse so we were glad we had stopped. Now, with the heat cranked up we are tucked into a great motel room having just finished watching the Nationwide race in Talledaga. I have been cutting my new treasures and Kevin has been working on the blog photo posting problem. QG Tomorrow stay tuned for The Week in Review and Church Surch. I let my fingers do the walking this week. If you don't know what that means, ask your mom. Okay, your grandmother.