Elko, NV to South Lake Tahoe, CA

The last leg!

For the last time The Travelling Circus piled in to the truck and set off for SLT, CA.  We have done this drive a few times before when we have visited Donny and Kelly, so we knew what to expect.

It's long and very unexciting.  The high desert is unattractive, just scrub land for miles and miles and miles, there really is nothing, it's an idea place for prisons.  It was a fun drive to think back on our favourite places, our surprise places and the best food.  I am not sure if I can speak for Steve, but I loved Nashville, nuthin' like some good ol' country moosic, food, without a shadow of doubt, was the Gas/Petrol Station BBQ in Kansas City.

We made a stop in Reno for some lunch then onwards up the hill from Carson City to the lake, just over an hour to go.  Ollie definitely sensed either our excitement or remembered the smells of the area, he was standing up, front paws on the centre division, head forward in anticipation - or was that Steve?

The lake was just as stunning as we remembered (even on a cloudy day), we drove down Lake Tahoe Blvd, recognising our favourite spots and pointing out new buildings.  Then we turned up Thunderbird Drive and saw our blue house standing their quietly, waiting for us to return.  We let the dogs out of the truck and Ollie ran around and around, sniffing and running, sniffing and running.  Lola snuffled in some pine needles and even managed to start a small collection in her trousers.

The dogs' reactions almost mirrored our own: Steve hopped out of the truck and did a small amount of bouncing, though I didn't snuffle in the pine needles, or start a small collection in my trousers, I was very happy to be back.


The top photo is a dog, sitting on top of a secure box, in the back on a pick up!

Grand Junction, CO to Elko, NV

It was well worth deciding to have a short driving day the day before, we both slept well and felt ready for a long, not very scenically exciting, drive to Elko, NV.

The most remarkable thing, to us both, was the complete change in landscape over just a few hours.  Grand Junction had the Rockies and vineyards (!) and Utah had the very, very flat salt flats, it really felt like we were driving along the bottom of the ocean.

We did go by some odd buildings on the side of Salt Lake, I looked them up, they were/are Mormon pavilions.  They had a number of them throughout the state and they served as a rest area/safe house, where the Mormon's could stop for a bit and rest whilst travelling, perhaps? It wasn't a free for all though, you were 'overlooked' by a church official.  Now these buildings are mostly abandoned, I think the one we drove by (see picture below) has been used for a number of concerts,  I am not sure when the last one was performed, but a number of reviews said that it was pretty creepy to walk around and that mostly heavy metals bands now played there.

The road was straight, completely straight - the Romans would've been proud, kind of straight and either side was really nothing to see, other than salt.

We did drive by the Bonneville Salt Flats where the land-speed records are performed, the latest speed recorded was 630 mph by a blue Toyota Tacoma, heavily laden, with 1 dog, a spaniel,  driving recklessly and the other sticking her head of the window, shouting and whooping.  Only the speed record is true.

That evening we arrived in Elko and drove to Spring Creek, NV a small town just outside Elko where our friends live.  It was the perfect stopping off point before the long push to South Lake Tahoe tomorrow.  Thank you Donny and Kelly (and Ruby)

Denver CO to Grand Junction, CO

Our brunch was great fun.  It was really nice to meet an old friend of Steve's, his wife and their little girl, we chatted for a couple of hours as we ate then had to get back on the road.

Today was meant to be another long driving day, our initial plan was to get to Salt Lake City, UT for the night but we both ran out of steam.  After 4 sold days of driving, it was nice to have a shorter day and to be able to relax for the evening.

Along the way we drove passed some very familiar territory - the Outlets at Silverthorne, the road up to Breckenridge, Vail, Avon, Beaver Creek... it was lovely to see the Rockies in the summer, all green and lush rather than buried in snow.

After the flat KS landscape, the Colorado Rockies were a welcome change, as were the series of mesa's, for which they are well know.  We wound through the mountainous canyons with the Colorado River running beneath us at a good clip, we saw many kayakers and white water rafters moving with great speed through the canyons.

We passed through some small towns and big ski areas until we came to Grand Junction.  We pulled off the main road in to a small park to feed the dogs and decided to grab some supper at The Kannah Creek Brewing Company.  Afterwards, we drove a short distance to our hotel, a La Quinta which prides itself on being 'very dog friendly'  good, we're glad to hear it!

Like yesterday - not much to report.  We're doing well on our travels, so far so good.  Lola is happy curled up in the back but I think Ollie is beginning to feel a little cramped, we have plans to take them straight to the river or the lake once we arrive in Tahoe.

Just a few snaps from the car... tomorrow, off to Elko, NV to see some good friends and then just a short 5 1/2 hours to South Lake on Tuesday.  

We saw the man on the motorbike about an hour outside Grand Junction.  It was the whole outfit that had us in stitches from the woolly hat to the dungarees/overalls.  That red hat will definitely save his head.

Wimbledon starts today!
Camilla, Steve, Ollie and Lola

Kansas City, MO to Denver, CO

We took the dogs to their grassy spot in the morning then went to our complimentary(!) breakfast.  There was some confusion checking in, the room we were given wasn't made up yet so the concierge gave us a $30 breakfast coupon which covered the delicious buffet.

The travelling circus is on the road again.

There really isn't too much for me to write except that Kansas is considered the Sunflower State, oh, that's nice - we might see fields of sunflowers, how pretty.  Nope, not one, the only one we saw was on a wooden sign, how did KS swing that one?

Today was our longest driving day, we aimed to be in Denver by 8.30pm with only a few stops for lunch and for the dogs.  It was so hot outside, the dogs were actually grateful to get back in the truck and in the AC.

The KS landscape isn't all that dramatic, it's very, very flat.  Most of the pictures we took are taken from the car because there really wasn't any reason to stop and get out and take in the scenery.  It was mostly wind turbines and hay rolls in big fields and oil pumps.  The views were as far as the eye could see with pretty much nothing on the landscape.  The weather was nice for driving, perhaps a little gusty, but no major rain storms or tumbleweeds bouncing across the straight road.

 Once we crossed KS in to CO it's hard to imagine that this seemingly endless, flat, state has some of the  greatest skiing... there is nothing on the landscape for at least 2 hours then the Rockies start to loom in the distance.

I was recommended a restaurant a little outside the city, Root Down, a farm-to-table restaurant, 75% organic.  We thought it was worth a go as the recommendation came from a very good source.  It was delicious, absolutely delicious, definitely one of my top 5 places that I've eaten.  It was simple, no extra flavours, no heavy condiments or extras.  We nearly came to blows over our table that we had been eying up for about 15 minutes - it was free seating outside, the man was finishing his pudding and starting to move, then a couple walked in, as we were starting to make our move,  swooped in and took our table.  Not cool.  In conclusion, we got the table!

We booked a hotel in downtown Denver and had arranged to meet up with a couple of friends for a drink in the evening and then a college friend of Steve's for breakfast, the next morning.  Once the crew were settled, we headed out to a bar for a quick drink to catch up with our friends and then back to the hotel.

The city photos are Asheville, NC and the night scape is the Super Moon over Denver, the rest are just the KS landscape, and Steve eating some ribs!

Metropolis, IL to Kansas City, MO

After a good sleep in Metropolis and a mediocre breakfast, we were ready to set off towards Kansas City.

The landscape has changed dramatically to farming from rolling hills.  The scenery is pretty flat and there really isn't too much out there...

We stopped for lunch in Columbia, MO at a Whole Foods, the heat didn't really hit us until we stepped out of the car - it was 95 degrees.  We took turns running in to get some food and then ate in the car, if only Ollie and Lola knew how accommodating we are!

The remainder of the drive was much the same, very green but still very flat.  We did notice that there must be a decent amount of money in the area as we saw an Aston Martin/Lamborghini dealership and a lot of shopping malls with decent shops.  There would then be a break of a few miles and then more and more shops and so it continued for about 2 hours on from Columbia.

We started to approach the outskirts of KC at about 4pm, stopped to feed the dogs, then continued to our hotel.  I think KC surprised us both.  The city is very big, not in terms of size but just magnitude, the sidewalks/pavements are wide, the buildings are tall and wide, everything just seemed... bigger.  It is surprisingly modern with it's architecture and lit buildings, there is a main fountain area with a nice small green "park" which sits atop an underground car park - ideal for dog walking.

Steve chose Oklahoma Joe's BBQ for supper, a "restaurant" within a gas/petrol station with the #1 ribs in Kansas and also "one of the top 13 places to eat before you die."  Anthony Bourdain and Curtis Stone have both eaten here and raved about it, so it was good enough for us!

It literally was a cafe inside a petrol station, there were the pumps outside, still in use and the most amazingly delicious BBQ inside.  For the hour that we were there, the line never shortened, an endless stream of people looking for some tasty BBQ kept coming through the door.  The ribs were the best either of us have ever tasted and the pulled pork was melt-in-your-mouth good.  Delicious.

After that feast we made our way back to the hotel to let the dogs out for a walk and then we changed and headed in to down town KC, the man at the front desk told us Matt and Kim were playing and he was clearly expecting us to know who he/they was/were referring too and not only that, but to be very excited, we felt we couldn't let him down, so we went to see what the buzz was about.

The Power and Light District (down town KC) has clearly been revamped in the last few years and is a alive with bars, clubs, restaurants and big inside/outside bar venues.  We had a couple of drinks and wandered around then back to the hotel.  It was great to be out and about and in such a lively place.

South Dakota was the surprise of our last road trip and so far, KC has been the surprise of this one.  If I had a job that told me I had to live here for a year or so, I would be ok with that, I think this is a sentiment we both share.

Thank you very much KC for a great visit, we had a great time!

Camilla, Steve, Ollie and Lola

Here are a few snaps, I have more on my phone but I haven't uploaded them yet, I will post them on tomorrow's blog.  These are of the Gateway to the West in MO and the doggies

 

Asheville, NC to Nashville, TN to Metropolis, IL

There were a number of good breakfast spots in Asheville to choose from, we settled for The Green Sage, it was very tasty, a good start to the day.

Afterwards, we walked a little more around the town and then went back to the hotel to collect our things and of course the dogs.  Before heading out towards Nashville, TN we drove through Biltmore Village, which is part of Asheville and houses the huge Biltmore Estate.  We didn't see the house itself but were allowed to drive a little way in to the grounds, which were stunning, big green fields on one side and thinned forest on the other.

We travelled along Interstate 40 which was extremely pretty, more rolling hills and views forever.  It took about 4 1/2 hours to drive to Nashville, TN.  We stopped for a quick bite to eat near The University Of TN,  it was so hot outside the dogs couldn't walk in the car park, they kept hopping from foot to foot and we couldn't think why... until we felt the ground, I think it could've fried an egg.

Back in the car and off to Nashville.  

Our first stop was The Bluebird Cafe, this bar is one of the more famous bars in Nashville for breakout music stars and also one of the central settings for the television show Nashville.  It was very small inside and, judging from the line of people outside, a very popular spot.  

From here we decided to drive through down town Nashville, I think we were both amazed! It is a small strip but lined with bar after bar after bar, country music blaring out from inside, people everywhere and even a free-music park.  One drive around the block and we knew we had to come back for a weekend.

Just after we set to Metropolis, Il there was the most amazing hail storm, I think the stones were about the size of golf balls.  The traffic slowed down greatly and as we were driving under a bridge, we heard the most almighty crack and saw a great blue flash - we think lightening struck the bridge, two minutes later, clear skies and sunshine... seems to be the stormy pattern.

The drive to Metropolis was uneventful.  We arrived here at 10pm and will get a relatively early start tomorrow in order to get to Kansas City by the early evening.

Washington DC to Charlottesville, VA to Asheville, NC

We left DC at 11am and headed to Charlottesville, VA.  Thank you very much to the DC Crew for entertaining us for the night,  it was a great start to our journey.

The drive was short, only a couple of hours or so, which made it a nice stopping off point between DC and Asheville.

The city, itself, was nice.  The main pedestrian area was paved, which made easy walking for us and the dogs, we stopped at an outside cafe in the centre for some lunch and walked around a little more.  In terms of people and what it was like: there was a Burlington, VT and Ithaca, NY vibe.

On our way out of the town (?), it felt small so I'm going with town, we drove passed the University of Virginia.  The campus was pretty, old brick buildings and nice playing fields.  There was a definite emphasis on medical care, the hospital seemed to dominate one side of the campus.

Onwards to Asheville, NC.

The drive was stunning, rolling mountains with 'smoke' rising in the distance.  The highway wound through some huge views, greenery everywhere, hills, lots and lots of hills.  We got caught in some pretty exciting weather, a torrential rainstorm being one.  We thought it was funny people put their hazards on whilst driving in the rain: "be careful, it's raining' ... I know, we're right behind you going just as slowly as you are.

We stopped in Abingdon, VA for some supper,  we gambled with our rest stop options and luckily this one paid off.  We pulled off the main road and in to Abingdon itself and found Pop Ellis' Soda Fountain, it was delicious.

Back on the road and the last long haul to Asheville, NC.

We arrived here late but still had some energy to wander in to the town/city... it's hard to know... and grab a beer at the brewery.  For a Tuesday night the place was busy, lots of bars open and lots of people around, the weather was mild and we were happy!

We like you Asheville, NC... just sayin'

More from Nashville (!!!) today and I will then upload some of the snaps I took yesterday and this morning.

See y'all a little further West,
Camilla, Steve, Ollie and Lola (maah that lil dog sure has a big bark)  *sigh*

We did see a law firm called the Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen along the way.  That's a lot of Allen's.