Fires on Three Sides
Pics
Our 2017 road trip. On our last week of travel somehow we were a few days earlier getting into Reno. It was because of the fires that month, and in so many places we went to see, the roads were unavailable or the sights invisible because of the smoke.
We drove into Reno with a big grass fire behind us. Sarah did not want to go back to work and was was fretting about being early. Reservations for inexpensive rooms were made online at Circus Circus. All we wanted to do was walk around Reno a little bit, see some of the casinos, do a little gambling, and then off for the rest of our trip
We had a wonderful dinner at a communal table at a Basque place where we met a few older people who were maybe our future selves.
We heard in the morning that the drive south wasn’t recommended, so we made reservations at the MGM in Sparks at a very low rate, ready to leave Reno the next day.
The gods laughed. The road going south was closed because of a big forest fire. The interstate going over the Sierras to Sacramento had big fires on both sides and it wasn’t recommended because it might close at any time. The gods decided we stay another day in Reno.
It turned out to be a good idea because we discovered an interesting museum that housed the treasures of the spoiled rich kid from the 20’s who had been heir to the May Company fortune. We saw his lifelong collection of cool stuff from around the world. There was also an interactive Sherlock Holmes exhibit. There were sets you could work through, a crime to investigate, observe, note clues, and deduce, all charming and delightful. At the end, Sherlock himself personally met you in his consulting room to review the case.
Sarah called the MGM and negotiated a much nicer room, actually a little mini suite, and we had a delicious dinner at their restaurant. Apparently, we ordered some interesting food combinations and the chef came out and spent some time talking with us.
Well, the fires were worse the next day and Sarah tried getting us a second night in the MGM, but this was now the first night of Labor Day weekend. Rooms rates went up by a couple hundred dollars. So we didn’t stay there. We went to a Comfort Inn by the airport instead.
While we were driving around we noticed one of the tires was deflating on the rental car, so we went in early next morning to the rental office. Their solution was to give us another car instead of changing the tire. Unloaded one car and packed another.
To avoid staying a fifth night in Reno we thought we would drive around the fires. Which we did. We drove east most of the way across Nevada and then down and then across again so that we found ourselves in Mos Eisley, that “wretched hive of scum and villainy.” (actually Lee Vining, California)
We left Reno about 8 in the morning, then we drove much of the way around Nevada to get to the Tioga Pass which is always beautiful and inspiring, one of the most beautiful roads you will ever see. Then we went to see Hetch Hetchy, a second Yosemite-like valley that was intentionally flooded long ago and turned into a reservoir for San Francisco. We had passed a resort hotel that had a vacancy, so coming back from Hetch Hetchy we stopped at this hotel, but the guy ahead of us got the last room. But there was a pretty decent barbecue there for a decent price, so we had an informal dinner with all of these San Francisco yuppies and their entitled progeny.
We drove down off the mountain into the valley looking for a place. All the way down the mountain Sarah was looking on the web for places. We tried four or five motels and every time they had just run out of rooms, and this kept happening all across the state.
When we got to Oakland, we looked at a few places, all were occupied, and it was getting to be about 11:00 at night. I parked in the valet spot at the Marriot downtown. The hotel was full. I had a nice talk with the desk clerk who explained that it was Labor Day weekend, which we had forgotten. There was a comic book convention, and a political convention, so every hotel in town was booked. Back at the car, Sarah had called the Jack London hotel down on the wharf, and they had a vacancy, but by the time we got there, the hotel was closed. So we started meandering south. We got to San Jose, every place between San Francisco and San Jose was booked.
When we got to Watsonville, I was tired so it was time for a nap then we could continue driving. We went and looked at the Walmart parking lot, but I thought everyone who was spending the night there was creepy. So we did a travel hack that years ago I used a few times, and we parked in the parking lot of the police station to take a nap. But the night was too hot and sleep didn’t come. After about 45 minutes we were on the road again and went over the mountains to Los Baños and the 5. By the time we got down to North Bakersfield I was sleepy again. Sarah had been asleep and now was awake so she took over. The sun was rising in the smoky red sky.
I slept over the Grapevine. I woke up as we were coming through Burbank or just north of Burbank. Fires on three sides. The hills were on fire. City on fire.
We arrived home 25 hours after we left Reno. We drove a little bit under 1000 miles on that one day. And most of the day, as with most of the trip, within eyesight of a fire.
We were home a few days early, after 3 weeks on the road. We took a series of naps the rest of that day. The next day we spent at Disneyland. What a wonderful trip.
I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.
Susan Sontag