Wells, NV

I left home at 7:15 am and arrived here in Wells at 3:00 pm. It was a tiring day for some reason - I-80 to Reno was aggravating because of a few drivers on that roadway, but the road surface was better than I've ever seen it. The aggravation came when I was driving in the right lane and cars approach in the left lane - most go past me and there is no problem. If I am coming up behind a vehicle that is going slower than I am then I need to pass, but inevitably one of the guys in the left lane hovers too close for me to cut in, and long enough for me to have to hit my brakes. It happened several times and I wonder if it is a deliberate thing. I shouted a lot of 4-letter words in that 100+ miles.

Reno and Sparks, NV are always a bother to get through, but once you leave Sparks behind there is very little traffic on I-80 through the rest of Nevada. I made a couple of rest area stops as well as to get fuel. For some reason Nevada hasn't held the enchantment for me that the last several trips through it have had.

For several days before I travel I notice that I become very unsettled, unfocused, and distant. I should say that I do this when I travel alone, which is mostly how I travel. This time the pre-trip jitters were probably worse than normal, but I thought once I got on the road things would be as always. I wonder if I'm just tired of traveling alone. I really don't want to be bound to compromises with anyone, so it's always best when I'm alone, but I am tired of it. The thing is that I HAVE to travel. When the song of the open road plays over and over in your mind, there is only one help for it, and that is to pack up whatever vehicle you travel in, put it in gear, and take off.

Whatever it is I hope I wake up with a different attitude tomorrow. I will be driving through Salt Lake City, an ok city but one that I have never liked to drive through. I think it is a combination of traffic and the signage that has always bothered me. Oddly, about the only city I have always enjoyed driving through no matter what the traffic is like, is Albuquerque. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that SLC will be a breeze to get through.

I had breakfast at son Joe's yesterday morning, and dinner at daughter Jeannie's house. Having had brunch on Saturday with Steve and his family, I have had a chance to be with all 3 of my California kids before my trip.

I didn't take any photos today as the light just wasn't the best. The Sierras were a big disappointment - not a heavy snow cover in the mountains - and Nevada has been in a haze the whole way through. Scenes that used to perk me up looked like they were behind a fog curtain, so there is no reason to waste the time to try to take pictures. I have three cameras with me and hope I get to use them. Maybe Utah will deliver! (But not SLC - I just want to get in and outta there.)

Maybe I'll cheer up before I post tomorrow. Music today would have helped but I forgot CD's and cassette tapes I intended to bring along. I scanned the radio several times, and usually only two stations came in clear - both of them preachers. I'd rather listen to the silence!