West Coast 2009, Day 20-22

DAY 20, 21 & 22 BLOG

Good morning from Las Vegas! That’s right we are back here again, just at a different campsite, not in the city (we are actually 20 miles away from the “Strip”. After a 650 mile trip including a trek through Yosemite we are close to “Sin City” again.

Ok let’s get caught up (sorry its so long and so many photos):

Day 20:

Very easy day, we left Motorhome to check into the Hotel where the Trade show would be in Downtown San Francisco and set up. After a few hours of some technical difficulties we successfully had the booth ready for Friday.

After we were done, we went for dinner and were joined by Rob Shea (who works with me and was out here to do the show) and the boys FILLED his ears of all the inner workings and stories of the trip. Let’s say we had a few laughs, and Rob now has some dirt on me. LOL

Day 21 “The Show”:

The show was a tremendous success, and was very crowded, there were over 780 customers. While I was having fun at the show and meeting SEVERAL really great people, especially Pat a native Californian who gave me great suggestions on how to navigate out of the city and sites to see on the way out, and Bill who was born and raised in BRIDGWATER, NJ! Pat and Bill had the booth next to Rob and me and we couldn’t have had better neighbors, we had a great time in between customers and did a ton of laughing which made the 12 hour show go by fast.

As for Patty and the boys, they swam and shopped. As for their take, let’s say they couldn’t wait to leave. Unfortunately, where they went shopping there were a ton of homeless people, and some transvestites, that turned the whole experience bad for the boys.

Day 22 the drive:

After much convincing from several people at the show we decided to drive west through Yosemite. Everyone at the show convinced me the elevation was only 2k feet and my ears would be fine (my ears are still bad, but my jaw is now only dislocated sometimes as it is coming in and out…YEAH, I can almost eat again). Pat gave me EXCELLENT directions on how to get to Yosemite, and to our next stop.

Somehow, I decided in my mind to change the next stop, and ASSUMED the elevation was the same through the park. Well….ITS NOT! We chose to take the Tioga Ridge because it was the direction for me to get nearer to our next stop on Rt.95 in Nevada (more about that in a minute). Well this pass turns out to be at an elevation of 9.8k, and some seriously STEEP roads up and down. With that said, I would not have changed my mind or directions one bit! It was ABSOULUTLY breathe taking! Yosemite was a combination of EVERY park we have been through. It was Mountainous, had deserts, Rocks, lakes, Pines, Redwoods, EVERYTHING. We stopped more times and got out and did mini hikes every few miles. I could have spent days in this park. Again this is a park we will visit for several days at some point. A must see attraction!

After exiting the park we headed for Rt. 95, but first we had to take Highway 6. Now I am some pencil pusher from NJ, but when I see Highway and Rt. I assume things…Well was I schooled last night! Highway 6 goes through an off the beat awesome little park with sand, a lake and pines and really big rolling hills, it was literally a rollercoaster for 30 miles, basically a 2 lane stretch in the middle of no where. A very awesome experience! We passed 2 cars in 60 miles. When I come back to Yosemite I will take this same route, because 6 is such an awesome experience. We even saw a famous crater! It is a very cool road, and very quiet, a definite re-visit park and road.

Now I thought to myself, during the drive on 6 that this isn’t bad but when we hit Rt. 95 it will be more like a highway…NOT…just as desolate, but now it was PITCH dark! Folks, last night driving the 200 miles on 95 was an experience. I would do it again, but in the DAY, but was blessed to do it at night once in my life. It is really something to see total darkness like that. We all agreed this was the darkest we have ever seen, even darker than Devils Tower last year. Your mind definitely plays tricks on you when it’s this dark! There are NO lights and with no traffic it’s hard to judge the road. The speed limit is 70, and any slower you feel like you are suspended in space because you have zero reference to anything. The road on 95 was so straight you get memorized.

We pushed hard last night so we would not have far to the Hoover damn. It was a long and hard ride, but one of my favorite if not my favorite drive ever!

All I kept saying was “My God this is breathtaking!”

This trip is over half way now, we will be home in 12 days, and none of us want it to end. We have and continued to be so blessed with sights, sounds, smells, and experiences that will last a life!

Until tomorrow, please have a very blessed day!