Ann hit the iPhone as we left Crater Lake and found a cute B&B in the out of the way town of Susanville, California on the east side of the Sierras only a few hours north of Reno. As we drove towards Susanville, we passed by a series of large shallow lakes like Klamath, Goose, and Eagle lakes on the eastern edge of the Cascades and Sierras set against a scenic backdrop of low mountains. With their scenic wetlands, wildlife preserves, and water birds (big pelicans, and many others we couldn't name) it was an unexpectedly scenic drive. We arrived in Susanville at 8:30 pm without dinner (it's a pretty remote drive from Klamth Falls, Oregon to Susanville), had a nice chat with our hosts, got our pick from their three rooms, grabbed some Turkey Jerkey and popcorn from the gas station, and hit the 9:20 Harry Potter show at the old Sierra theater downtown. Dinner and a movie. Not often you can find first run movies at downtown theaters. After getting to bed late, we rose late for aleisurely morning, a great breakfast, and headed for Reno.
The drive from Susanville to Reno wasn't much to look at. Dryer and more desert like. Our Prius had come up for its free 10,000 mile oil change 1,000 miles ago in Tahoe, so we'd made a reservation then at the Toyota dealer in Reno (conveniently right across the freeway from the airport) for Monday. I was able to drop Ann at the airport (all that Reno's good for in my opinion is its cheap, convenient airport) and hit the dealership. 
I've never seen anything like it. It was huge (several floors). You drive up to the service area and there were 4 glazed automatic doors that open when you approach. You pull into an air conditioned showroom, leave your car in the line, and stop by the desk. Super (and bilingual) service - the best I've had - and I was out in just over an hour. Spent the time waiting at the big REI next door cooling my heals looking for discounts (nothing found). Air conditioned parking areas seemed funny to me, but we were lucky. It was a cool spell while we were there - dry and in the 80's in the desert our whole visit (while folks back in the east, and even Houghton, sweltered in 90 degree heat and humidity). It's usually much worse in Reno in July.With the car ready for another 10,000, I was on the road north again towards Susanville and then turning into terra incognita to see how far I could get into eastern Oregon that day.
No comments:
Post a Comment