2 Backpacks, 2 Bikes, a Van and a plan..: Ready to Leave Reno

Well, it's hard to believe that a week from today we will be driving away from Reno and will be "on the road again". Or perhaps not that hard to believe - this summer has been an odd one for us and while some parts of it have flown by and been extremely enjoyable, others have moved at a snails pace - as will happen when where you are is not all that good a "match" for you. The three days a week that we have spent in the ranger house that we share with other - let me just say "less stellar" human beings - has been a chore and a challenge and one we are not likely to repeat in the future. Even so, we can't deny that we have had some truly amazing experiences while we've been here and our off-days traveling have been fantastic.

In addition to all of the great trips I've already documented over the past 10 weeks, the week before last we spent a long weekend in the Mammoth Lakes region of California, including a stunning visit to Devil's Postpile National Monument and then this past weekend we returned to Yosemite once more, taking advantage of the close proximity to see parts of it we missed the first time around. We have done more camping in the van this summer than any other time since we've owned it, and it has really made us appreciate having the perfect vehicle for campground camping in beautiful places. We have truly enjoyed so many warm summer evenings, sitting around campfires under the stars in stunningly gorgeous places. We are presently heading off on another getaway, this one to be shared with our brother in law Rob who is visiting in California for a few weeks. We are going to retrace some of our former steps and show him Lassen Volcanic National Park, as well as the Sierra Nevada Brewery. Then we will return to work our last three days at the Visitor Center and pack up the van for the last time here!

In the past few weeks we have pieced together a plan for the next two months. We will travel directly from Nevada north through central Oregon and Washington state to get to a Dave Matthews Band concert at the famed Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington State on labor day weekend, with a likely stop at Crater Lake National Park. After the concert, we will head north toward the Canadian Border, then plan to drive down the coast on Route 101 - affectionately referred to as "the 101" by folks here on the west coast - through Washington, Oregon and the coast of California probably all the way to San Diego, visiting as many national parks along the way as we have time for.

Our next hard scheduled date is a music festival on September 25th in Marfa, TX, not too far from Big Bend. We are going to be volunteering for the four day Trans Pecos Music Festival, which gets us free tickets to all the shows and free camping as well in exchange for 6-9 hours work over the course of the four days. Next will be a visit to some friends in Big Bend and potentially a flight home to RI for a visit during October. Once we are out of this communication dead-zone in Nevada, I hope to post again more regularly! Until then. Best wishes to all...and of course, a few photos.