We got going at 7.50am and an hour later we stopped beside Peggy Sue’s 50’s diner and made ourselves some breakfast.
We headed into the Californian desertPeggy Sue’s diner
We were travelling through the Mojave Desert with lines of trucks on Highway 15 north.
Very dry scenery in the Mojave DesertConvoy of colourful trucksBack in the land of trucks and mobile homes
The landscape was dry with strange desert plants growing beside the road at 4,600ft.
Arid zoneStrange desert plants
We found the steering was rough, so we pulled off the highway to check the tyres but they appeared OK. It was windy and 85° F.
The highway stretched out straight in front of us
We crossed into the state of Nevada at Primm around 11.00am.
Primm, NevadaWelcome to Nevada
Nevada has different gambling laws to other states so they allow casinos. Many hotels offer cheap food and accommodation to entice visitors to stay and gamble.
CasinoSigns advertising cheap food and accommodationComing into Las VegasAn Aussie export
The highway wound its way past many of the famous hotels and casinos as we passed through Las Vegas.
Las Vegas casinos and hotels
We turned onto Highway 39 and headed for Ely at 12.08pm, stopping to make ourselves some lunch with the temperature at 91° F.
We headed towards Salt Lake City
The countryside was dry desert and we drove through Pahranagat Nature Reserve with many yellow wildflowers growing beside the road.
Desert plants
At Ash Springs we were at 3,600ft.
Ash Springs area
We drove through White River Canyon with old weathered rocks and Pip had a turn at driving.
White River CanyonPip drivingDick driving
After stopping for a cup of tea, Dick let some air out of the tyres and this made the vehicle travel much smoother on the road.
We stopped to let some air out of the tyres
We passed an old windmill at Lund and arrived in the town of Ely. We drove down to the railway stations but it was closed. We then we realised that we had passed through another time zone change, so it was later than we thought.
An old windmill reminded us of homeBoys in football gear ran in front of us in Ely
We visited a local supermarket and got some fresh groceries before we found the local KOA campground and settled in for the night.
Pip collecting emails
Total today 447 miles (719 kilometres)
Click here for the next entry – Dry desert to snow covered hills.
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