We left the motel early, 0640, no coffee and no breakfast! John drove for 199 miles!
The landscape around Jordan Valley and on through Rome was quite scenic, the lava buttes and ridges are all one can see. The wet weather this year has turned all of Oregon green, the usual land color is tones of tan and brown, at this time even the sage is green.
At Rome, which is a campground on the Owyhee River, there was a small cafe, we stopped hoping to have a cup of coffee, but upon finding breakfast was served we both had pancakes. The tiny restaurant was also a mini store for the campers located nearby, the one proprietor was responsible for all the chores, cooking, serving, cleaning, etc.
Satisfied that we had food in our stomachs, we continued to Burns Junction, which is 3 buildings, all closed and run down. Highway 95 runs south while 78 leads northwest to Burns, we drove that lonesome road in September 2004.
The drive to McDermitt and even on to Winnemucca NV is very lonely also. After McDermitt the ranches are very large in the Quinn River Valley, so there is green stretching for miles. At Winnemucca the Humboldt River had flooded parts of town, apparently a result of the recent rains. WE stopped at the Cosgrave Rest Area for a change of drivers and to stretch our legs. We were on Interstate 80 which we drove from Winnemucca to Fernley where we will take Alt 95/50.
In Winnemucca there were several hundred motorcycles it seemed to be a large rally since many were parked in hotel/motel and restaurant lots. At Silver Springs we turned onto Highway 50, headed for our last stretch of the 860 miles we drove from Pend Orielle Shores.
We stopped in Carson City at a Heidi's Restaurant for lunch, then continued on to Walley's Hot Springs. Not a long drive, but lots of traffic on Highway 395, the main road on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Walley's Hot Springs was not clearly marked from the north, we passed it and turned around about a quarter mile past.
The Hot Spring is OK, the timeshare rooms are not as large as Pend Orielle Shores, and quite dingy due to the complete brown/tan color scheme throughout. We were tired, had a nice dinner and then John went down to use the spa while I showered and went to bed.