Finally whole again, but still wary of my 1991 BMW's fitness and stamina, we turned westward to California. In Nevada we left I-15 to take the "scenic" 93 up to 375 west. Nevada 375 is now called the Extraterrestrial Highway. Along the ET highway we made a fun stop at a shop capitalizing on the highway's reputation for UFOs.
Then it was back on the road with some rain along the way. We had planned to stay in Tonopah for the night but it looked so dreary that we pushed on to Lee Vining in California.
When we arrived in Lee Vining, 120 and the Tioga Pass into Yosemite were closed due to snow. We were lucky to get a room because visitors were piling up while they hoped the road would open. It was still closed in the morning and there was a dusting of snow on the surrounding peaks. A thick layer of clouds floated above Mono Lake. The drive home was easy and we made it by noon.
One of us needs a more dependable car and since Dan has an old Saab and the company no longer exists, it will be him.
Despite the car breakdown, we had such good luck on this driving vacation. For one thing, the car broke down in front of a restaurant in the town of Escalante where I could use my cell phone and where we were staying that night. Even though I had pre-trip maintenance performed, just two days before we departed, I bought GEICO's roadside assistance program. We had GEICO insurance and their employees went the extra mile on our behalf. We arrived at Great Basin National Park in Nevada at the peak of fall color. We saw an eclipse of the super moon. I will be 84 when the next one happens so I'm glad I got to see this one in such a special location. We had amazing weather often with beautiful clouds. We were able to hike as much as we wanted and take lots of photographs of remarkable places. We made it home!
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