Day 2 (Soda Springs, CA to Carlin, NV): Weather paranoia/hood paranoia
Friday (intended overnight stop: Kearney, Nebraska; actual overnight stop: Carlin, Nevada)
In the morning, my classic car has seven inches of heavy, wet snow covering it. After mauling plates of the Rainbow Lodge's fantastic French toast, we wait around for crews to clear the road to the interstate. We finally hit the road at 11am and drive through more cold weather and assorted crappy conditions. In Nevada, an angel at Reno Tire mounts the new Michelin radial in place of the ancient bias-ply (which we keep for sentiment's sake). I'd previously had no clue how few tire shops are willing to work with inner-tubed, wire wheels. Now I know.
After lunch in Reno, I nearly soil myself when the B/GT's poorly fitting hood pops itself after we traverse a bump on the highway near Valmy, Nevada. (After inspecting the well-engineered safety catch, we treat the two-dozen subsequent reoccurrences as routine nuisances.) We make it to Carlin, Nevada, before conditions became too dark (how horrible must those original headlights be if the upgraded halogens will barely permit safe highway speeds after dark?) and too cold (how can the temperatures be near-freezing; isn't Nevada in the desert?) to justify pressing on into the barren, hotel-less Salt Flats.
Miles driven: 318 (414 miles in two days ... so how 'bout that 650-miles-per-day average?) ...next page >>