Hi everyone. Happy T day.
I hope everyone has had a couple of nice weeks. My husband and I went away on a trip to some National Parks out in the western US. That is why I haven't been visiting for T the last 2 weeks.
I am happy to be back though as I missed checking in with all your lovely T ladies.
When I returned home there was my envelope with some beautiful napkins as well as 2 great ATC's. One ATC was from Jo and one was from Bleubeard and Elizabeth. I know I am late sharing, but THANK YOU everyone for picking up such great napkins, and thank you Jo and Bleubeard and Elizabeth for the ATCs. They were lots of fun.
And I'm not sure who included the bee sticker (Elizabeth maybe it was you), but I love it!
I wish I had been here last week to share these when they arrived.
On our trip we visited 8 National Park Service sites, including 4 national parks, 2 national monuments, 1 national recreation area and 1 national historic park. We drove about 2300 miles, were in 6 states, and even though we covered a lot of ground, we saw some gorgeous scenery.
Today my T day drink has to do with the beginning of the trip.
The first place we visited was Great Basin National Park, which is in Nevada, just over the border from Utah. And without exaggeration, it is in the middle of nowhere.
These next couple of photos aren't the best as I snapped them through the front windshield of the car as we were driving. To reach our destination, we drove through a lot of uninhabited desert range land. We were on the road for about 1 1/2 hours without passing what I'd call a town.
When you reach the Nevada state line this road becomes highway 50, which is known as The Loneliest Road in America.
I didn't know what to expect from the place we were staying. I'd booked it off the internet since I've never met anyone who visited this park before. The motel had excellent reviews. Yet after the drive my husband and I had just completed we thought our hotel would be a little sparse like the one at the gas stop we made.
To get to our hotel we had to drive down 6 miles of gravel road and up over the mountains you can see in the background of this next photo.
The mountain view at the top of the ridge was pretty, And then we started down. When we got to the bottom of the canyon we came to our hotel.
It was a pleasant surprise to find that the canyon was green. There were some trees and a little river running down through the area.
The owners also had great communication before the trip. They emailed with directions how to find them. They emailed about the national park and to be sure to sign up for cave tours early (starting 30 days in advance) because the tours filled up fast. They also mentioned how they had quiet hours between 9PM and 9AM, and that at night they turned down the lights so people could find a place to enjoy the very dark night sky. And most importantly, they emailed with a notice that the nearest grocery store was 1 1/2 hours away so to come prepared with food. (And we did stop at Costco in Salt Lake City and got ourselves some food.)
Our room was very nice and very comfortable but not luxurious.There was a kitchenette so guests could prepare food. And it came with a Keurig coffee maker.
I'd never used a Keurig before, and I had to have my husband show me what to do. One of the packets was for English breakfast tea, and you can see I decided to give it a try.
And I toasted up a bagel and used some cream cheese that we got at Costco. That was a very satisfying breakfast.
And yes, the room did come with plates, but for some reason I decided to just use a paper towel that morning,
My husband and I both agreed we really like this hotel/ranch. It was our favorite place we stayed during the whole trip.
OK, enough of my babble. Thanks for visiting. I hope you have a great T day and week ahead.
18 comments:
Another wonderful trip. I lived in NV. for many years and miss the sage that grows just about everywhere there. Have a very nice evening.
I really enjoyed your post! I love driving through the west and into those very back country sites. It’s getting too tiring,though, when we make those very long days — the distances as you pointed out, are immense. I love your photos of the big open uninhabited spaces. We had a Japanese visitor who saw some open spaces (not even in the West, just ordinary open spaces) and said “In Japan there is never just nothing.”
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Isn't that Highway 50 something? I drove along it several times (we often took it on our way to Utah) and even though it is so darn lonely, I like it a lot. Did you tour the Lehman Caves? And did you join any of the night tours? Since it has become a designated dark sky area I think they do those tours - I would love to take one of those. We also hiked further up in the mountains where the Bristlecone pines are, such unique trees. I hope you were able to see them. I don't realy favor Keurig, too much trash. - Welcome back, Erika, I bet this was a lovely trip. I look forward to read more about it. Next time we go to Great Basin we will check out this hotel, it sounds good.
I would have loved that ranch! We did this trip many years ago except for Nevada and spent one night in Zion National Park. That is the only park we stayed inn that I remember. Lovely photos! Happy T Day!
Sounds like a great trip, visiting national parks etc. That was allot of miles to drive too.
I loved the motel you stayed at, having a kitchenette sounds perfect too. I have never used one of those coffee machines either-but sounds perfect for your motel room
I enjoyed the photos very much-always loved the mountains
That sounds like a wonderful trips and the photos of the Loneliest Road are beautiful, Erika.
I had to laugh at US 50. I have taken it in Kansas to the Eisenhower Museum. I have also taken it in CA to Lake Tahoe and points east in NV. It certainly can be quite lonely and desolate, especially if you are driving it at night, like I often did.
Sally gave me a Keurig. Seems each new design uses different pods. I used it for two days, then went back to grinding my own beans and using my regular coffee pot. I tried to give it back to Sally, but she wanted me to send it to Goodwill, which I did.
Yes, I sent the BEE sticker. I had been hanging onto it for months and finally got around to sending it to you.
Thanks for sharing the first leg pf ypir trip and your napkins with us, as we;; as your Keurig tea for T this Tuesday, dear Erika.
I love lonely roads (as long as nothing happens with the car, of course).
Now that sounds like a great hotel with wonderful management!
Much better than my last experience...
Your brekkie looks great. Ingo has a complicated coffee machine. Good thing I cannot have coffee no more ;-)
That wasn´t babbling, that was great, I´m so ready for a road trip (In a warm country).
Happy T-Day!
The landscape and topography is so different out there with so many unique life forms I never know where to look first! I was in my forties before I ever experienced the southwestern desert ecosystem and I was thrilled with it all. My only prior experience with deserts had been in North Africa - equally unique and interesting, but totally different. Now - about those Costco bagels - I can't stand them! They are way too big and are basically bread formed into the shape of bagels. And when you chew them they wad up in your mouth and are hard to swallow! I buy my bagels in a wonderful kosher deli. They are boiled and wood fired and are delicious beyond belief. I am sure that my taste buds fire up before I even pull into the parking lot! I usually eat the first one in the car on the way home! Hugs - David
I loved seeing your trip, Erika. The views are beautiful. I have never been out west and I want to visit someday. That ranch looks wonderful. I am spoiled for sure as I live 1 minute from a Walmart. 1 1/2 hours is quite the trip to the store. I am sure they are careful not to forget any items.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
Looks like we're in for some gorgeous scenery. That was so kind of the motel management to prepare you ahead of time. I have a small Keurig in case the Eldest is home and wants coffee. I use it to brew my tea. I just hang a teabag in my cup and run the water through the machine. Before having tea in a hotel or someone's home, I would run a cup of water through the machine and toss the water when done. Then I would brew my tea. Otherwise, the water picks up residue coffee and oils and tastes like coffee. 🥺How cool to arrive home to a parcel of goodies. Today is a good day to stay inside and make some art.
Oh, and Happy T Day!
I love seeing the ATCs!
What a nice location for a motel, though that much gravel road would've given me pause... The landscape photos are wonderful!
Happy T Tuesday!
What a fantastic trip you have done! I've been to Nevada (and Utah) on a coach trip (Tauck Tours) many years ago. The open space is almost frightening.
I have never heard of a Keurig. I assume it's a bit like a Nespresso where you put pods in a machine. Personally I don't like that sort of thing as it is super expensive and there is a lot of plastic waste. In your case you didn't have much choice of course.
It's nice that the hotel gave you all the info. Here in Europe it is normal for a hotel to give this sort of information.
Thanks for showing me a bit of Nevada. I hope you will share more of your trip next week.
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca
So lovely to see all your napkins and I'm glad that you like the ATC too 😊. Looks like your having a wonderful time on your travels, enjoy! Happy T Day wishes! Hugs Jo x
Sounds like a fun adventure, Erika, driving around the US for several weeks - something I really want to do one day. How lucky you booked the hotel so far in advance that they could give you instructions to make the trip more enjoyable and so you could eat and not have to drive so far away to eat out. The scenery looks fabulous to me since I grew up in New Mexico and it looks very similar to this. I am looking forward to your next pictures.
How fun you had a coffee/team maker adventure too!
Happy T-day a bit late. Hugz
What a wonderful trip Erika, I bet that ranch hotel was a relief to find around the corner after all those lonely roads! Nice napkin haul too. Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx
Loads of fun napkins -- that's a great exchange. Love the place that you stayed and it's nice to hear they were on top of the advance communication too. That makes a big difference. What a great trip you had!
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