Elko, NV or Bust

After leaving West Yellowstone, MT, the next two days were essentially transit days.  I knew we could probably have pushed all the way to Reno in one day, but that would have been an extremely long day and probably exasperating for the kids (as well as Twiggy).  So I looked at the map, pulled out the Road Trips book, and scanned the Roadside America website for an interesting detour along the way.

To be frank, in my humble opinion, there is really not much to see or do in southeastern Idaho.  I did more than a little research on potential stops but could not find anything that seemed even potentially mildly entertaining to the kids.  In the midst of this, I had seriously entertained a side trip to see Craters of the Moon National Monument and so went on the park's website to see what there is to do there and what the park service recommends doing.

In the course of my due diligence I ran across the following passage, written by a former park ranger:

"Its like black vomit from the bowels of the earth" was the reaction of an 1860s emigrant when crossing the lava fields in the present day Craters of the Moon National Monument.  This colorful description was probably the most critical ever expressed about this volcanic landscape, but the negative comment most commonly heard at the visitor center desk is "This place is nothing but black rock."

After working at the monument for over 25 years, this phrase came to aggravate me every time I heard it. I wasn't aggravated by the visitor, but by the fact that I Knew that none of these visitors had really given themselves a chance to experience the place at its best.

Visitor surveys done at the park showed that statistically nearly all visitors to Craters of the Moon arrived between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. sometime during the months of July, August, or September.The problem with visiting the lava beds during this time is that all you experience is an overpowering, parching sun, a drying and too persistent wind, and a stark, seemingly lifeless, landscape of black rock.No wonder so may visitors never return and so many Idahoans fail to identify the place as being as beautiful as Yellowstone or theGrand Canyon. Given a chance, however, I am convinced that anyone who followed these simple rules would come to see Craters of the Moon as every bit their equal....

Reading this passage sealed the deal -- I will never go to Craters of the Moon National Monument, especially with three kids in the middle of the summer.  So I gave up on trying to find something interesting to see in this part of Idaho.  In hindsight, after the transit, it was probably the right decision.  The terrain is essentially high desert or farmland that is crossed by the meandering Snake River in many places.  The speed limit along the bulk of the route was 75 MPH.  And so onward we plowed to Elko, NV.

I was expecting Elko to be not much more than a strategically placed transit stop -- a remnant of both the California emigrant trail and the building of the continental railroad.  I expected a town that is really a collection of inns and eateries for the people driving from the Bay Area east or vice versa.  For those who view the 4 hour drive from San Francisco to Reno as too short for a reasonable day's journey and San Francisco to Salt Lake as a bit of a stretch, Elko is a good place to stop.

However, we were pleasantly surprised.  Instead of being a town full of slightly run down motels and gas stations, Elko was a nice little tidy community.  It does have its share of motels and gas stations, but the town is well-kept and had a nice little sparkle to it.  It had a number of good restaurants, including some highly recommended Basque places -- which were crowded.

As it turns out my preconceptions were misplaced.  What is driving the Elko economy is not simple hospitality, but rather gold.  It turns out that the state of Nevada produces more gold than just four other countries and most of that production is in Elko.  Elko is considered the capital of Nevada's gold belt and it shows.  

Reno and Bishop and onto LA

From Elko, NV we had a leisurely drive to Reno where we stayed at the Peppermill Resort and Casino. Casinos have a lot of overweight, unhealthy looking people as their clientele.  Lots of "wife-beater" tees in the casino's coffee shop even though it is probably one of the best hotels in Reno with nice rooms and a very good pool.

Twiggy had family business in Reno so I took the kids and went up to see my Uncle Dave and Aunt Judy at their place near Truckee at Tahoe-Donner.  After our visit, the kids and I continued our journey and we drove around Lake Tahoe, down to Carson City where we satisfied our craving for In-and-Out Burgers.  

In-And-Out has locations only in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Texas.  They are somewhat of a cult institution with a short published menu and a long non-published menu that you can order.  But don't worry, unlike New York, if you make a mistake, you won't be bullied and chastised for being uninitiated -- e.g. the Soup Man of Seinfeld fame or the gyro/falafel cart on 86th and Third.

Hot Creek Fish Hatchery

We then continued down to Bishop, CA a small town of 3900 people located in the high desert on the eastern side of the Sierras to see my brother and his family.  

The next day the kids and I picked up some sandwiches and ventured up to the Hot Creek trout hatchery near Mammoth where we eyed the fishes and had lunch.  

After lunch, we traveled back down the hill to Bishop and went to one of my favorite places to go when it is above 100 degrees -- Keough's Hot Springs.  Keough's is an interesting place to cool down.  It is a large free flowing pool that is fed by both geothermal hot water and cool water so anyone can find a spot in the pool where the temperature suits them.  Although the facilities are slightly run down, they are clean and the pool is very sanitary and without chlorine.  

The following day the kids and I and Uncle Jeff took a trip up to June Lake where our intent was to swim on the beach there and let the kids go fishing for trout.  The swimming was excellent and the water clear and not too cold.  However, the lightning-induced fires west of the area sent smoke across the Sierras and into the Mammoth and Bishop areas.  Sitting on the beach at June Lake made my eyes water and sting.  It was very much like being directly downwind from a campfire.  The skies weren't deep blue like they usually are -- they were white and hazy.  Between the stinging eyes and the increasing winds, we decided to bag the fishing.  

Twiggy met us that night in Bishop and we left the next day for LA.  We only had one night in LA before our morning flight to Hawaii.  Twiggy used to live in Manhattan Beach, a trendy beach community about 10 miles south of Venice and Santa Monica and just north of Hermosa and Redondo Beach.  There is a thriving downtown area with an abundance of casual and high end restaurants, nail salons, coffee shops, surf shops, etc .  We met one of our dear friends, Emily Beason, for dinner in downtown there at a gourmet pizza restaurant.  You would be hard pressed to find a pepperoni pizza on their menu, but instead pizza with fresh corn, arugula, goat cheese, and other fresh ingredients.  Even the vanilla brownie sundae we ordered for dessert was organic.  If only we could find similar restaurants in Rye that offer fresh, healthy food for a minimal price.  

Campbell and Grant on Manhattan Beach, CA

The next morning the kids spent a few hours walking on the beach where there was a national lifeguard tournament ongoing with teams from as far away as Hawaii and the Hamptons.   

We then went to the airport and onto the second third of our adventure -- Hawaii.