Day 1 - Albany to Elko, Nevada

We wanted to make sure that the day would start off as normal as possible. The goal was to wake up when we woke up, finish packing up the car then head on out. 

Doing this meant that we would most likely be getting a later start and we would have to start looking at realistic drive times for the day - mostly so we weren't driving in the pitch black desert trying to find a place to stay. So, we decided that Elko, Nevada would be a good distance away (8 hours) and a safe first place to spend the night.

The problem we found was that some of the hotels were completely booked, while others were listing their rooms at San Francisco prices. We figured that it being a smaller town, we would take our chances with what we could find when we in arrived in Elko.

I will be the first person to admit that I suck at goodbyes. I am the person that tries to sneak out of parties, bars, get togethers, etc without saying goodbye to people. Unfortunately, when moving across the country, there is no sneaking out the back door. The reality of the move had set in. Everything was packed, it was time to go. After holding it (mostly) together for the past few days of goodbyes, knowing it was the last time I'd walk out of the front door of home set in and I of course became the hot-mess, ugly crier I was trying to avoid. 

Once I was able to regain composure (and I won't mention how long it took), the excitement finally began to set in! We were on our way to the midwest! Mid-Sandy! 

The drive took us through the Sierras and Truckee, where the changing of the leaves was gorgeous against the early snow that they got a week ago - when we were originally supposed to leave . The contrast of the yellow of the leaves against the white of the snow was magnificent. I tried to capture it, but Jason was being a speed-demon and this was the best shot I could get...

After we made it through the Sierras, we were in Nevada. We stopped for lunch at in-n-out in Sparks, which is right outside of Reno. We wanted one last burger before we left the land of the golden arrow. 

Nevada was pretty much like this......

For four hours. And most likely another four tomorrow. You seriously aren't missing much by not making this drive. Unless you like dirt. 

We made it through the drive torturing Jason with my knowledge of Spice Girl songs thanks to Pandora. We've also now learned that he is not a Britney Spears fan. 

We arrived in Elko at about 6:00 pm. After being told that the Best Western was $150 a night (WHAT??) we found out the secret to the completely booked hotels and ridiculously priced hotel rooms - Elko is a gold mining town. Monday through Friday, the hotels are mostly full with miners searching for riches. Not only is it a gold mining town, but apparently Elko is close to THE MAJOR gold mines in Nevada. Which means there are lots of miner men wandering the streets and hotels of Elko. We were also told the prices of hotel rooms in Elko are dirt cheap on the weekends, so if you want to fulfill your lifelong dream of visiting this amazing town, come on the weekend.

Tomorrow we aim for Cheyenne, Wyoming. It's about a 10 hour drive and allows us some time to explore the salt flats in Utah.

Hopefully I will get some better pictures tomorrow.