Em N Ru: Salem to Reno

We got up at 7am and made it out of the house record time. We grabbed the necessities we had yet to pack (and coffee) and hit the road by 7;45. Google maps said the shortest route was to head over Highway 58 through Oakridge, so that's what we did. We ended up finding snow in Oakridge (and McJunk breakfast sandwiches) that got thicker and thicker so we stopped to try out moms new chains. They worked like a charm and we rode over the pass in spring break winter wonderland fashion and dechained at Crescent Junction. We stopped to throw a snowball and get a snack and we were off again. Next stop was for gas and a sandwich in Klamath Falls.

The weather down highway 97 was beautiful, sunny and mostly cloudless. The only downfall was the temperature that hovered around freezing all day. We pulled over and had a break by the side of the road by Eagle Lake (near Susanville CA) and Freddie and Ruben walked down to the water. Well, they walked ON the water because it was frozen solid and partly covered with snow. I sat in the glorious sunshine by the car and enjoyed a moment of not moving.

Ruben played through two batteries in my old phone today and we watched a couple of Simpsons episodes. By the time we got to Reno he was on to building a fort with blankets and pillows in the back seat and Fred was tickling him.

We pulled into our hotel near the marina in Sparks NV at around 6:30pm. We found a parking spot and checked into Western Village Inn and Casino. Ruben's eyes went wide as we walked into the casino to register. Its a medium sized casino with a large sized hotel attached. Mom was right about the cigarette smoke, the casino wasn't exactly a cloud but it had the same ambiance I remember from the Moose lodge when I was 10. Thankfully we got a nonsmoking room in the hotel. We are on the second floor, in a lovely room that beats any hotel 6 and didn't cost much more than a 6.

When we got all settled into our hotel we called around to see about dinner, and the local mexican place had a hour and half wait. So we ordered take out. The nachos grande was indeed grande, and the chimichanga was larger than any burrito I've eaten. The food was super tasty and we are now tucking in for the night. I brought my earplugs so it should be a restful night.