April 26th, 2024 - Travel to Parma, Idaho

We woke to rain, rain and more rain.  What a muddy mess.. But we got packed up, hooked up and away we went north. (My Andy took the brunt of getting wet.  Thank you Andy.)

The rivers were running high:

The clouds were low:

But the further north we went, the clouds and rain were breaking up:

To the west of this area is the location of the McDermitt Caldera - an ancient super volcano where the geologists discovered the largest deposit of lithium in the world.

There are links here:

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a45086253/worlds-largest-lithium-deposit-found-in-nevada/

https://phys.org/news/2023-08-evidence-mcdermitt-caldera-largest-lithium.html

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/30/23849619/lithium-ev-battery-thacker-pass-mine-mcdermitt-caldera

When I saw the signs and all the activity happening in Winnemucca, I just had to do the research.  Right now construction has started on some of the mine buildings and they currently bus people from Winnemucca to work there.  The main company and well as some of the communities are starting to put in the infrastructure (housing, roads, schools, water supply, etc.) to prepare for the influx of people.

If you are really interested on what is happening, there is a lot of information out there and I plan to follow along.

(On a side note:  In 2007, we came thru the sleepy town of Williston, North Dakota.  A few years later when we came thru, we were shocked at the changes.  This was in the middle of the oil boom there.   There are so many pros and cons to this that I will not go there on this blog.)

How about this - the Say When Café!  LOL!

Into Oregon:

The scenery is just breathtaking:

Free Range Cattle EVERYWHERE!:

A little snow..

Rain in the distance:

Reminded me of the little girl with the red coat in Schindlers List:

Another OMNI!  Although I think this one has been decommissioned:

These are also called VORTEC. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF_omnidirectional_range

The scenery continues:

Down into the valley:

Up the other side:

To the plateau:

Check out those mountains:

Into Idaho:

Where we went up:

Then down into the valley below:

Farming:

Many horses (and cattle too):

HOPS Farms:

Canals for the farms:

And many beautiful rivers:

We landed in Parma, Idaho at Old Fort Boise RV Park - a cute little 9-space RV park.   Our friend, Sue, lives about 90 miles from here in the summer and we were so so glad she could come down and spend the weekend with us.

Here is our space and Sue is behind us:

We spent the rest of that day/night just getting caught up, doing our happy hour and laughing away.  We were outside for a while - sun was nice but then it did get windy. 

What a great day!

Tomorrow we will do some exploring so stay tuned.

A note on today's journey - US-95 from Winnemucca to Parma is one of the more beautiful drives in this country.  If you have a chance to do it, go for it.  There are many places to camp and hotel/motels in the little towns.  Breathtaking Views!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 241 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Nevada: NV-289; BL-80; US-95

Oregon: US-95

Idaho: US-95

April 24 - 25, 2024 Winnemucca, Nevada

April 24th, 2024

We slept pretty well in the Walmart parking lot in Fallon.  By dark, most of the traffic had slowed..

Before we left, our neighbors, Roger and Jane, stopped by with their information.  They are heading to Alaska also and hopefully we will see them along the way.

There were no mountain passes today.  A lot of flat area but we are at 4500' in altitude.  I still can't wrap my head around it!

More salty areas:

A lone tree among the scrub bushes:

This area from here to the Interstate is part of the original California Trail.  As we travel and look around, I think about all those folks who traveled this way for a better life.  And what did they think about as they traveled thru this area.

Many canals thru this area - not sure if they are natural or man-made:

Still part of the California Trail:

Not sure what this is.  Almost looks like a type of oven:

On the interstate - 80 mph on I-80...

Rain in the distance and a train in the foreground:

Another interesting abandoned structure:

GREEN!!!

Homes along the mountain and clouds covering the mountains:

WOW!  One of the things that amazed me about the west is that you can see for miles and you can also see where it is raining.

The Rye Patch Reservoir:

This is an active gold and silver mine.  It is the original Florida Canyon Mine that was purchased by Rye Patch.  They also purchased a number of other mines in the area and intend to reopen them.

Free range cows everywhere:

Area around Winnemucca:

We arrived at the Winnemucca RV Park and settled in.  Andy did some RV battery maintenance and I cleaned some of the dust from the RV - it was everywhere.  Later in the afternoon, we took a ride around Winnemucca and checked out the area. (The last few pictures above are from that little road trip.)

The is just a stop-over for us now but after doing some research, we will be back.  There are some ghost towns to explore - 😊

Some interesting links on Winnemucca:

https://historicwinnemucca.stqry.app/2#:~:text=In%201866%2C%20Winnemucca%20Post%20Office,to%20serve%20the%20traveling%20public.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnemucca,_Nevada

An interesting article on the upcoming gold and lithium boom:

https://www.nevadanewsmakers.com/RayHagar/article.asp?ID=458

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 130 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Nevada: US-50; US-95; I-80; BL-80; NV-289

April 25th, 2024

It rained most of last night and today was cloudy and dreary..  So a perfect day for laundry - LOL!  After that was done and put away, we made a quick trip to the store and decided to hang out for the rest of the day - especially since it became very windy.

Tomorrow we continue our journey north so stay tuned and enjoy today!