Leg 1

Pics of the trip can be found here:
http://www.part7.com/Trips/Vacation_3-05/index.html

So today I started my long drive to SF (and then to LA).

Hop in the trucklet and start driving up 95. Head north up to Beatty. That little zit of a town has been growing. It's got a gas station that takes credit cards now.

So I make a left into Death Valley. Down I go. Looking at the map I figure I gotta be careful not to miss 190. Eventually I end up waiting for a while on construction. Get past and the road dead ends... WTF? That ain't right.

Oh...

Had the map upside down. (sigh) I'm a doofus.

Turn around and head north. Not too happy.

North on 395. Owens Valley. Driving along and I notice snow all over the mountains. Thankfully I'm not in the mountains. Then I notice the elevation signs have higher numbers. Hope that's not a bad sign. Then I see oncoming traffic with snow all over them. That, definitely, is a bad sign.

My trucklet doesn't like rain. Snow would probably kill me. At some point I noticed two things:
1) I'm in the mountains I saw earlier.
2) There's an aweful lot of snow there.

I get to Lee Vining and pull into a Best Western. Clean place, decent price. So I ask the lady behind the counter if Yosemite park is open this time of year. It's not. Damnit. Is highway 108 open? Nope.

Now is when my pathological inability to Just Stop Driving kicks in and I say "I think I'll keep driving north."

So WTF, now my tired ass is in Reno. But at least the rooms at the Atlantis are nice. And I've got an awesome view of... Reno... Oh well.

Highlights of my drive:
1) I ran over a hamburger.
2) Drag coefficient on my truck has to be pretty high, considering how many bugs have suicided on iy.
3) Bugs this time of year have a LOT of guts.
4) Keeler, CA: Population 50 (yes, fifty)
5) If ever in Beatty, don't stop for food. Just don't do it.

Best moment:
Watching a jackass almost cause two accidents passing people. Then two miles later waving as I pass by him and the cop writing him a ticket.