Three Week Road Trip - Sixth Leg - Richland, WA to Las Vegas, NV via Great Basin National Park and Lehman Caves, September 29, 2013

Iffy weather in Richland, and on our way to Walla Walla for a day of wine tasting with the Carpenters.  Walla Walla is a very cute town, lots of tasting rooms, restaurants and shops with cheese, chocolate, home dec - what could be better?  We stopped at a winery for a tasting; very reasonable prices here in comparison to the Napa/Sonoma area.  The wines were so-so, and we bought nothing.  We wandered into a couple of other tasting rooms, but nothing rang our bell, so we went to have lunch at...oops,  forgot to note the name of the place.  The food was OK, they had a beer that Scott likes on tap, so he was happy.  As it is fall, there were a couple of beers that were right in line for this time of year.  Stan and I shared a darker ale.  It was OK; he drank most of it.

Spinach salad, beef dip, reuben and potato skins for lunch.

We drove to a winery that was in an old schoolhouse; a label that Scott and Carolyn had served us for dinner the night before.  The schoolhouse was turned into a tasting room, and it was a very interesting place.  Stan and Scott stayed in the car; Carolyn and I did a quick peek inside and then left for one more tasting room.  The wines there were good; Carolyn bought a red and then we left to see the house that they had just put an offer in on...and was accepted. 

The house is in West Richland and is a great buy.  It needs work, but the backyard is perfect for Carolyn and her love of gardening.  The house has a large basement with a full bath, and I suggested turning that into their master retreat, as the master bedroom upstairs and adjoining bath is on the smaller side.  Also, I suggested that they take part of the laundry room to enlarge the kitchen.  I am a troublemaker!

Looking at the weather, we decided to turn around and head south.  Rain, rain everywhere, and no fun sightseeing or golfing in it.  The weather in Vegas seemed good, so we thought we'd take a quick inventory and play golf for the rest of the week.   Scott suggested that we stop by Twin Falls in Idaho, and we made a reservation to stay the night.  When we got to Twin Falls, only one, Shoshone, was running, and without much water.  These falls are huge when they are running, but the season was over, and, after escaping bees trying to get into our car, we decided to high tail it to Wells, NV and stay the night there. 

A woman at the falls scared me a bit when she said that the roads were desolate on the way to Wells, and that two women had been lost and found dead out there, but Stan wanted to push on, and I overcame my fear to drive until nightfall.  The roads were quiet, but we made it to the teeny stateline town of Wells.  There are a few hotels there (Super 8, never again), and a few restaurants and gas stations and that's it.  How folks survive there, I'll never know, but I was happy to get out.  One shining light (dimly shining, but shining, nonetheless) is Bella's Restaurant.  The staff there is eager to please, the food is plentiful (and they tell you that right up front, even suggesting that you split), and, for diner-type food, it is all right.  Stan's fried chicken was crunchy and juicy.  The potatoes were cold and the vegetables were soggy, but he didn't care as long as the chicken was good.  My cobb was serviceable.  The ranch dressing was good, and although the turkey was processed, it was tasty enough.  Again, neither one of us starved.  Bella's

Cobb Salad and Fried Chicken at Bella's for dinner.  Guess who ate what.

Yogurt and fruit and pancakes, eggs and bacon at Bella's for breakfast.

The curtains at Bella's are various types of aprons, very cute.  Since it seemed to be the only game in town, we ate there for breakfast as well.  Greek yogurt with strawberries and lots of fresh apples, melons, oranges and grapefruit (not all in season, but OK), accompanied the yogurt.  Stan asked for his pancakes well done.  They didn't get that right, but he loved his egg.  The bacon, as usual, was not up to his standards.

It was Monday, the day before the government shut-down, and, as we were passing by Great Basin National Park, we went on in to see it and the Lehman Caves.  Stan and I had picked up sandwiches at a local market and put them in the cooler, not knowing what the food situation would be at the park.  It turned out that we were alone in the picnic area, except for a bird and insect or two thousand, and we had a lovely time eating our sandwiches among the trees.

Lunch among the trees.

Chicken salad sandwich to share - yum!

Great Basin from the Visitor's Center parking lot.

The park itself is immense, and the caves were quite spectacular and small enough to cover in a one-hour tour.  We noticed a couple wearing New Zealand t-shirts and it turned out that they had been in San Francisco during America's Cup, when the American team turned around an 8-1 deficit to win the cup!  The tour guide was a kooky young lady named Carolyn, but she was informative (almost too much), and got the whole group involved in one way or another.

The Lehman Caves.

We dragged ourselves on a long ride to Vegas.  I don't believe I've ever driven 50 miles without seeing another car, but it happened today.  Vast open space, a two-lane highway, and nothing for miles and miles.  I was afraid to ask if we had cell service.  

We made it to Vegas, where we had a nice dinner outside at PF Chang's...ahh warmth...and settled in for a three night stay in lovely, sunny Las Vegas where many golf courses awaited us.  

The next day, we made a 2 pm tee time at Wildhorse Golf Club.  The greens fees were reasonable, and we wanted to make a less expensive course our first one.  Well, it was hot.  And I mean hot!  In the 90s, and we were so tired, heat exhausted and shaky, that we quit on the 7th hole.  Stan almost passed out twice.  Not good.  We felt it was the universe telling us that this trip was not a good idea and that we should go home.  Which we did; 1-1/2 weeks early.  

Now that we're home, we're glad we did this road trip.  It was great fun, even though it didn't turn out exactly the way we'd hoped.  But we're better equipped to do it the next time.  I'll pack differently, and try to stay in a place for more than one night, but overall, the trip was a great time.  And I got to travel with my best friend, travel buddy and love of my life, Stan.