Thursday, March 26 (Snowbird to Reno, NV)

After snowboarding with Tom, I still had to get to SF. Leaving Snowbird, there was a hapless soul seeking a ride down the mountain. I picked him up, figuring enough good karma had been sent my way to warrant an outreaching on my part. He ended up being a very cool guy named Justin. He'd been a glass blower and was currently a sushi chef while saving and organizing to open a glass blowing studio. He had a 4Runner which had developed some significant issues, and was curious to talk Toyotas and about his truck (Althea). We talked a while, did some preliminary diagnosis on his truck, and wished each other well. I then continued on my way.

The scenery was beautiful on my way through Utah out to Reno. I passed some interesting sites, including the Bonneville Salt Flats. It was a reunion of sorts, as I stopped there on my first road trip in 2005. I debated getting out to take a shot, but realized that I was likely wearing exactly the same clothes as in the first shot, so maybe better to pass.



Apparently my land cruiser is capable of time travel. I just need a flux capacitor and 1.21 gigawatts.

One of the best shots of the trip:

Reunion:





Huh?






I had dinner in Winnemucca, NV, and had an interesting encounter with a guy outside. There were two places to eat, and I was parked outside of one. I asked a guy walking by which was better, and he and I had an interesting chat about the restaurants and the town. I then asked him what to order, and he replied "Not sure, I've never been in either one. I'm just checking ashtrays." He then proceeded to go through the ashtray looking for cigarette butts that hadn't been fully smoked, so that he could take them and re-roll them. He went his way and I went mine.

I fell short of my goal of Reno. The snowboarding caught up with me, and I was almost literally passing out at the wheel. Pulled over and crashed at an inn.