Bob Scott

This stop got us roughly half way between Great Basin and Reno. It is a small, first come first serve place with no services. There is a toilet, and that’s about it. No water, no trash, no hookups of any kind, and no pavement on the rough dirt loop just off highway 50. However, there is absolutely incredible cell service because the place must be situated next to a tower.

Not much to report from the day except that it gets windy across those open plains. As the basins stretch out between increasingly distant ranges, the wind sweeps across the open landscape and can result in a nasty north/south crosswind. It helps a lot that there is very little traffic, so you can go slow.

We pulled off at Hickison Petroglyphs, a campground we stayed at once before, but decided to go about twenty miles further to Bob Scott. Richard got out and rode it, feeling thankful he did not have to haul his ass across all of Nevada on a bicycle.

While he was kitting up, we were menacingly approached by many huge black beetles. We looked them up because they were striking and becoming unnervingly abundant. Turns out they are Mormon Crickets and are totally a thing in Nevada. Apparently, they cover the roads in places, to the point that they can cause accidents by making the roads literally slippery with their gross squished bodies. Yuck.

We had one last grill dinner of steak with miso butter, corn on the cob, and eggplant and zucchini marinated in miso paste and sesame oil. I have learned to put all of the food, paper plates, and paper towels into my nifty grill bag so they don’t all blow away. This is me learning to live with weather.

We will have just two more stops before home. We planned a last hurrah at Donner, but the Passport needs a service. That’s what happens when you go to Quebec and back. So instead we’ll do a one nighter in Reno, and then a new place to have our nervous breakdowns. All good as we make our way Californyways.

Total miles from Great Basin: 209.9, 17.7 mpg, 5 hours 47 min. Site 8. 10$. First come first serve. No water, no trash, no hookups. Incredible cell for both. 4 bars super fast 5g. Many sites not level.