After my unintentional detour in Canyonlands and that motel in Salina, I booked it out of town pretty fast, ready to put my adventures in the rearview mirror. It had been about twenty years since I last drove US50, “The Loneliest Road In America,” across western Utah and the majority of Nevada; and it didn’t seem nearly as lonely this time. I even found a place called Pony Espresso that made a fine latte.

In Fallon, NV, I picked, as I said, a Super8 motel that was dog friendly. Quite dog friendly actually. The dog rooms were all way in the back, on the ground floor. The people two rooms over from us showed up just as I was unpacking the car. We started to chat and it was quickly revealed that this couple had sixteen dogs in their truck. “Fifteen chihuahuas and cattle dog,” the woman said. At that moment, I couldn’t think of anything more fun than feeding my dog some cookies, in his crate in the car, and watching them unload the pack. The woman was at the truck, the man at the door of the room. Three chihuahuas at a time, she released them from the truck and he called them. And for the most part, they came directly, trotting right into the room to their crates and dinner.

And the motel had its own casino. Everything in Nevada seems to offer gambling – as I recall the supermarket had slot machines. There were slot machines in the lobby of the motel (in addition to a whole casino), and Chico was allowed in the lobby, so I spent a dollar on the penny slots, trying to get the machine to make some noises to give Chico a new “big noise.” No pay off, and I’m not much of a gambler, so I was bored already and we went for a walk instead.

Walks are always a good idea.

You see cool stuff.

Like this folk art I saw in a yard.

And this nice old truck:

On arrival I realized that we’d had a couple long days in the car, so I decided to stay two nights in Fallon. It was relaxing and restorative. I went to a couple thrift shops, walked Chico, slept late, and did some reading.

On Sunday morning we headed towards Reno, and then on to Camptonville, CA to visit my longtime friend Jimbo and his dog Buddy.