Wednesday October 7th Drive to Elko Nevada
I'm not normally a complainer, but this trip was definitely trying at times. Overall, it was fun and interesting, but only because I deviated from my set routines. :)
The morning was crisp and clear, the roads were good, & the music was fun. As I approached Aberdeen this huge cloud was sitting on the ground so I pulled over for pictures. Lovely, gorgeous ... and then continued to drive into the big cloud bank for miles and miles at a crawl. Okay, fine no problem just chillin along for the ride.
I don't like stopping all the time, so I try to, well, hold it till the last possible moment. I made it to the Eden stop, then zoomed through Twin Falls and Jackpot and past the outhouse reststop just south of Jackpot. It's a gorgeous stop in the desert with a lovely creek and trees. I would have stopped, but I was alone and a big truck was already there. It wasn't THAT far to Wells, so I kept on going. What I didn't know was that there was road construction, and I'd have to sit and wait in my car for 30 minutes before being allowed to move forward. I barely made it to the stop in Wells. Then and there I vowed NOT to let that happen again.
I made it to Elko in the early evening and checked into the tiny Days Inn. Tiny room, but free wireless, a microwave and fridge and it was all good.
I drove around scoping out the town and stopped at the Nevada Dinner House (Basque) for my evening meal. I got there too early but they let me in and I read & drank tea till dinner was served. They serve vast amounts of food and the chicken on top of the alfredo was AMAZING. The sauce was adequate, but the chicken yeowsa!
Thursday October 8th Conference
I went to the desk and they really didn't want to let me into the conference without paying, but seriously. If you drive from another state, what's the big deal. In the end I only attended the Keyone address and the session that was just before my own. If they didn't want me there, I was more than glad to oblige them.
The Keynote Speaker was Nick Arnette he is a comedian and a teacher and was a great speaker. He talked about bringing fun into the workplace.
For the afternoon I drove up Lamoille Canyon, it was a gorgeous fall day. The cirque was deep and classically cut into the mountain. The vegetation was not as lush as it is in the forests of Island Park/Yellowstone, but it was lovely and the lighting was excellent.
Friday October 9th Conference
I spent the morning shopping at odd little tea/book/craft stores. It was a lot of fun. I ended up at lunch at the Ruby Station diner. Food was solid and predictable. I like that. I then headed over to the conference where I attended an unremarkable session and then gave my own. See my Library Banter for more on that.
Saturday October 10th Drive home to Pocatello
This time I drove home with a little more sense about stopping when I needed. I also grabbed my novel so when I got stuck at that construction zone I was ready. Matt and Carrie got married in August, at their wedding they had a chocolate fountain. The caterers chopped up twinkies for the fountain, and I rediscovered the fact that I really do like twinkies. This is very good, because they have the fewest calories of all the hostess goodies. So my drive home included twinkies. :)
I didn't talk about it till after I had left NV... I couldn't really afford a different hotel since I was paying for this trip myself. But in the middle of the night that first night, I sprawled out under the covers and encountered a wet spot. EWWWWW. It was towards the foot of the bed so I curled up on my side and tried to forget about it. In the morning (thank heavens it's a desert) there was no more wet. I did not check the bed but decided that it was an accident involving cleaning fluid or water and I wasn't going to worry about it. The second night was when I realized the refrigerator made this horrible high pitched squealing sound. Of course, most people probably can't hear it, but it drove me crazy. I ended up leaving the heater up higher so the fan would drown out the squeal. And last but not least, in my search for power outlets I discovered a dessicated/moldy piece of bread crust behind the entertainment center. ICK. In the end I just toughed it out, the mystery wet spot was no more and I just ignored the rest as best I could. It was spotlessly clean otherwise and the bedding was replaced daily. *phew* I have no intention of ever stopping at this place again. But it served its purpose for that trip. Three nights for about $140 was dirt cheap.
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