Ichthyosaur

Shonisaurus popularis, a species of Ichthyosaur, is Nevada's state fossil. Shonisaurus were giant marine reptiles that reached lengths of 49 feet and gave birth to live young. They appeared in the Earth's oceans 250 mya and prowled the ocean depths seeking prey for the next 155 million years. 

For years I have wanted to visit the Shonisaurus fossil site, but it is off the beaten path and I never took the time to make the long drive out there. But since Cliff and I were experiencing a little cabin fever, we decided the cure was a road trip. 

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This is a life size relief of  Shonisaurus

The Shonisaurus fossils were discovered in 1928. Excavations began in 1954 and continued for the next seven years. A total of 37 fossils were unearthed at 6 different fossil sites

Shonisaurus vertebra 

Shonisaurus ribs

There is a very nice campground here with shaded tables, water and a dump. All for $15 a night

Berlin  

Adjacent to the fossil site is the small weather beaten mining town of Berlin. Silver was discovered here 1863. The Berlin Mine was in operation form 1897 to 1910. It was a 60/40 mine, 60% silver and 40% gold. In the 13 years of operation they extracted $849,000 in precious metals. 

The mill is the largest building on site

An abundance of old rusty stuff 

Looking out at the long long road to Berlin. Only the last mile unpaved

The old stage coach stop

Back in the day

Carson City

I had a great visit with Cliff. We solved most of the world problems. Only if someone would listen…….

Serenity visited Performance Auto Care for service and brakes. Yes, brake work again. By the time I reached Carson City the new pad installed in Mexico had ground down to metal on metal AGAIN! Turns out the brake calipers were not releasing fully. This is probably why the pads wore out in MX. You guessed it, four new calipers, rotors and pads. 

OK I told myself, the worst is over.

NOT

Next, to Sunshine Auto in Reno for a simple front end alignment. Serenity was pulling to the right. The Alignment turned into another money pit. The Safe T Plus Steering Stabilizer was frozen and had been bending its mounting bracket every time I turned right. New Safe T Pus, bracket, and, wait for it, a new right front tire that was coming apart.

Repairs complete I decided to head north to cooler weather. My immediate goal was Steen's Mountain in southern Oregon. 

Looking down on Susanville, CA. 

Eagle Lake, my first night stop.

A nice overnight with a view. 

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Heading north the next morning. 

I was pulling a hill after leaving Eagle Lake when all of a sudden Serenity totally shut down. She would not start or even crank. The same symptoms as when she lost power in Mexico. I am thinking that the wiring that had been repaired there at come loss. I called road side service provided by my insurance carrier. I was told that my policy had lapsed. No free towing. Oh Sh…!  But also a good thing. While in Mexico I had moved Serenity’s coverage to storage since that insurance would not cover me in MX.  I forgot to reinstate my coverage and probably would not have realized my error any time soon. I reinstated coverage and paid for the tow$$$$$. Luckily I did not have an accident. 

I was towed to one of my favorite shops, Master Coach in Bend OR. They found that the chassis battery was bad. Serenity had shut down when she drained all the juice out of the battery. Hooray, a simple fix. One more bonus from the battery failure. The tow truck driver notice fresh oil on the frame. Master Coach discovered a small oil leak where an oil line had rubbed against the frame. Another disaster in the making averted.

Carson City NV

I am visiting with my friend Cliff.

Cliff and I out tackling his 1 mile circuit. 

There are really nice trails winding through his neighborhood

Serenity needs a little TLC

New washers for a drippy faucet.

And this is why no air is coming out my defroster vents.

All better.

The water heater's anode rod still has some life left in it.

Occasionally  Serenity spits out one of the  pop rivets that keeps her lower panels in place.

All better

Out for a nice three mile walk.

A Little Farther North

 A short drive north on 395 past Mammoth, June Lake and Mono Lake.

You can just see a corner of Mono Lake.

There is a good cell signal here, so I have been streaming NCIS and Alias.

More maximum social distancing at a very cool 8,400 ft.

I got down to 40 F last night

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Drifting North

A triple digit heat wave is a great motivator to pick up the pace. I decided to head for the Sierra Nevada mountains. I made the trip in speedy two days

I overnighted east of Lake Mead

Day two passing through Las Vegas

It is a bit windy

Ahh, the Sierras are in sight

Now this more like it. What a gorgeous view to wake up to. 

I even turned on the furnace this morning.

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Out of Mexico

What a difference a year makes.
Last year when I traveled highway 15D to the US border there were miles and miles of rutted, pot hole infected detours that Serenity crawled along. This year all that work has been completed. This time I set the cruise control to 95 km/h, turned on my audio book and relaxed.

Check point, no problem. I hit several on the trip up.

The new by pass. Wonderful.

 Last year I took a couple of wrong turns in Hermosillo.

This vineyard extended for miles

Near the border there is one small section of the old highway.

 This was my first crossing at Nogales and it can be tricky.  I had figured that traffic would be light, and it was. I researched the route on google maps and everything went flawlessly. This is the RV lane and to get to it you have to cross through the two lanes of cars on the left. You have about 10 yards in which to do this. The light traffic made it very easy. I was the only RV crossing, It took about 10 minutes.

Back in the USA

What a great view to wake up to.

Social distancing at its best   32.844024  -112.320612

It is great to be back on the road again!