Reno (part 2), Winnemucca, and Wells, NV – 7/31-8/3

Our camper was serviced all day Wednesday  (7/31), and we can’t say enough good things about Big O Tire in Reno.  We drove out of their lot around 5 pm, and after Doug drove a few blocks toward the freeway, he thought the trailer brake control was not functioning properly, so back to the tire shop we went.  It turned out to be a non-issue, and everything was (and continues to be) fine with that.  The tire shop was very helpful, despite having to deal with our emergency all day long, only to have us reappear 10 minutes later.  We drove over to our campground, set up, and went out to dinner.  (Thankfully, all of our food remained frozen/cold despite the camper being unplugged for almost 24 hours, thanks to our solar panel – I was just too tired to cook.)   That night around 2 a.m., we suddenly lost all power.   Doug was on the phone with the tire shop at 8 a.m., and again they couldn’t have been nicer, telling us to come right over.  We suspect that this new problem was caused by the electrical box at our campsite, which caused a switch underneath our camper to trip (it absolutely cannot be seen from any angle – you just have to know where to find it).  So, our mechanic replaced it with an upgraded model, and we were finally on our way to Winnemucca.  

Bad bearing seal about to fail.  This was not the bearing that failed the highway- but it would have failed soon down the road.
Wheel assembly that failed on the highway – brake assembly was destroyed.
There is a mountain range that fills this photo from left to right, but because of the smoke, you can just barely see it on the right.
This was the air quality in and around Reno while we were there.

After arriving in Winnemucca, tired and hungry, we had dinner at a restaurant adjacent to the campground and were asleep by 9 pm.  Back on the road today (Friday, 8/2), I was very excited to be able to breathe in a normal fashion for the first time in 2 weeks.  Our campground tonight is in the small (7 sq. mi.) town of Wells, NV, with very big scenery on Rt. 231 up to and down from Angel Lake.

The drive up to the lake is 12 miles on a two-lane road without guardrails.  The lake is at an elevation of 8,378 ft. in the East Humboldt Range (specifically, in the Ruby Mountains).
People enjoying some summertime fun.
The small patches of white towards the top of the mountain on the left are, in fact, snow.
Close-up on the eastern face
Eastern Views
Campground next to the lake – I would not enjoy towing our camper up that narrow road, but obviously, it can be done.  🙂

We had a very interesting conversation with the park ranger, who grew up in this area and spent time from his childhood through present day (he’s our age, or maybe a little older).  When we asked about wildlife, he told us there are Himalayan Snowcocks (part of the Pheasant Family) who prefer to live in the mountain treetops – he has never seen one, but his brother has.  He said there are only three places in the world where they are found.  The only wildlife we saw on our drive are shown in the photos below.  🙂

Tomorrow, we’ll continue east and spend Saturday & Sunday in Salt Lake City.

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