Day 33 – One More Night & Then It’s Homeward Bound

1. Windy woke Dick up early today….good thing he’s an early riser….but 5:30 am is probably just a bit early even for Dick.

I think it’s pretty funny when one of the dogs needs attention in the wee hours, they know the person to wake up.  Shelby had a stomach upset a week or so ago at 3:00 a.m…….and guess who she went to?

We enjoyed our time in Tonopah…the dinner was great, the Hotel Mizpah enchanting, and we stayed at a nice quiet RV campground.  The fellow in the neighboring trailer was friendly. He saw me walking the dogs  and commented on the fact that they were older, then told me that his dog, Peanut, is 16 years old and still going strong.  Traveling with our old girls has sure added to the joy of our trip.

We had a leisurely morning since our destination today was Sparks, which is only a 3 1/2 ride from Tonopah.  That’s nothing for truckers like us….lol.

After breakfast, we started getting ready to leave. I must say the guys have gotten really quick at unhooking things that need unhooking (water/sewer/electricity) and hooking things up that need to be hooked up….like the trailer to the truck.

My job is to tidy up the inside of the trailer, give the dogs breakfast and get them ready by putting on their roadies (riding harnesses).  As you can see….my job is super easy.

We left Tonopah by 9:30 a.m, and a short time later, Dick mentioned that he wouldn’t mind stopping in Hawthorne (about halfway between Tonopah & Reno) and visiting “The Hawthorne Ordnance Museum”.  He said he had driven by it many times, and thought it might be an interesting place to see.

The Hawthorne Ordnance Museum collects, preserves and exhibits munition items of all types, from as far back as the civil war to present day.  I thought the museum might appeal only to military buffs, but as it turns out, I had alot of fun there too.  They actually let you climb in and on the exhibits.

There were lots of unique things to see and it was a good learning experience for me.

The guys enjoyed the museum and Ken left with two ammo boxes that were only $5.00 each (he usually pays $20).

We were on our way to Sparks again after spending about an hour at the museum, but instead of traveling on the highway I was familiar with, I was in for quite a surprise.

Dick explained that we would be driving on a brand new road called the USA Parkway extension.

The extension opened on September 8th this year and is a four-lane highway in Lyon, Storey and Washoe Counties.  It connects US 50 to Interstate 80 via the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC).

What The Heck Is TRIC?

That’s what I wondered as we drove on the new USA Parkway extension.  I had never heard of the USA Parkway or TRIC until today.

Well, it turns out that the TRIC is only the largest industrial park IN THE WORLD!

You would not believe how many gigantic brand new warehouses we saw from the parkway.  Some of them were:

Tesla; Google; Walmart; Chewy; Fed Ex; Jet; Panasonic; Petsmart; Switch; Tire Rack and Zulily.

There were tons more, but those are the ones I remember.  I had no idea there was this enormous complex just 9 miles east of Reno.  It’s so big, it’s going to have it’s own zip code.

It wasn’t long before we were in Sparks and set up at our campground next to the Marina.  We knew exactly where we were going to go for dinner, one of our favorite restaurants ever…..The Great Basin Brewery.

We toasted to the wonderful time we’ve had on our long road trip.  Tomorrow afternoon we will be back home.

It will sure feel strange to stay put after so much traveling.  It’s been a wonderful adventure and we’re sure glad you were able to come along on the ride.  CHEERS!