August 13th and 14th

Today was going prove to be very interesting.  We heard many stories about the "loniest road".  Not only were we going through deserts and mountains exceeding eight thousand feet, but we also had to contend with temperatures above 105 degrees.  As we approached the Sand Mountain area, which is about fifty miles from "Fallon Naval Air Station" our solitude was interrupted by navy F-14's coming out of the north, flying across the highway in front of us and then dropping bombs off to our left.  It was disconcerting to say the least.  When we first saw these fighters, they crossed the highway and then shot straight up into the sky, followed by large booms, which we thought were sonic booms.  Just as we came to that conclusion, we realized these fighters had dropped bombs on targets just off to our left.  My hats off to these Navy flyboys - they hit their targets and gave us a spectacular view of their abilities.  We continued on to Fallon, Sparks, and finally came to Reno.  We hit Reno late in the afternoon with temperatures exceeding 105 degrees and our temp. gauge showed 235 plus.  Luckily we made it to the "Grand Siera" (formerly the MGM Grand) where we had complimentary hospitality rooms at our disposal for two nights.  Needless to say we never did catch up with rest as we spent many hours playing in the casino.  As luck would have it Russ and I held our own and walked away with money in our pockets.