Starting my second day of a long road trip in Alturas, California.

I pulled in here after a long drive down from Crater Lake, and a stop for some pretty good Mexican food in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Even though it was pretty late after dinner (at least for a guy who is usually asleep by 2130) I decided that if I wants to try the Nevada desert in the morning, I needed to be further south than Klamath Falls. So, I proceeded south on Hwy 139 through Merrill, Oregon and Tule Lake, California. It was pretty lonely when I passed through the California ag inspection station.

I kept seeing signs for Lava Beds National monument along the way, a place I would like to visit someday. I drove on through Modoc County, with a gaol of getting to Canby, California. When I reached Canby, I found there was not a lot open at 2300, so I pressed on to Alturas. The Essex motel worked fine, the room was clean and very reasonable. I got coffee (and snacks, and a better Nevada map) at a conveinence store and decided I had time to go through the less traveled northwest Nevada desert. (I am glad I did). I had a bit of a time pressure as I had to meet my 3 friends who were flying into Reno from Seattle at 1600.