Pyramid Scheme

We have seen on various real estate agents' web sites some lots and land up northwest of Pyramid Lake, Nevada, close to the California state line. The prices were good, but the access was questionable. Various maps we have show minor roads into the area, including a platted-out set of roads, but it was unclear just how much development, if any, there really is there. So today we set out on this trip.

( Road Trip, with photos )

After having spent much of the afternoon beating our way through the back-roads of Washoe County, Nevada, the rest of the trip back to Reno was fairly uneventful. We made a brief stop at Hallelujah Junction, then headed straight down US-395 -- buffeted by high winds but only a dusting of snow -- to Reno and our hotel.

We were both a bit tired and edgy after this afternoon's trip, but at least we know now not to waste any more of our time looking at land plats on Calneva Way. I suppose we might conceivably go to Flanigan again someday for train-chasing purposes, but probably not in winter.

In The Airport

Reno Airport has free wi-fi, hooray! Especially because I will be here for the next four hours. Lisa decided it would be best to get on the road while the sun was (sort of) shining, so she put me on the airport shuttle a little after noon, with my plan to be to try and get on the earlier Oakland flight (my scheduled flight is at 6:35). Just as we were loading my bags on the shuttle, she announced that she is so sick of cold and wet that instead of going back to Oregon, she is going south for a few days and will call me later, maybe from Las Vegas. Go figure.

Anyway, when I got to the airport, I found that there were no seats at all under any circumstances, even "same day standby" on the 2:15 flight. Worse, they wouldn't let me check my bags for the 6:25 flight because like lots of airlines, they won't let you check in earlier than four hours. So I was stuck groundside and remain here for at least another half-hour.

I wandered down to the concourse, where I proceeded to lose $18 in a slot machine only to watch the next person after me to pull the lever win $100. Phooey! Then I bought a coffee and, feeling sufficiently justified in sitting at one of the tables in the food court, fired up the computer to see if there was connectivity, and lo and behold, there was.

In a little while, once I can check my bag, I reckon I'll go airside and see if one of the bars is showing the Super Bowl. Presumably I can buy enough stuff to keep them from kicking me out.

Home At Last

My flight from Reno was delayed around an hour for various reasons, which meant that I got to see all but the last few seconds of the Super Bowl -- or at least as much as I could peering across from the area near gate B5 at the only TV on the B concourse, inside a packed-out bar. Wow, what an upset!

It was a quiet, uneventful flight, and I was delighted that the middle seat on the Southwest Airlines flight didn't fill, one of only two empty seats on the plane. (My usual tactic of going to the back of the plane worked this time. I reckon that as I have checked luggage, I'm not really in any hurry to get off the plane anyway -- my luggage almost never beats me to baggage claim.)

Of course, I'm now without food, as the milk and the remants of a vat of pea soup I made a few days before leaving for Reno/Tahoe have all gone bad. Restocking tomorrow is called for, although not that much, as current plans call for me to drive to Oregon next weekend. That assumes that Lisa actually goes home, of course.