wonderland l wunderland

This blog is intended to be a travel diary, because we want to share info about people we meet and places where we’ve been. So please take it and the photography displayed here for what it is, although some images might end up in the final selection.

Another hot but beautiful day – we are on our way to the Badlands National Park area.

Photo: Angelika Oetker-Kast

Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you meet someone and even though it might just be a brief encounter, it stays with you for a while. We had such luck yesterday, when we met DK, Nancy and Charlie in baking heat at this little rest stop where Hwy 50 is crossing the Nevada/Utah border. They were heading West while we were on our way East. We met, we talked – about traveling, sailing, Russia, Georgia, New Zealand, Colorado, Pennsylvania, hunting, art and whether you could make a living as a photographer. Modern day cowboys they called themselves and asked about where they felt at home, Nancy said it’s where your heart is. And for DK home is always rural for he could never live in a big city … have a safe onward journey to the Redwoods.

DK, Nancy & Charlie

After a long day on the road we just heard the news about what happened in Norway and we’re devastated. So no update from us today – more tomorrow about what happened and who we met today.

Times must have been better for Ely in the past. You see quite some vacancies and run down buildings on Aultman Street, the main through street through this Nevada town that was once founded as a stagecoach station along the pony express. People tell you most of the town belongs to the owner of the Nevada Hotel – while according to statistics more than 12% of the population are below poverty line. Sounds like a story from an old western movie …

Ok, I admit I love these old motel signs.

If Nevada’s Hwy 50 is the loneliest Hwy in America for motorists I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like for cyclists – as seen today in the middle of nowhere.

Wikipedia calls Coleville a census-designated city in Mono County, California, in the Antelope Valley on the West Walker River at an elevation of 5141 feet (1567m) – with a population of 495. All right … – what we know for sure is, that should you travel on Hwy 395 looking for a place to rest for the night, Andruss Motel in Coleville is a perfect pet friendly destination.

wonderland back on the road: from California’s Napa Valley we’re today moving on to experience Hwy 120 across Yosemite National Park and then on towards the loneliest road in America … – leaving the airstream, our beloved camp for the last couple of days, for some more motel splendor …

Yesterday we were invited to some culinary magic offered by Gustavo Rios, Sous-Chef at the Sol Bar, the restaurant at the Solage Resort in Calistoga, Napa Valley’s northern most city. What a treat …

If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair – well, not sure about that anymore, but you shouldn’t forget to bring sunglasses, because once the fog’s gone it’s beautiful.