| So to the last part of this long trek going south from Idaho and into Nevada where we travelled south west for a couple of days through
virtually nothing but desert along the I80. This was one of the few reliefs
where we suddenly came upon these tunnels through one of the bluffs. |  |
 | Mostly it was desert
and salt flats with some scrub. The scrub here had been burned which served
to make the area look even more desolate. |
| Sometime I'll sit down and collect a few more shots of the
amazing trucks they have here. This is another common configuration with a
tractor unit and three trailers. It is frequently used for parcels traffic
for companies such as Fed Ex and UPS but there are many others. |  |
 | The
trains heading west are bigger too. This had five diesel units on the front
thus generating at least 10,000hp. We never counted the wagons behind but it
would have been 50-100. |
| I think the scrub is all that stops this land being blown away.
The sand is very fine and almost pure white. |  |
 | The I80 must follow
a valley because there are mountains to both sides. The air is not as clear
as it was further north but the views are amazing, if a little repetitive. |
| Just occasionally you get a few buildings surrounded by a few
trees to provide some cover in the otherwise relentless heat. Even at this
time of year the temperatures were reaching towards 100°F. |  |
 | As we closed on Reno
we saw this plant which we think was a power station. Oddly we have not seen
many power stations or as many power lines as we are used to in the UK.
Perhaps that helps to explain how parts of the US can lose power so easily.. |
|