The Days of the Knights (Day 8)

After breakfast we left Hawthorne and headed to a town named Fallon where we gassed up again. The countryside is all desert although it wasn't as hot as previous days. Near Gerlock we had to stop for roadwork, something we have encountered every day. We talked to a truck driver who said that Cedarville where we could gas up again was 60 miles away. As it turned out, it was 90 miles and we were running on fumes when we rolled into Cedarville for lunch around 2:00. We ate at Janet's Country Hearth Restaurant and Bakery. I got a giant maple glazed long-john donut for 85 cents! (pic to follow)

We left Cedarville around 3:00 and proceeded along what we thought was the right road. after about 30 miles the pavement ended. Wrong road. We backtracked to where the road had forked. The map showed a gravel road as a shortcut, so we took it. After a mile or so of rough riding and gravel, the road narrowed as it wound through the bush only to end at a private gated-off road. So we backtracked once again and spying a third road marked as a forestry road, we knew this was our shortcut. We headed along this rough gravel and dirt road. Needless to say we were covered in dust in no time. The road climbed higher and higher. At about 6 miles along the 16 mile shortcut we encountered snow on the road-- enough to stop our progress and force us back down the same rough rutted road. Once down we drove the 27 miles back to Cedarville to get back on the right road. In total we travelled and extra 87 miles and lost 2.5 hours. We gassed up again and headed for Lakeview Oregon, arriving at 7:00. Although our day didn't go as planned, it was an adventure... The stuff memories are made of.