Tonopah tonight

Where have Bill and Peggie been? No posts in three days!
Last Friday, the 8th, we took the ferry to Victoria from Port Angeles. There was fog all the way across, so we sat inside and visited with a couple from Oregon/San Francisco. When we arrived, there was a Gray Line former London double-decker bus to take us to Butchart Garden. It was fun for me to be a passenger as someone else gave the tour. I am not good at it, though, I couldn't think of a single stupid question to ask. The gardens were amazing. I especially liked the before/after photos of the former quarry and the present-day garden. After we were dropped back in town, we walked around for a bit, had a fresh seafood lunch and reboarded for the trip to Port Angeles. It had rained lightly while we were in the garden, but stopped before we got back to town. We rode atop the ferry on the return trip and enjoyed the views.
Saturday I left Peggie in bed and went to Les Schwab to get the fifth tire mounted. She was ready when I got back and we headed south on 101. The tire situation cost us the day we intended to use going to the Pacific side of the penninsula, so that was the first adjustment we made to save some time. It rained on us all the way from Sequim, down I-5 to Salem, and through the mountains on SR 22/126 to Sisters. There, the rain stopped. Outside of Sisters we passed a rolled-over truck that had apparently been transporting enough golf balls to make the roadsides look like the aftermath of a really bad hailstorm. We stayed in Bend that night.
This route was our second adjustment. We had planned to go down the coast and spend an afternoon in Ashland.
This morning we left Bend on 2o to Burns. Unfortunately, this meant we were going to backtrack on road we traveled northbound last spring. But, road looks different when you are going the other way, so it's all good. We left Burns on 78 to 95, heading for Nevada. There were two areas of inexplicable fog along the way. The sky was basically clear and the temps were in the 50s.
Observation: In Oregon, the speed limit is posted at 55 on these roads. I drove 65 and was passed more than 20 times, while I passed none. Across the line in Nevada, the posted limit is 70, which I drove. I passed an amazing number of people doing 55-60 and was passed by one guy going about 90. I think everybody was on the wrong side of the border.
We really enjoy the scenery of rolling sage covered hills and volcanic bluffs in Eastern Oregon and central Nevada. It is very stark, colorful, and peaceful. Unlike BC and Yukon which look inviting, but have few residents, these areas look forbidding, yet have residents all over. The higher peaks in Nevada have snow again, just as they did last spring. Really pretty, especially at sunset.
One has to carefully plan fuel, meal and rest stops. There are miles and miles between places. Today we purchased a sandwich and salad at a deli in Burns so we could stop for a Thomas picnic somewhere in the middle of nowhere. (can there be somewhere in nowhere?) Weather was perfect all day. Traffic was light enough not to be a problem. And nothing broke.
Well, okay, one thing went wrong. Peggie discovered she had left her wear-everyday wind breaker in Sequim. We decided not to return for it. But she called the hotel, and they agreed to send it to her.
Last time we were in Tonopah, we were burning the last two drops of gas in the tank, and the town looked really run-down and dirty. Today it was dark when we got here, so it looks better. And we still have a quarter tank of gas.