Ann photographing the “top of the world”, at least it felt like that to us.

On Wednesday, our last day on the road this trip, we drove from Elko, Nevada, to Pasco, Washington.

Wednesday’s trip home from Elko, Nevada.

We began the day with a free breakfast courtesy of Stockmen’s Hotel and Casino. But, what I was really looking forward to was “second-breakfast” at the B. J. Bull Bakery, which specializes in pasties and pies. The Yelpers out there rated them highly and, given they sell some cold (so they can be reheated later), I figured it was an opportune time to try them, given the shop was a block away from our hotel.

On our way out of town, we pulled into the parking lot. We walked inside and found a small shop, with tables and an eating bar that allowed eating-in or taking-out. The menu was split between the pasties and the pies (which I thought would be pastie shaped, but instead were a normal pie shape).

B. J. Bull’s menu.

The menu shows several beef options, but there was a chicken & rice option and a special chile/pork one that looked delicious. All the pasties on the menu were available warm and ready to eat. There were also leftovers from the day before that were a dollar less and cooled (ideal for taking home).

Example of pastie from yelp.

I decided to get a warmed breakfast pastie and then several cold ones to try when we got home. I also purchased a small and large pie to take home. Our purchase complete, we stepped outside and wasted no time biting into the breakfast pastie … “second breakfast” never tasted so good. It was filled with scrambled eggs, potatoes, and chunks of Jimmy Dean sausage. Importantly, the mixture was just moist enough not to be dry, but not moist enough to make the dough wet, which would have quickly devolve into a mess.

Following our photo shoot, I wolfed down it down. Yum! If you are ever through Elko and like pasties/meat pies, give this place a try!!

My belly bursting, I squeezed myself into the front seat and we set off for the hinterlands of northern Nevada along a route new to us, Highway 225. The road quickly climbed through a river canyon, before topping at what felt like the top of the world. For the next hour, like we had yesterday, we sped along another straight, lonely road. To the west of us, a mountain range emerged. You can see it in this panorama:

Panoramic photo along Highway 225.

Long and straight.

Eventually, the farmland gave way to a large reservoir, still half frozen. Highway 225 wound around the northern end of the reservoir, which made for some beautiful photos:

Ann caught me moving in her panorama photo.

Another angle of the mountains and reservoir.

The road then plunged into a narrow ravine, at which time we descended through the canyon through endless “s” curves. Not long after we exited the canyon, we came to the town of Mountain City, Nevada. Highway 225 ran right through the quiet little town.

Mountain City, Nevada

Soon after, we arrived at the Duck Valley Reservation and the town of Owyhee (pronounced similar to Hawaii and named for several Hawaiian miners who disappeared into the area).

What surprised me about the Owyhee area and the land south of it was how open it was. My sense of the area from looking at maps was that there were many more canyons and terrain unwelcoming to farming, but this was not true at all. This is a corner of Idaho I’ve wanted to explore for years and I hope to get a better feel for it over time.

From Owyhee, which sits at 5,400ft, we descended over the subsequent hour until we reached the Snake River, giving us the best gas mileage of the trip. A short time later, we were in Mountain Home, ready to hop on I-84 for our trip home. I guess the weather sensed were heading home, because we barely left Mountain Home before the rain began. It’s been a rainy spring in the Northwest and I guess it isn’t done yet!

That’s it for this trip. Stay tuned for continuing updates on Rusty and preperations for Alaska.