[MI.oldguy]

My Wife and her dad are coming home to Upper Michigan from the San Francisco area and they he wants to go to Lake Tahoe Nev,to Reno and up I-80 to us 93 to Idaho to the other highways thru to Bozeman Montana,then to I-90 it's like 800 miles, and home.(possibly,) I have never drove this route,Does anybody happen to know this area? since it's called the great basin highway,does it bypass the great divide? like is it a pass? I google earthed and rolled up on some pretty desolate places, like desert scrub with a two lane highway, are there rest stops, gas stations,towns and possible lodging going this way? her dad wants to go to Tahoe and Reno before coming home and they may want to take this route possibly, because they may not want to backtrack down to Cali and shoot up I-5 to Seattle and back via I-90, is it closed this time of year due to winter conditions?( I know this has not been the best spring.) will they need tire chains? I was wondering if anybody can possibly give me some advice so I can advise them.any advice would be much appreciated,.................thanks, rich.....

 

[Montana Rancher]

This time of year everything is passable, maybe a freak snowstorm but nothing you can't handle if to live in MI.

I-80 is all interstate, i93 from wells, NV to Twin falls is 2 lane but a really nice road, I went over it in Feb.

I-86 to Pocatello and then I-15 to Dilion Mt all interstate

You can take the back roads from Dilion to Bozeman which is paved farm country but slow, or keep in I-15 to Butte and catch I-90 there, I would take the Dilion cut off, it is a lot shorter.

If you go to butte you will cross the continental divide 4 times but it is not a big deal, in that area it is usually about 6000 feet and just a hump in the road.

Week days in Nevada you can get some really good motels, travel lodge in Elko or the 4 jacks in Jackpot (less than $30 a night). I got a Sheraton in Twin Falls on my last trip for under $70 on Expedia, but every town has lots of lodging, it's not as desolate as you think.

 

[MI.oldguy]

Why Thank you very much for this info Montana rancher.sounds like a very nice drive.we may go that way when we go to Kalifornia when we go to see my family and check it out,might even go camping through there on our way! sure appreciate the information..I think I remember the signs for butte to catch i-15.as we made our way across I-90 to I-94 several times..thanks again.always liked Montana,I probably should have got a job at the NAPA dc there as I managed a bunch of company stores in Seattle but,comin up in the divide in Idaho in a uhaul truck with my truck on the trailer sure was not fun!! that chevy c60 gas motor could only go about 45 with the wind and what we had in it.