Our first night, and not an auspicious start… We stayed on I-80 at a rest stop in Gold Flat, just outside of Dutch Flat. It wasn’t flat, even in the parking lot. We didn’t leave Half Moon Bay until late in the day and ended our drive around midnight out of exhaustion. The hope had been to make it to Incline Village for fairer accommodations, but we had spent all day packing and preparing and didn’t have the energy to push through.
In the end the rest stop wasn’t all that bad. You get bathrooms, water and - with the window curtains up - relative peace. It was, at a minimum, free. This was our second time sleeping in the Sprintilus at a rest stop. It was far more accommodating than the first by virtue of the newly added bed, curtains and insulation. The first experience was frigid and knew only the comforts of a wet suit beneath us for padding and the promotional blanket/throw from the Mercedes dealer for warmth.