First Officer’s
Entry:
Hawthorn Nevada is an interesting place. Home of the US Army Ordinance Depot. It’s the largest depot in the USA, and
perhaps the world. It was built to make,
store and supply ordinance (things that go “Boom”) to the troops. It served
WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, and is presently storing and demilitarizing bombs and
bullets.
It has thousands of storage bunkers and hundreds of them are
visible from the road. Unfortunately
they are low to the ground, sloped to ward off (accidental) explosive shocks,
and covered in dirt, so they are not very photogenic.
Just north of Hawthorn is Walker Lake and it is
Beautiful! It is the bluest lake I’ve
ever seen. Sorry, no photos to show you. I was driving and the captain was looking.
Other than this enjoyable bit of Hawthorn, Nevada is
Nevada. Flat with long straight
roads. Considering that the Norton Rally
is being held in Quincy, CALIFORNIA, we could have made the trip by going into California
and then gone north. However three
things stopped me. 1) I HATE California,
and 2) I HATE California, and 3) I really Hate California.
End First Officer’s Entry
Captain’s Entry:
Okay, so maybe I don’t hate ALL of Nevada. Today the scenery
took a turn for the better with mountainous horizons and fertile valleys. We
saw corn and other crops growing and the desert areas looked healthy and green.
In several places the road stretched out in front of us like a never-ending
ribbon pulled taught at both ends. Breezes picked up along with a cloudy sky
tonight at the Fallon RV Park. I actually walked the dogs after dinner this
evening without sweat pouring down my face. I hope this means cooler temps are
awaiting us in Quincy tomorrow!
Last night in Beatty we watched the burros across the way
playing and braying, while sunshine played across the mountains. I took a
picture of tumbleweed that will eventually turn brown, break off at the stem
and go tumbling across the road. We used to see tumbleweeds blowing across our
paths quite frequently in Phoenix and soon learned that when hit by a vehicle;
the things instantly disintegrate into a harmless pile of sticks.
We noticed that plenty of jackrabbits inhabited last night’s
campground, and we also watched the birds sitting on the split rail fence
taking showers in the sprinklers. You can tell our evening passed in
considerable excitement. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and as we
resumed our trip this morning, we noticed a sign reading, “Will Rogers never
met Harry Reid.” Some of you will pick up on the humor quickly, but some of us
don’t get it right away. Harry Reid is Nevada’s United States Senator and Will
Rogers is quoted as saying, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” Get it?
When we stopped for gas in Hawthorne, Nevada I noticed a guy
with an impressive beard come out the back door of a Chinese Restaurant across
the street from a tire store. He walked toward our rig and then took a turn
into the bay door of the little tire store. When he started walking back to the
restaurant, I noticed a large gun in a holster on his left hip. He had made
sure his un-tucked tee shirt allowed for full access to his weapon by stuffing
the tail of it behind the holster. I guess the Wild West still lives in Nevada.
About the time the guy disappeared back into the Chinese place, a honkin’ big
Dodge pick-up squealed out of the gas station with a very large Stars and
Stripes whipping in the wind. The flag was mounted on a pole in the center of
the truck’s bed! You might be a redneck if . . .
Think on it.
End Captain’s Log
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