Following Tuesday’s lunch we went to the ‘Burg to drop paintings, then Pueblo to collect Scott and the Penske, then back to the ‘Burg leaving truck at the ‘bib and, pausing at the Bud Hut to accommodate our intrepid driver, home to dine in the dusk on the porch [not, for once, shown]; returning Wednesday morning to load.
Five hours later Scott was on his way to Pueblo and we went back into the mountains to finish packing and close the house;
L., increasingly sick from some stress-opportunistic bug, collapsed alone abed by dark, as I finished the loading and some closing…
Thursday morning, upping at 6:45, leaving by 8:45, we rolled out west, but first north to Cotopaxi, Highway 50 up the Arkansas for gas in Salida and over Monarch, weirdly enough catching Scott at the stoplight in Gunnison [not shown].
During our lunch at the reservoir he blew by, was briefly glimpsed turning at Montrose and not seen again…
At Grand Junction – land of all too many things – one intersects 70 for a couple hundred miles; Colorado’s last exit is Rabbit Valley; the Trail Through Time our traditional rest stop/dog walk both east and westbound…
The Interstate ends for us with gas in Salina where 50 cuts west through Scipio, Holden, Delta [Utah] and across the Western Desert;
Sun down and dogs out a little before the NV line but no room at the [Border] Inn so with darkness rapidly accumulating we continued over Sacramento Pass, through Snake Valley and on to Ely [gas; ‘pet-friendly’ Motel 6; Nevada Hotel for burgers; idiot Utah TV in motel room spinning 9/11 ‘conspiracies]; twelve hours I drove as L. dozed miserably all day…
Next day Linda drives the morning; Ely motel coffee to Eureka; decent breakfast at the Owl Club. September 11th it turns out; lots of flags…all on the day a huge construction crane fell through the roof of a mosque in Mecca, killing many. Saudi provenance; the construction company not mentioned. Bin Laden’s?
[Owl Club coffee to the petroglyph site between Eureka and Austin; another traditional rest stop – dogs run free]
From the pet’ site to Bob Scott Summit, Austin Summit, Austin; after that New Pass Summit, Cold Springs – 9/11 ghost riders;
…Eastgate, Middlegate; I drive from Grimes Point so L. can call for furniture dollies. Furniture dollies found in Fallon at R Supply, followed by Fernley [gas; groceries; Guerrero’s disturbing emails]. Then it’s 447 upstream against Burner remnants around hazy Pyramid Lake, through Nixon, along Lake Winnemucca’s dry expanse and past Empire [BM detritus in excess] to the Gerlach post office…
A late lunch at the water tanks with a hazy views of the San Emidio and Smoke Creek Deserts and goats [not shown, but mysterious]. Finally at mile marker 84 left on Smoke Creek Road and eight miles down to the home gate by 2:45; smoky and hot…confusing wanderings, unloadings, keys…Scott comes rolling in right at his ETA…
soon after be continued…