So a guy, to get off his feet among other things [like replacing the stolen titles and getting a tire illegal to repair in California [not that we were going there anyway] and impossible, due to a lack of investment in infrastructure aka a tire repair machine, to repair in Gerlach] took Monday off for a drive to Winnemucca across, the desert being damp, the High Road

with burnt burner detritus west of

Sulphur [which, in 1973, appeared as below but now is all

scraped off]

while Jungo, once a lively hotel and railroad stop, has nothing, nothing at all so on

into Winnemucca and after the DMV and the tire from there to Auburn [or Auld Lang Syne or Dun Glen] Peak

to visit Radar Ranch for a memorable lunch of guacamole and veggie tacos followed by a tour

of the auld lang premises, pleased to find the studio [not shown], repurposed

as a meditation hall, feeling much as it once did.  Off the mountain at nearly three

I descended

for gas in Mill City, around the north end of Rye Patch Reservoir

and west over Imlay Summit where on the down side I passed a jolly crew [“livin’ the dream”]

salvaging some sort of heavy equipment before Rosebud Canyon, Rabbithole Spring

and the High Road, where in a pothole at The Dip I dislodged the air cleaner, setting off the

‘check engine’ light, which has remained on ever since…possibly because, leery of stopping,

I drove some thirty miles of graded gravel before putting it back on.

Tuesday was filled with temporarily wrapping up the shed-shed project,

stuffing stuff away and loading up for the next day’s

trip down the desert [with a small detour to place festival seating at the Sand Pass Ruins]

and over the hill where I figured the “Road Closed 12 MI. Ahead” sign at Blue Canyon just had to be kidding.  Nine miles later it turned out it hadn’t been, though “Road” must have recently opened as the two clogged lanes were by then crawling slowly past the remains of a burnt semi trailer at Gold Run and oh so gradually picked up speed. Not overly late I called in

from Heather Glen [not shown], made it to Benicia in time for burritos and later still we

went downtown with Enrico [just in from Radar via Reno and Nevada City] for a sentimental sidewalk dinner at Gaby’s, the Union having been the site of our first dinner upon taking possession of 120 – 128 West H Street in September of 2000…just in time to begin the Bushwhack Years.