…a bumper sticker that would have been ill-advised crossing the Red Zone in the immediate aftermath of a belligerently unacknowledged defeat, and one we chose not to exhibit Sunday
as we descended from Linda’s at Libre to
Gardner Butte and beyond
for gas in Westcliffe where the ‘puppies’ leapt exuberantly out…otherwise not much went wrong, unlike the semi we passed on the downside of Monarch as it eased, brakes burning,
onto the runaway truck ramp. We arrived early for our lunch at Blue Mesa Reservoir
and then ran nonstop up the Slope through Montrose and Delta. In Grand Junction the hats and boots were still going out of business [“Cowboy Rides Away”] and a small gathering of large women waved flags and “Women For Trump” signs curbside downtown. After that it was on
to Rabbit Valley to free the Inkies, then the Utah Desert as Repuppetlicans rallied around the Belligerent One asserting the only legitimate votes are theirs and any others are de facto fraudulent [How can that be? How do dey know? Who believes them?]. Nonetheless all 70.1 million
seem to believe that’s how it is, and who they are. It’s pretty scary [well not so pretty],
impressive, or depressive. Seems they and Mitch are out to wreck the place, no? No news there – sore winners are even sorer losers. We crossed the Eastern Desert
[Hanksville, Loa, Mussentuchit], got gas in Salina [NOT at Mom’s Cafe – been there, did that. Once was enough], let dogs out at dusk, passed through Scipio, Delta and then the Western one, 88 miles to the Border Inn where snow was flurrying and the inhabitants were taking the Second Wave seriously. The steak was rubbery, the martini indecipherable and Fox News
no longer on the motel TV. Snow eased around midnight, returned at three but didn’t leave much; most likely too cold. Linda procured warm bevs and we left in early light, heading west.
Snake Range, Spring Valley,
over the Schell Creek Range
into Ely for gas and
Eureka where the sad news is that the Pony Express Deli will close just prior to Christmas. It was consequently our last breakfast there and last chance to procure medium chunky Mennonite Hot Sauce. We stopped for dog relief at a place where Strange Lichens [?] had colonized
the gravelly landscape and it was as cold as it looks. Damp twenties.
Through ever-hostile Austin without pause; Eureka may have more Trump signs but we’ve never, in over thirty-five years, experienced a hospitable moment in Austin. We never stop
there anymore and friends who have have fared worse.
Dry roads to Fallon
and fall colors after. We paused in Fernley for a week’s food and made it
to the Gerlach P.O. a day too early for my Mysterious Package from Paul Fuge, were at
the Wall Spring gate at 3:30…unloaded, tried the pump; still leaking.
Next morning, chilly…
In Nevada.
Sparklingly beautiful scenery despite the pall of election deniers; really great road trip photos (although definitely c-c-cold!). Was Fox News missing on your Border Inn TV because local Trumpers now consider it Fake News after calling AZ for Biden?
Enjoy Wall Spring but don’t delay your return to California too long; COVID quarantining for out-of-staters may be imposed soon.
Might be too late- CA quarantine looks for sure.
Beautiful and scenic, journey. Now is the time to lie low. Was reading an interesting book by Fareed Zacharia-(sp?) he says that the the greatest indicator of belief or non belief in scientific experts is not education, but in fact, political affiliation. Not entirely surprising, but incredibly depressing.
M- do you really have that bumper sticker or were you just contemplating it?
I particularly like two consecutive photos around the mid point, the first with the dogs and what looks to be a distant Philips 66 sign (can it be?), the next on the straight-away with a break in the clouds to blue sky, but in both the color of the snow cover matching astonishingly closely to the color of the cloud cover above.
I like Gardner Butte, I don’t recall seeing it before. While not at all similar in either shape or color it nevertheless brought to mind Knob Hill in Ketchum Idaho where we used to play as children. And paraphrasing Oscar Wilde re Prump, his hair has turned positively grey from some mental state, or perhaps just forgetfulness. (If you don’t know the reference it is a comment made about a widow whose husband had passed recently, that her hair had “turned positively gold from grief”.) My sister took my now no longer with us widowed mother to the jeweler to get her wedding band cut off as it was getting tight to the point of danger. My sister was shocked when as the pieces of the ring were removed she said, “Free at last!”)
I grew up driving on Western highways and your photos always capture that experience perfectly.
Definitely Phillips 66! …not extant out your way any more?
That is such a beautiful trip in the snow. Welcome sort of back.
Really enjoyed the view from your truck and plan to haul out my best map to track it. Had to laugh about bumper stickers as there are quite a few places in South Monterey county where my Biden/ Harris sticker would not be welcomed and the day I got this I was advising a friend who was heading off for a road trip in those areas! She was not declaring her candidate….but was driving a Prius. I at least drive a somewhat aged Mazda pick-up which makes me blend in somewhat. Nice to see that familiar tree waiting for you on the distant horizon.