April 6 & 7, 2011 - across Utah & Nevada, into California and back into Nevada
At last I saw real working cowboys on horses driving a small herd of cattle across the highway in Utah! Speaking of 4-footed friends, there were two pumpkin-colored mules at the KOA campground in Ely, NV. They were young and frisky, and their owner said “hard to catch!” Although we saw lots of signs for elk, cattle, and horses on the open range, we saw only a few horses and one lone antelope.
Call it the loneliest highway in America.
We crossed it, eyes open,
Together.
Endless sagebrush hills,
Vast valley basins
Circled by mountain ranges:
Reveille, Monte Cristo, Excelsior,
White, Last Chance, Sierras, and more.
One hundred miles, one hundred sixty-four miles
With no service but a red gas can in the truck.
Mountain pass upon mountain pass
Six thousand, seven thousand, eight thousand feet,
We creep up to see the next vista.
Out West, the Earth shows its underpants.
Limestone pitted with caves and holes,
Black lava piles like torn lace,
Grey rock jumbles looming high,
White streaked cliffs,
Red boulders.
Like the bones of Earth undressed,
Where else can you see this?
Wondering eyes widen,
Exclaim its raw beauty.
Tonight we are in Minden, NV at Silver City Resort. It’s hard to find a campground here at this time of year, so I have relented and we’ve gone to RV parks. It’s in the high 20’s, and many roads are closed. We had to go south and then north, and then tomorrow we’ll go south again to see my cousin Betty in Mariposa, CA!
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