Days One, Two, and Three

So, I tried posting in Gerlach, but the connection was too bad. So I'm trying again, sitting outside Saint Mary's Hospital just a block over from Circus Circus. I am my father's child, and refuse to pay for internet when I can find it for free. :) I just wish he were here war-driving with me, this would have been a lot easier.

Day One:

After 12 hours in the van, several art-appreciation stops, one very loud train that I could see from my motel window (about ... 100 yards from my bedroom), and one very stinky (of the urine kind) said motel room, I have made it through my first sleep of my venture.

I could go on for decades about everything! But I'll be brief, because time is of the essence, my friends.

1st interest: The Tree of Utah. This thing is massive, and I had no idea it existed, and I can’t even really tell you where it is. But it’s really funky. It was fun taking pictures of all the pro photographers. I don't get the art of the tree, so don't ask. :) It was built in the 1980's and is made of concrete, steel, and thousands of pieces of tile.

2nd. Van driving is fun! I got to drive for about 6 hours, and it was well worth it. Not for any particular reason, it was just really cool. Thanks mom for always letting me drive on the highway during our numerous trips between Colorado and Provo, that helped out a lot on the one-lane strip and the windy roads and other highway hazards. :)

Also, did you know how mountainous northern Nevada is? I had no idea. There were substantial mountains the entire time we were driving. Fascinating. It was quite enjoyable; nothing like Glenwood Canyon or the beloved Rocky Mountains I know, but still rather pretty, in its own bland, desert way.

3rd. Astrophotography. That’s right folks, taking pictures of beautiful desert stars. I didn't get to dabble in this as much as I would have liked because I didn’t know what I was doing beforehand, but that’s the point of learning, right? I am definitely going to practice more, you can count on that! Star trails are when you have a long exposure (the following is about 10 minutes) and it captures the rotation of the earth through the movement of the stars. And it wasn’t cold at all, it was awesome night weather.

So I was supposed to go take pre-sunrise photos that morning, and I heard 6 AM was go time. So I woke up and was ready to go at 6... mountain time. It was still really dark and I realized that though my phone had automatically made the time switch, my ipod (which is currently serving as my alarm, because a working alarm on my cell phone is too far advanced for this nokia brick I’m using) had not, so I was up and ready an hour early. What would any real trooper do? Go back to bed! So I did, but I couldn’t really sleep all that well, and so I just kinda watched the speed limit sign right outside our window get lighter and lighter.

And then I realized that what I was watching was the desired effect that we were supposed to go shoot, and I jumped up and saw a nearly-risen sunrise. So I grabbed my stuff to see if there were people outside, and to my disappointment, two of the vans were gone. Which meant I somehow missed the boat. My suspicion is that I heard half of the conversation, and that STINKS! Mostly because I was wide awake, and it is only 6:10.

But it is only one sunrise, soon to be followed by a month’s more. I’m not terribly upset. :)

Gerlach Nevada. It is so unrealistically podunk that you could make a movie out of it. It is like the place were the troubled teenage girl is sent to live with her distant aunt so she'll straighten up and hates the living daylight out of the place, and then eventually learns her lesson and doesn't want to leave her new way of living. (Or the small town that kills off any intruders by strapping them down to the conveniently located train tracks. But I try not to imagine that kind of little town.) Please do not mistake me for said, troubled teenage girl in any fashion, because I would never be able to survive Gerlach.

The only place to eat is at Bruno's Country Club: Motel, Cafe, Saloon, and Casino, and with three additional bars (all within one minute walk along Main Street) provides the only visible entertainment. The food at the cafe was fairly good, considering the smell of the saloon/casino just 15 feet from my table and through an open door was more than wafting in. I felt bad for the single waitress/busser/cashier, because she wished “they” (whoever they are) had given her more notice about the students from some university (BYU or something?) who she previously heard about coming. She was very nice and later we discovered that she started working at Bruno’s when she was 12 ... some 30 years ago. She loves Gerlach, it is her home, and could never even think of leaving. At one point I glanced back through to the kitchen and saw the only cook; his half-bald head was weary but he kept on taking our orders (our group more than doubled the customers) and producing good, small town food. Later we found out he was Bruno.

This tiny, tiny train-born town (founded in late 1800’s) is loved by its citizens. All 30 of them. I'm glad someone has some lovin' for this old, beat-up train stop.

It really baffles this city girl how adults (I think I saw one person under the age of 25) can live so far removed from any degree of hustle and bustle. But they love it, so all I have for them is admiration.

Days Two and Three:

We left Gerlach at around 10 AM after seeing some interesting environmental art. That place is a barren, barren wasteland. I think I would like to live somewhere like that if I didn't love the internet and wal-mart and people and the city. So maybe if I lived there 100 years ago, because there is a intriguing beauty about a giant, vast wasteland.

Pyramid Lake Reservation is owned by who knows what tribe of Indians, and we stopped at their lake for about 4 hours. It was such an interesting contrast with the barren wasteland that was just 40 miles another direction. It was the biggest lake I've ever seen. Maybe not as big as Bear Lake, but I don't have an accurate memory of how big Bear Lake is. And it was BEAUTIFUL. Just sitting on a vacant bench looking at this lake for 4 hours was one of the most relaxing things I've done recently. I made small chat with a few people, but for the most part, it was myself and my thoughts. A lovely, lovely change.

We pulled into Reno yesterday evening (can I just say, van driving is probably one of the most entertaining things to either produce or participate in; we had some amazing curb checks and close-calls. None by yours truly though, so don't worry. ;)

Circus Circus = overrated. I'm mostly annoyed because they don't have free internet or refrigerators, which our dinky little motel at least tried to provide. But it really isn't that bad at all, I'm just being obnoxious.

We went into downtown Reno and took some cool night photography in the city. I would love to try it somewhere like New York or even Denver. Reno really is the biggest little blip on the map of nowhere impressive. But the weather has been beautiful, so I'm not complaining. :)

Once I get a really solid connection, I'll upload some pictures. But I don't want to risk it since this connection took me almost an hour to get, and I won't have it for much longer.

We're heading to the Redwoods first thing tomorrow! The campsites are first come first serve, so wish us luck. :)

Word of the Day: eidetec \ahy-DEK-ik\, adjective; Of, pertaining to, or constituting visual imagery vividly experienced and readily reproducible with great accuracy and great detail.