America the Beautiful

Yosemite Falls in April.

To celebrate being back in the U.S. for exactly one month today, I thought I'd write and let those of you who are curious know that I am still alive and well. The rapid passage of time is scary, frankly. I heard that time slips even more silently by with age, so I gave it some thought, and eventually devised a method to combat speeding time. This is it: I enjoy what I am doing, and who I am doing it with. I try to listen, and really be there, whatever and wherever it may be. I pay attention. To life. It is the title of this blog, essentially. And it's a good thing I abide by this strategy, and it works so well, or otherwise you'd probably be reading this post six months down the road, with me wondering what happened between April and October.

Speaking of listening and paying attention to what is around us, I heard an interesting program on natural sounds, or rather, its rarity and endangerment, on NPR recently. http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/04/gordon-hemptons-silence

The month has been punctuated by a series of wonderful trips. As soon as I got back home, I left for a four day road trip with my parents and sister, exploring the triumphs of the natural and built worlds: Yosemite, Death Valley, Hoover Dam, and yes, Las Vegas. Some of you may not choose to use the word "triumph" to describe Vegas, but we'll just leave it at that. The new span bridge to permanently divert traffic from Hoover Dam itself is nearly complete, and it's looking pretty. Lots of quality family time, and plenty of time in the car to chat and catch up after an eight-month absence.

Next was a week of camping in northern Nevada with James. Neither of us knew the state well, so we were curious to explore and see what there was to see. Flexibility ended up being the Word of the Week, with Patience a close second, as we got there just about the same time the spring winds and snowstorms did. Neither of us are extremely fussy people, but battling gale force winds in the desert while trying to get a tent set up in those conditions would be ambitious, or laughable. So we stayed in Winnemucca for two nights, waiting for conditions to improve. In the meantime, we visited the extremely helpful folks at the Forest Service and BLM offices to learn about cool places to go, hit the culinary "jackpots" of the town, bought a Nevada Gazetteer, and strolled through the Buckaroo Hall of Fame. One thing is certain, Winnemucca is inhabited by lots of friendly people who are so happy to be living there, and want to encourage you to move there too! We really enjoyed the locals.

Finally the weather kinda sorta improved, so we headed out to Paradise Valley and the Santa Rosa Mountains. We couldn't make it all the way up to the summit on the Forest Service Road due to snow, but we got very close, and it was a beautiful drive. We camped in the Martin Creek canyon nearby. A warm evening fire after dinner was rudely interrupted by a mini-blizzard, dumping a couple inches of snow over fifteen minutes or so, as we scrambled to put things away and put out the fire in the driving winds and snow.

Camping by Martin Creek. Most of the snow was gone by morning.

Basin and Range.

The next day encompassed a beautiful drive over to the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA) in northwest Nevada. Basin and Range. That's what Nevada is. We did indeed see lots of isolated north-south trending mountain ranges (perfect to explore on another trip) separated by bucolic valleys. Sage country, canyon country. Playas or dried lake beds. If wildness and quiet were your thing, you could be very happy in Nevada. I did see a roadside sign (a little more professional than my rendering) illustrating a couple of important industries in this Silver, or Battle-Born, State.
The NCA is a starkly beautiful landscape. A highlight for me was part of its history: the Applegate Trail, used by the pioneers going to California in the 1840s as an alternative to following the Humboldt River, runs through it. I tried to picture covered wagons, teams of oxen, women in bonnets and heavy skirts, clouds of dust, crying children, the relentless sun. I could almost succeed. I admired the strong-willed who pushed through this tough landscape, and felt sympathy for those who perished under the desert sun.

We too might have perished that night in the NCA, were it not for the modern automobile, which we slept in, buffering us from the chilly wind. The stars were brilliant and then the full moon rose. The next morning we continued on to the Black Rock Desert, a playa famous for hosting the Burning Man Festival, but now empty, cracked, shimmering, splendid. We continued on to a leisurely afternoon and night in Pumpernickel Valley, then it was on to Elko, and eventually, home.

Outdoor enthusiasts, especially those of quieter pursuits, don't normally rank Nevada high on their list. It's kind of way out there, and there aren't many glamorous parks of the Yosemite or Grand Canyon ilk (excepting maybe Great Basin NP), but I think it has a lot to offer people who don't want to rub shoulders with a whole lot of other people. Given all the mountain ranges in Nevada, chances are good you'll have one all to your self.

Most recently I came back from an overnight snowshoeing trip into the Crystal Basin of the Western Sierra Nevadas, up to Robbs Hut, with a couple of friends. I was happy to be on snow, even crunchy snow punctuated by bare ground. I didn't have a proper winter this year on my travels, so this short hut trip hit the spot. Robbs Peak offered fantastic views of the Crystal Range to the east and ridge upon ridge to the west, including the Central Valley and Coastal Range. Sunset was gorgeous from the fire lookout, while happily eating a bowl of warm pea soup on the leeward side of the chilly east wind. We also explored the three reservoirs in the basin managed by SMUD, some of us crashing through ice on Loon Lake, and others of us slipping into chilly Union Reservoir. I am still cold thinking about it. But the sun was warm, the weather impeccable, and the company excellent. I am learning more about my home state, and there is much to like. It's a beautiful state in a superbly gorgeous country. It's good to be back.

Robbs Hut