Day 1 – SF to Elko

Before I get into my Day One experience, here are some updated pictures of my trailer.  She’s coming along!

Now, onto today!

Day one of my trip was filled with a surprising variety of emotions. There was intrigue, confusion, fear, joy, sadness, and boredom (among others). You’re probably asking yourself, “how could Beth have so many emotions when simply sitting in a car for 9 hours?” That’s a completely valid question my dear reader. I am frankly, a little surprised myself.

Let me start at the beginning.

First, there was sadness. That particular feeling was unusual to me as I’m typically ready to hit the road with joy and anticipation. However, leaving San Francisco this morning the air was so thick with smoke you could taste it. The sky was in a perpetual state of dusk, and the City smelled like it was on fire. The thick, soupy smoke was being blown into the Bay Area from Butte County, where wildfires have destroyed thousands of acres. The clear impact these fires were having across California was heartbreaking.

It wasn’t until I left Sacramento and headed into the mountains that the sky went from brown to blue.

It was around that time that my sadness immediately turned to joy! The air was clear, the flat lands of the Central Valley had risen up and the highway was now winding through the Tahoe National Forest. My car was gliding between granite cliffs and crystal clear rivers as it wound its way through the magnificent wall of mountains before dropping into Nevada. The thrill of being on the road had kicked in and I was filled with appreciation for this moment!  Even Dingo started to relax and fall into her role as navigator.  

As I rolled through Reno, my feelings went into a meditative state. One might call it boredom, but I think I prefer to describe it as calm . The road was long and flat and seemed to go on forever.

Before the monotony set in and the risk of sleep became a reality, there was an abrupt awaking of my feelings! The dreamlike state I had drifted into was interrupted by beautifully hypnotic red and blue lights.  Like something out of a music festival, they flashed, blinked, swirled and glowed.  I knew they could mean only one thing.  Aliens?

Nope…a cop.

My feelings quickly dove from calm into confusion, irritation, intrigue and a deeply imbedded overt drive for politeness. I believe that last feeling is a combination of my thoroughly ingrained submission law enforcement and my reasonable fear of anyone with a gun.

Mr. Police Man approached my car slowly as Dingo alerted me to the invader. (Dingo does not have the same respect or fear of law enforcement). After one look at his facial expression at seeing little old butch me, I knew I wasn’t getting off with a warning. I really should consider carrying a blonde wig just for these occasions.

Mr. Police Man took the obligatory paperwork and then returned to his truck for a substantial period of time. After around 20 minutes, he returned to my car with the ticket. You see, I had neglected to move into the fast lane when passing him while he was parked on the side of the highway. Apparently that’s illegal in Nevada, so consider yourself warned.

Carrying a certain level of frustration with me at this point, I drove away and returned on my journey. Due to the delay I decided I needed to go ahead and get a hotel. It was already dark out and the temperature had dropped substantially. In 50 miles I’d be in Elko Nevada, warm and cozy in a bed!

Or would I?

You see, in my distraction, contemplating what stars would have needed to align to convince the officer to simply give me a warning, I neglected to notice my gas gauge. I also neglected to notice that I was literally in the middle of Nowhere Nevada, and there was no gas station for another 40 miles. It wasn’t until the friendly reminder in the shape of a little green light snapped me back into reality!

Frustration was immediately flushed from my system, and in its place was fear! There weren’t even any exits from the highway. It was literally me, darkness, and a looming failure of forward momentum.

I was climbing hills as quickly as I could so I could shift into neutral and glide down the other side. I was hoping this would allow me to squeeze out every drop of gas my car had remaining. The gauge had moved below the empty line further than I’d ever seen it. I knew the putter…putter…tick…tick…tick…dead was about hit me. I pictured myself on the side of the road, hazards on, trying to describe to AAA where I was in Nowhere Nevada, and having Mr Police Man arrive just to rub salt in the wound.

Then a glorious thing happened. A light in the distance grew, like a single beacon. A lighthouse in the desert, guiding wayward travelers to its safe shores! Only 5 miles…4 miles…3 miles…2 miles…would I make it? Please, just let me make it! 1 mile! Then gliding into the gas station in neutral, Dingo and I let out a sigh of relief! We made it!

Now, safely in my Best Western hotel, with Dingo happily lying with me on the bed, I can look back on my last 10 hours.

I learned so much!

I learned to never let my tank of gas get that low! That was foolish. I learned to move into the fast lane to avoid tickets. And finally, I learned the speed limit in Nowhere Nevada is 80 miles per hour (which I consider the most redeeming quality of this part of the state).

Tomorrow I’m off to Medicine Bow and Cheyenne! This is a region I’ve never been too before. I can’t wait to get on the road early and soak it all in!  Until then!