Nevada to Northern California Oct 21-28

After worship with the folks in Overton, we headed to Las Vegas where I did the laundry and Doug watched football (not much changes even while traveling 😊). Then we found a parking spot at “Camp Walmart” in North Las Vegas. We thought about walking the “strip”, and if driving there wasn’t so difficult we would have gone. And many we know told us we should, that the lights and sights are beautiful. And I am sure they are. But when we drove through on the hwy I could see the desert contrast against the city, and the thought came to me – God made all the natural beauty we have seen and humans have put a great city right in the middle of it. And for all the “citified” people we know, we know they would love it, but it wasn’t calling to us.

As we traveled north on Hwy 95 we passed through a lot of small towns that time has forgotten. One is the old mining town of Tonopah NV. Abandoned businesses and houses, broken down homes with folks still living in them. I thought of those businesses and homes. At one time they were someone’s hope and future. Where are those folks now and what of their dreams? The landscape is so harsh and poor. I wonder if their lives are like that. We saw wild burros and a few cattle and wondered how they stay alive – not much to eat and we never saw water. The western Nevada landscape is hot, extremely dry and foreboding, yet beautiful with rolling high hills, mountainous terrain and plenty of ghost towns.

We also drove through Hawthorne. It is a small town built around a US army Ammo plant. The landscape is marked with tons of bunkers that house old war ammo. Sometimes the army detonates some of it. The girl at the gas station told me that the town shakes when they do.
At around 7 PM we arrived at Fort Churchill State Park in NV. After getting set up we went for walk in the moonlight, hearing the yipping of coyotes. Quite a difference from Vegas! The fort has its story as well. Three white men kidnapped 2 Native girls and took them to William Station. The tribe rescued them and burned the station. 105 vigilante white men embarked on a retaliatory, vengeful hunt only to have 75 of them killed during the attack. The US army then attacked the natives, killing a bunch of them and decided to build Fort Churchill. Not only was it built to protect the area from Indian raids, its purpose was also to protect Pony Express Riders and to keep southern rebel sympathizers at bay.

Virginia City was to be a little detour. We wanted to go because we both watched Bonanza as kids (didn’t everyone?). The flame at Virginia City on the map. What we didn’t realize was that the road we took to the city was a treacherous, mountain-climbing, white knuckle, look over the edge with no guardrail kind of road (and we were told all roads to the city are the same). No turning around now – really. The city is on the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. And a city it is! The main street is lined on both sides with many original buildings (wooden sidewalks, overhang rooves, and store front signs) – shops, saloons (lots of those), museums and restaurants. We didn’t notice a grocery store or a bank. The town had a major fire in 1869. It was a mining town and when the mine closed cowboys took over. Bonanza wasn’t even filmed there (except for bits of 2 episodes), although the Ponderosa is located not too far away where most of the filming was done. It is a touristy and even at the end of October was overrun with people. And we were surprised to find that it is the hometown of Mark Twain. Then we had to make the descent! We figured that Doug could drive just about anywhere after that. We made camp at Lake Washoe State Park.

In the morning we seen a guy looking in the garbage across from our campsite. I thought he was looking for bottles to cash in. I had an empty one that was going out and when I offered it to him as I dumped our garbage he wasn’t at all interested. I quickly realized he was digging for food. I hurriedly got a few food items together and gave them to him and he disappeared. I wanted to give him more but couldn’t find him. We went for a walk around the park. The State parks are so well cared for and are beautiful.

While we were in Santa Fe we met a couple of believers, Terry and Anita, from Nevada City CA who had invited us to contact them if we were going by there. We did and they invited us to spend the night. Terry sent us directions from the border to their place. Donner Pass is 7200 ft high and we had to travel over it to get to California. Terry’s directions included traveling on Hwy 20. The descent on Hwy 20 to Nevada City is not for the fainthearted! It made the drive to and from Virginia City look like child’s play. Then we missed our turnoff and used the GPS. Big mistake. By that time it was dark and the roads to our destination were more of the same. The heart wrenching drive was worth our visit with Terry and Anita. They are a delightful retired couple – she a nurse, he an administrator for hospitals. We had a fantastic evening, talking near midnight about a wide variety of subjects. They treated us to breakfast at a quaint little café the next morning. Who knew that making friends while traveling would be so much fun?! We feel it will be a lasting rewarding spiritual friendship, one we will cherish for years to come. Our visit is definitely a highlight of our travels and we thank God for the fellowship we enjoyed.

Terry assured us that Hwy 20 to Ukiah wouldn’t be difficult. But that wasn’t our experience. Maybe because their RV is quite a bit smaller than ours they don’t find it difficult. The scenery is beautiful, but the driving not so much. The Lord got us to Ukiah and we found an RV park at the fairgrounds. I went shopping at a nearby Goodwill store and found “The Best of James Herriot”. He was a traveling veterinarian in rural England in the 1930’s. Nice find.

Enterprise picked us up at 8 AM and away we went to explore the coast. Vineyards and ranch country. Looks much like NS but hillier. Hwy 128 to the coast was a narrow, winding, hilly road. Hwy 1 along the coast literally hugs the coast with steep drop offs and crazy turns. But the views are amazing. Point Arena lighthouse makes a postcard picture. We walked the beach – the surf is astounding – 20 foot waves and more! What a display of majestic power. We walked around the quaint little village of Mendocino, where “Murder She Wrote” was filmed (although the setting for the show is Maine). We walked the beach at Fort Bragg and found lots of beach glass, then traveled back to Ukiah on the infamous Hwy 20. I have a suspicion that the DOT (or whoever it is that makes roads) released a bunch of snakes and then followed them as they built Hwys 20, 1 and 128. I wonder how many accidents occur. They make great Miata roads – zoom, zoom – but not so much fun for a Class A RV. Gorgeous, but nail biting, white knuckle stuff!

Next we headed north to see the redwoods. They are spectacular, to say the least. We visited the Drive Thru Tree. The RV is too big, but it was cool to see. The poem about God creating the redwoods was written by Joseph Strauss, the builder of the Golden Gate Bridge. We camped near “Confusion Hill”, where it is believed a magnetic force is at play with gravity. I suspect it is an illusion. The giant totem pole fashioned by a chainsaw is real, though. And beside the campground is a famous tree house. Lightning struck the 301 ft redwood tree about 300 years ago and burned the center of it out, so it is hollow. In the 1920s a school teacher and her husband bought the land it is on and lived in it. And jailhouse workers lived in it as they built the hwy through here. It is also sasquatch country. Lots of stuff going on with this 500 ft stretch of highway!
Tomorrow we venture to San Francisco!