Austin
PEZ
So there we were, trapped at the base of dreaded Sand Mountain, up to our hubcaps in soft, tan silica. I made a nasty discovery upon rolling up the tent: a small, pale scorpion, eager as all heck to bite me.
It was Ken came to our rescue. Ken was with the Utah forestry service on a visit back to his old stomping ground in Reno, when he noticed our dilemma. He hitched his Pathfinder to the front of Lisa's bus and within seconds we were slipping sideways to freedom. Ken was a talkative guy with the looks of a burly Steve Buscemi. He gave us a few maps, told us about the feud between he forestry and park services and then floated back to whatever cloud he came down from. We were so relieved. We skipped back a few places to take a look at the odd grave marker we had noticed the evening before. Then we headed east to Austin, which is right in the heart of Nevada. Along the way we stopped at a few historical markers, sopping up as much information as we could tolerate. We passed a number of Cattle Guards, those odd metal slats in road that seem to keep cattle from moseying down the interstate. Austin proved to be an interesting town. We wandered its streets, Lisa taking pictures. Lisa bought some postcards and I got a PEZ dispenser at an antique shop run by an old prospector looking guy. The back of the store housed an enormous, imported German mahogany bar. Truly magnificent. The old man looked quizically at the pez dispenser when I handed it to him. "I always wondered what this was," he announced, yanking the little duck's head in and out of its plastic case. I decided to do some painting in Austin so I went back to the bus for my supplies, when lo and behold, I noticed all my paper, paintings and the masonite backing board were missing. We had left them in some camp, most probably Bishop. Needless to say, this pissed me off. We continued on through Eureka to Ely. At Cave Lake, just outside Ely, we camped. - Craig
It was Ken came to our rescue. Ken was with the Utah forestry service on a visit back to his old stomping ground in Reno, when he noticed our dilemma. He hitched his Pathfinder to the front of Lisa's bus and within seconds we were slipping sideways to freedom.
Ken was a talkative guy with the looks of a burly Steve Buscemi. He gave us a few maps, told us about the feud between he forestry and park services and then floated back to whatever cloud he came down from. We were so relieved.
We skipped back a few places to take a look at the odd grave marker we had noticed the evening before. Then we headed east to Austin, which is right in the heart of Nevada. Along the way we stopped at a few historical markers, sopping up as much information as we could tolerate. We passed a number of Cattle Guards, those odd metal slats in road that seem to keep cattle from moseying down the interstate.
Austin proved to be an interesting town. We wandered its streets, Lisa taking pictures. Lisa bought some postcards and I got a PEZ dispenser at an antique shop run by an old prospector looking guy. The back of the store housed an enormous, imported German mahogany bar. Truly magnificent. The old man looked quizically at the pez dispenser when I handed it to him. "I always wondered what this was," he announced, yanking the little duck's head in and out of its plastic case.
I decided to do some painting in Austin so I went back to the bus for my supplies, when lo and behold, I noticed all my paper, paintings and the masonite backing board were missing. We had left them in some camp, most probably Bishop. Needless to say, this pissed me off.
We continued on through Eureka to Ely. At Cave Lake, just outside Ely, we camped.
- Craig
Day 5 / Day 6 / Day 7 / Day 8 / Day 9 / Day 10 / Craig's Paintings / Mail Us
Craig Millman put this page together.
