Day 19 - Sunday, October 5: Hawthorne, NV to where my heart is... Kate & home in Murphys, CA

START - Hawthorne, NV

END - Murphys, CA

MILES -  198

Put on a fresh shirt, clipped as much of the road grime from underneath my fingernails as I could, and uploaded what I think should be everything that was on my phone. Threw away my razor, an act of optimism that things will go well today.

Really excited about my last day, it's a wonderful journey. I mean, getting the motorcycle from Vermont to California was the whole purpose, right?

Editor's note: Actually "getting the motorcycle from Vermont to California" was the excuse. The purpose was the journey.

RETURN TO SENDER

Thanks for leaving the impromptu excursion into Canada off the record...

The journey of 4500 miles begins with a day of zero forward progress, but is made up for in volume.

The captain should have remained aboard for the deck swabbing.

This nonprofit leverages a generous endowment in their fundraising event.

Truly, chivalry is not dead.

The wide front end models generally have the most pull at these events.

Love this - and these sleds are available!

Uncategorized class

Low horsepower class - oh for more tread on that rear tire...

LET THE RECORD SHOW...

She's now a legal alien, on her way to full citizenship.

 

A private room - I've finally arrived!!!

Day 18 - Saturday, October 4: Rachel, NV to (go boldly) where no man has gone before

START - Rachel, NV

END - Hawthorne, NV

MILES -  244

Well in the end, it seems there is Wi-Fi here in Rachel Nevada. I learned that from Kate, she even gave me the password "aliencoffee".  I had to choose this morning between journaling and giving thorough updates, or just snapping some pictures and then had a delightful conversation with Pam. It seems this place is destined for unusual intersections, not unlike what I experience yesterday with Matt and Fiona.

Pam has incredible energy and loves hosting people. It's her custom to get the group together in the evening, get everyone to introduce himself, and then give and get a little background as people generally have the same questions and curiosities.

She told me about one occasion where two separate groups from England, happened to be here the same night.

During the Q & A they drilled down to country, county, town, and street. It turns out they lived across from each other, and haven't met for the past 10 years.

It seems every time I neglect to journal a story, whatever displaced it gives me three times the material.

I shall neglect refreshing the dropbox, but attach a few pics, and the stories will have to wait.

That ceiling needs to be inspected closely.

This place is in the middle of nowhere. It seems to draw a lot of people that are looking for something.

During my conversation with Kate, she felt that maybe I need one more day to decompress, so she's going to fill that gap with some friends and hope that I get a little closer to Earth before attempting to land in California.

Area 51 - where the postal service conducts top secret tests of its rural mail delivery drone.

Editor's note: Photo count and general effort here exceeds National Park visits - he's my brother.

I plated Miss Kate to proceed legally across Nevada.

A leisurely pace, in juxtaposition with the one and only rest stop along that way, led to another encounter.  I was sitting there journaling about the events in the Texas Panhandle, when up drove a car. As soon as Lanny stepped out I recognized him then Debra followed from the other side. Kate and I had worked with Deborah in the early 90s at the Village spa. I got to know Lanny well, through working with his delightful parents.

That kind of encounter has just become normal now. After all, there was this graffiti on the trashcan.

This photo is from that 150 mile stretch of nothing, including no fuel. Miss Kate and I enjoyed that stretch at about 40 mph. It returned my all-time best mileage, in spite of her earlier spirited riding before that sign.

With the extra day there's no pressure. Put to use those piano skills I picked up in Punxsutawney.

Tickling the ivories

We love our numbers... how many hours of my life have I spent getting pithy results on a gas pump or odo? - Lar