Nevada City, CA: TREES!!!
Welcome to California sign. Its that blue blob if you can find it...the scenery only got WAY better from there.
one of the more scenic Nevada views, from a Western Nevada rest stop
another Motel 6! Elko, Nevada
Day nine (today!) began with me waking up at the ungoddessly hour of 3:38 am. Why? Because last night I crashed at 8pm. After deciding a three am wakeup was not needed, I slept in till the luxurious hour of 6:30 am. Had some motel 6 coffee (much better in Elko, NV, than Des Moines....) chatted with other early risers, and was on the road by 8:30 am.
Nevada is vast. And mountainous. And dry . And very empty feeling, except for patches of towns with neon signs for motels, and gambling, and less obvious signs for brothels. It strikes me as evidence of universal humor, or perhaps irony, that its next to Utah. Near Winnemucca passed the signs for the Pussycat Ranch and the Mustang Ranch. Hint: neither is about kittties or horses. Nor is either one a ranch. Some gas stations in Nevada have gambling areas.
Crossing through the rest of Nevada felt pretty much like an exercise in time consumption- as in- "how long till I get to California?"
And then it happened. At about 2pm, after starting out at 8:30 am (note one hour off road for gas and lunch), HILLS appeared. and actual trees. To the right: a blue sign that read : Welcome to California. It was 2pm pacific standard time and I was listening to Bel Canto's "Shimmering Warm and Bright." There is significance in this....but that's another, not terribly interesting, story.
What Nevada was to dry and endless, my entrance to Northern California was to vast, majestic mountains and trees. I was in the Sierra Nevada mountains! It was beautiful. It was spacious. I didn't take the photos I wanted because I was tired and cranky and all of a sudden, there were actually other drivers!!! I pulled off the road and sat by a beautiful lake for awhile. Contemplated driving to Sacramento, started that process, and realized I was thirsty for actual - trees. A tree? Oh, yes, that thing I hadn't really been embraced by since Pennsylvania.....
Energetically, the vibe here, at least in the trees and hills, pre city , feels so right.
Night nine found me at my most decadent stop yet, the "Outside Inn" a cute motel in Nevada City/Grass Valley, Northern California. Trees. And now, perhaps, sleep.
Tomorrow: Probably the last installment! More trees, zooming by Sacramento, and into the Bay area. (unless I take a vacation day in the trees)
Stats: Miles driven...approx 350.
Music: the entire "dream" section of Jonathans ipod, eg Dead Can Dance, Bel Canto, Cranes, Delerium, Sinead O'Connor
Biggest Surprise: transition from Nevada into California
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