2003 07 Nevada, Idaho

This was a fine sunrise over the river plain and I even shot some film of it.  But it was way too late to make the hike out onto the dunes, and I could see that the sun was going to come up behind these few clouds, making the light flat on the dunes.  No shadows equals boring.  So I did not even bother.  Instead I got packed up and left for the drive to Ely.

Before I get further, want to let you all know that I heard on the local NPR weather than the relative humidity on Wednesday was 7%, and on Thursday was 9%.  And this was with temperatures up around 103-106, depending on where you were.

Also, I took this photo on Thursday, when I went to Ketchum and back, and forgot to include it.  It's of some of the lava flow that covers hundreds or square miles (thousands?) in southern Idaho.

Lava Beds National Monument was about 50 miles away, and it is filled with miles of fantastic shapes of this stuff.  I'd like to go back and see that sometime.

Anyway, back to Friday. 

On the drive from Mountain Home ID to Ely NV I had the choice of going I80 to US93, but that would have been fast and relatively uninteresting, at least in Idaho.  There is also a good gravel road that goes near the Bruneau River Canyon, which I thought would be interesting.  It's very deep and out in the middle of nowhere.  From what I read it is a destination for river runners.

This road also goes through an Air Force target range:

I like the use of the word "objects" ..

After that there was about 60 miles more of dead flat and then to US93, and then into Nevada.  The elevation had not changed much yet so it was still hot..

Once on 93 and just inside Nevada I stopped at someone's failed hot springs and took some photos.  It looks like at one time they had it all, except perhaps water.

There were empty motor oil containers (along with many beer cans, bottles, cases) in all of these rooms.  What's the deal with the motor oil?  It looks to me like the party is either really over or just getting started when the guys with the motor oil and the guns show up.  All of these rooms were (or had been) painted amazing popsicle colors too.  I took a lot of photos here.

The only town of any consequence out here is Wells, at the junction of US93 and I80.  I stopped and had something to eat at one of the "casinos".  Good food, but the collection of people is "interesting".  A lot of seriously overweight (minor planetoids, really) smokers that looked like they had to be pounded into their chairs in front of the video poker machines... all in a trance, all smoking .. a lot of really weather beaten people that looked as if they had been out in the sun for decades without a break.  The really leathery ones all seem very skinny too.  Interesting.  Lots of weird hair, too.  I don't mean to be judgmental,  but you just notice this stuff.  Not the Metropolitan Opera crowd, let's say.

Once past Wells headed south the transition is amazing.  Wells is really a stop for all the traffic on I80 now.  Almost none of it is headed either way on 93.  A mile or two out of Wells you're out in the dead silence of "The Great Basin" and all the beautiful valleys and high mountain ranges.  It's stunning .. very beautiful.  And this was high up enough by now that the air felt wonderful.  It had started to get hazy/cloudy at the state line, and by the time I was this far south it looked like rain was possible.  The further south I went the more the clouds there were.  Very cool big blue/gray/black clouds.  I shot a lot of film of them.

This last image was taken when it was almost dark.  I am impressed the little point and shoot I have was able to make anything of the scene.  I had some 400 speed film so I was able to take some film of this too.  This is all in the Clover Valley and then the Steptoe Valley.  To the west of the Clover Valley are the Ruby Mountains, which contain many peaks over 11,000 feet.  The last two pictures are in the Steptoe Valley - visibility here must be 60 miles.  it's quite stunning..  And the elevation is about 5000 feet, so the air was beautiful. 

I think if I was a reincarnation believer I would want to come back as a hawk or some other soaring bird that could be in this sage filled air for hours at a time. There really is nothing else like it.