Day #16—Marilyn’s Cottage, Truckee, CA --June 7, 2011

I’m nearing the end of my solo adventure and prepared to start my Yosemite-Olympic Peninsula-Coastal adventure with deah sistah Sarah. 

At the mo I am warmly (it snowed here yesterday) tucked into a darling little cabin near Lake Tahoe and Donner Pass in Truckee, California. How did I find my way here? Daughter, Jess, of course. She has stayed several times in Marilyn’s cabin whilst up here snowboarding and/or mountain biking. As soon as I got in, I called Jess and thanked her for the recommendation. The cabin is fully equipped and has a little corner electric stove operated by a thermostat, so despite the outside chill, I am toasty inside. From the kitchen table, I can see Donner Lake through the huge pines. And, the whole deal is only $50. Can’t beat it. I paid nearly that much for one night in my tiny campsite in Zion. 



It is 5:30 and I have just had two slices of nine-grain toast & marmalade and a mug of cocoa. Eat your hearts out those of you in Oklahoma heat. (Sorry, Hon, just had to rub that in.) 

Now to correct a few things in yesterday’s post. On leaving the Clown Motel this morning I asked the owner if he knew what the huge wide load was that backed me down the mountain yesterday. He said that it is part of the bottom of one of the big wind turbines and that three of them, as well as many of the vanes, have been trucked through Tonopah in the past week or so. Well . . . okay. But, I've seen plenty of the huge wind turbines in OK and have never seen the likes of the oversized load I saw yesterday. 

Today I caught Hwy 376 north off Hwy 6 that I came in on yesterday. It runs down the Big Smoky Valley between the Toiyabe Mountain Range and the Toquima Mountain Range. Ahead of me was the Simpson Park Range, so I felt as though in a large, flat-bottomed bowl. All of these ranges had high snow-covered peaks, while in the valley Hwy 376 stretched straight as an arrow through desert sand and scrub. Saw maybe 8 vehicles on its entire 108-mile length. 

Again today I saw the mirage. And then learned that it was not a mirage but a great alkali flat, partially covered with water. This is probably what I saw yesterday also, but yesterday it kept shimmering before me and then disappeared, so I am puzzled. Maybe it was reflected off the clouds. 

Alkali Lake

I also photographed a cloud shaped like the mushroom cloud of an atomic explosion. What’s with this area of the country? 

Mushroom Cloud  on the horizon?

I was tooling along at 75 (the speed limit) and saw a large bird sitting on a fence post. WHOA! that’s a Golden Eagle! As soon as I could slow down, I did a U-turn and drove back, adjusting my camera as I drove. I reached the eagle and aimed the camera across the passenger seat, but had zoomed in too far and could not locate the bird in the viewfinder. Just as I did, it flew up. I tried to get a photo of it in the air, but got nothing more than the door frame and blue sky. Darn! But what a thrilling sighting. The funny thing is, one of the few other Golden Eagles that I have seen was also at roadside. This one in Wyoming, standing beside the road eating a jackrabbit. It must have been hungry, as it did not fly up when I cycled past. 

Next, I nearly ran over a Gambel’s Quail that scooted across the road, topknot bouncing. Just one. I drove on, wondering who Gambel was to have a quail and an oak tree named after him/her. Promised myself to look it up on the Net when I got a chance. 

Along 376 were many roads leading to mines. One, the Smoky Valley Mine, had built a mountain (not an exaggeration) of tailings and earth that trucks zigzagged up looking like toys. It mines calcite, quartz, pyrite, galena, graphite, silver, even has a gold mine. 

Just as I turned onto Hwy 50 West-- a.k.a. “The Loneliest Road,”-- and began climbing up to Scott Summit at 7000+ feet, I encountered two touring cyclists coming down the mountain. They were two of three pairs that I saw riding east on Hwy 50. I also saw two riding west near Sand Mountain and Carson Lake. I stopped and offered them water but they said they were fine. Carson Lake is not a lake at all, but a vast alkali flat east of Fallon. Sand Mountain is a big sand dune nearby. The Fallon Naval Air Station and the Fallon Naval Range flanked the highway here. The Naval Centroid Facility is home to the Naval Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) and the Range is an Electronic Warfare Range. Just before Fallon, 95 ran south to the Walker River Indian Reservation housing Paiute. 

Sand Mountain east of Fallon

Not snow but alkaloid edge of Carson Lake

Toiyabe Mountains

Climbing up through the Toiyabe Range

For my cycling friends

In Fernley I caught US-80 west through Sparks and Reno to Truckee. Felt weird to be zinging along in heavy traffic. These past few days I’ve literally had the roads to myself. 

Here’s what I found out about Gambel after I got to the cabin: Dr. William Gambel (1821-1849) may qualify as the most important 19th Century figure in California ornithology. He was the first trained naturalist to spend extensive time on California soil. Gambel arrived by foot in 1841, and left California at the end of 1843, having experienced all seasons, and visited many parts of the state. 

His namesake legacy is a rich one: Gambel’s Quail [Callipepla gambelii] and Mountain Chickadee [Poecile gambeli], both of which Gambel first discovered for science. Both are California residents. Named for him also are a subspecies of White-crowned Sparrow, and a formerly recognized subspecies of White-fronted Goose—both winter in California. Also named for him are a genus of lizard and Gambel’s oak, both of which he discovered. I saw Gambel's Oak early on the road trip in Durango, CO. In addition, Gambel first collected and scientifically described several California birds. He died before his 27th birthday. 

Tomorrow, over the Sierras, through Sacramento, and up 101 to Sarah’s in Willits, CA.