The Long Way Home

I do math occasionally. When the Mommy Car crested 100,000 miles I had to wonder. What happened? It is a 30 mile, one way, or 60 mile round trip to Elko, and that can explain some, but it still snuck up on me. Ever since I hit the mark, I have felt like I have had to dial it down, take the short/fast way to where I need to go. No more mosey or wander...

 

So I did the math. Millage and time. Wow, this girl has been trucking.

My average is 61 miles a day over the course of 600 days. That's over 600 hours--25 days in the car in less than two years. I am both freaked out and proud.

 

I get tired of ugly I-80 and the same old back and forth. Yesterday I was able to convince my husband to take the long way home from town (Elko) through Lamoille.

 

The weather was ominous, little snow flurries fell as we bumped along. The great Ruby Mountains were behind a curtain of clouds, which seemed almost close enough to touch. It was beautiful in a rough and wild, cold and wet Nevada kind of way. The air was brisk, fresh and heavily laced with the smell of wet sage.

 

There was nothing but a patch of "wild" turkeys in somebody's yard to take pictures of. People were already done with their chores and were tucked in their warm little farm houses; chimneys pumped out wood smoke that was the same color as the sky.

 

It was a shame to put an extra 30 dirt road miles on the old girl, but I enjoyed slowing down to the speed of rural Nevada on my way home. And, really, who cares if it took us an extra 45 minutes to get to our place? 

 

On ugly I-80 you can be made to feel like you are in a hurry, even when you are not; 75 mph is just too fast to take it all in, roll down the window and smell, the best smell there ever was: wet sage.

 

Have a happy day my Wild Nevadans.

HjB

Feb. 21, 2011