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June 26, 2011

Ketchum to Elko

Off we go, on another scenic drive with smaller roads, heading for Elko, our target in the northeast corner of NV. This ride involved very long, uninhabited stretches of road which means "no gas stations"...again. Franz, as usual, went speeding off ahead. He later told us he went 120 mph to 140 mph for 40 minutes straight. We all followed at a slightly more sedate pace, with car and van bringing up the rear. As we were wondering where we would find gas, we saw Franz standing by the side of the road. He has found a small "country store" with one pump that had to be operated manually by the woman who ran the store. We all had to pay cash and no one asked whether the gas was regular or premium...it was gas. We went into the store with drinks and snacks in mind. The shelves were stocked with an eclectic mix of items, childrens shoes next to Hamburger Helper. It was not anything like a supermarket as there was a limited selection and only a few of every item. We sat on the front "porch" and drank our Cokes and ate our chips and crackers for a while and then a truck raced right up to the front door, out jumped a young guy who ran into the store and got a reheated hamburger sandwich or something like it. He decided we might be interesting to talk to so asked where everyone was from. When told that the group was from Austria, he stated that a number of his friends had gone to work on large ranches there (clearly he got Austria mixed up with Australia). He told us he was a cowboy on a ranch nearby with over 600,000 acres and 4,000 head of cattle. He said that he was used to the loneliness of the life. You just couldn't go to McDonald's for a burger since the nearest one was over 60 miles away, etc. Then he decided to demonstrate some rope tricks to prove he was really a cowboy. Everyone enjoyed the chance to meet a local character and there were lots of photos taken. Another man who was at the store sharing something to eat and some conversation with the woman told us that we would like some of the canyons we were heading for, but to watch our speed. We survived the canyons and got no tickets and eventually Franz went on another speed binge. We caught up with him on the outskirts of Elko and found a Shiloh Inn which was on the edge of a shopping center with a couple of places to eat and all of the requirements of the group. The second part of the group caught up with us somewhat later. They had been on one of the long stretches of highway and watched a woman roll her Jeep a couple of times. They stopped to help her out of the vehicle, flagged down a trucker with a CB to get help and found her dog who had escaped from its seat in the car. Franz took some of the group, including Clemens, who was getting a real education on American foods and ways, for their first visit to a Wal-Mart. After a swimming session, we had another in a long line of meals featuring deep-fried something and after asking for wine by the bottle, not the glass, ending up finishing off two 1.5 liter bottles of red and white wine.