Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Nevada?

Where were we when we last spoke?

Ah, yes, heading east into flat southwestern Oregon.

There are NOT a lot of people driving around out there . . .

. . . thankfully. It's pristine and gorgeous and empty.

We met these guys at a campground near Ashland.

They're The New Frontiers, a band from Dallas, Texas. Aren't they cute? Plus they totally rock. Listen to them on their site. Seeing them spill out from their van was such a nice change from the usual old timers we meet on the road. Nothing against old-timers, of course. But it's nice to talk to the young 'uns sometimes too. Especially rockin' ones.

Two of them had new Texas tattoos they were very pleased with.

We met this guy, too, driving through Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, as soon as we crossed into Nevada.

Aw-ah. Isn't he adorable?

Nevada is a great traveling state because, well, it's pristine and gorgeous and empty, and you can never quite believe you're in Nevada.

We stopped in the Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest, near Paradise Valley, for the night. Forests do not have to be full of trees, you know. That's Mistah Schleckah in the distance.
.
And there's ol' Westy. That was a camping spot for the ages.

The mountains and the moon were our only friends for miles and miles . . .

We built a fire pit and a fire . . .

. . . and called it a night.
.
In the morning it was just as dreamy . . .
.
Mistah Schleckah has always been the absolute epitome of camping high-fashion.

Who wouldn't hire this man?

There actually was a lot of traffic in the morning.

"Move it along, fellers."

Ah, the nature-and-barb-wire shot. I love the nature-and-barb-wire shot.

Non-barb-wire is pretty dramatic, too.

We carried on, across northeastern Nevada . . .

. . . until we reached the border of Utah. And at West Wendover . . .

. . . we camped under the watchful eye of this guy. He's some kind of casino sign or something, on the Nevada-slash-sin side of the border, calling all those pure-as-the-driven-snow-Utahans over to the dark side.

We continued our trek into the Utah desert, and found an awesome spot under gnarly juniper trees.

It was quiet and desolate . . .

. . . and at night, kind of spooky.

But we didn't care. We built a big fire, set up camp, and we knew, somewhere out there in the desert,
.
Someone was looking out for us.

11 comments:

  1. Great photos. It all looks so relaxing and beautiful.

    Love the shot of the moon =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow (again). We've been planning to trek out west before the girls grow up and out. These pictures have just re-energized my plans!

    ReplyDelete
  3. One of these days I am going to have to convince the man to take a road trip. We might need to find one of those nifty pop-up camper vans first though. That thing is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  4. wow talk about the middle of nowhere... Pretty out there though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Okay, Mistah looks like Heidi! Like Heidi selling oatmeal. That photo made me laugh out loud -- thanks, Ellie.

    Gotta love the cattle and donkey photos too.

    Hmm...I almost want to go to Nevada (but not quite).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely, El! And imperatrix - note the conspicuous absence of peace-sucking children in the photos =)

    I am so happy to have a nudeman reader!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I know! So mysterious.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You seriously piss me off. This is my life in 10 years. I can;t wait!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's funny how much Nevada looks like where I grew up in Canada. Weird.

    And what's up with the nude men?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Nevada! I spent my childhood in northern Nevada and these pictures bring it all back. How often do you see bloggers writing about Nevada?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful pictures.
    Wouldn't want to live in the desert, but it's always so peaceful to travel in it.

    ReplyDelete