Raven's Reach

The common raven, Corvus corax, is large bird, about 2.5 pounds, with glossy black feathers:

These smart, curious birds seem to have a complex language when you listen to them, which I do most days, and they really understand human behavior well.  They understand canine behavior even better, and constantly play tag games with Tillie.

Ravens IQ  -- this is an excerpt from the great PBS episode on Ravens, who have the largest brain size relative to their weight of any bird, live about 40 years, and mate for life.

They can be very destructive--damaging window screens, hot tub covers, and anything else they are curious about--this box below was investigated between dawn and 7 a.m. this morning, ans they poked numerous holes and yanked out bits of a large plastic bag covering my new Thule storage pod.

They are over-populated here, due to the ready availability of compost piles for foraging, indicates the Dept. of Fish and Game.

Tillie's World

Everyone is home now, until the next trip at the end of June.  Tillie is happy I am home, and "no" I did not put her in our garage sale last Saturday.  I was tempted, but she has really improved over the last few years.  She still has more energy in one dew claw than most dogs have in their entire body, but she tends to listen more often than not these days.  I rarely quote my father ("That dog is an idiot") these days.

The bear is around, so garbage day becomes a challenge.  The mountain lion has been around, but is avoiding my cameras, so Tillie will have to do as the big, tan predator caught on camera..

The Human Race

Seven hours after going to bed, I was up at 4:00 a.m. to shower and head out (sans trailer--left with Liz) to Santa Rosa to participate in the Human Race, a fundraiser where I was walking for the North Coast Resource Conservation & Development Council, a 4-county charity that protects pollinators, encourages sustainable agriculture (especially new organic entrepreneurs), and promotes alternative energy.  "Bee Buddies" is the current project we are really seeking funding to complete.  This elementary education project teaches  our future leaders about the benefits of pollinators, problems facing pollinators. and steps children and their families can take to help these important creatures.  We have received funding for over half of the project costs, and are hopeful we can obtain the remaining funds to bring this program to 100 classrooms in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino Counties.

I joined with over 10,000 people to walk under the balloon arch, mingling with families, "centipedes" and other costumed folks, tee-shirted groups, and just loads of people having a good time supporting their favorite charity. The Human race of Sonoma County is one of the biggest of its type--203 nonprofits participate in this great event. Newspapers report that contributions peaked at $1.1 million in 2006, then dropped off during the recession, so it will be interesting to see where 2012 lands. The Human Race is the largest collaborative fundraiser in Sonoma County and had been going on now for over 30 years. 

I had a good time, but headed back to the Walnut ranch soon afterward as I was becoming very tired, and I knew that a tired driver is not a safe driver. 

End of the Trip

It was windy again in Carson City last night, and a lady in Virginia City told us it was windy every day in Nevada.  Perhaps so, or perhaps we are experiencing March winds since the trees and flowers that are blooming in Nevada now are the same ones that bloomed in March for us at home.

Virginia City is a pretty town, with many historical buildings dating back to the mid 1800s.  Wooden sidewalks line the main street, which is crossed by very steep side streets.  The main street is full of little shops--kind of a cross between Sierra City and Columbia in the mother lode.  We helped the economy along with our lunch out (excellent) and the several bags we carried back to the car with our purchased treasures.

The last night in Carson City was a quiet one, and we breakfasted out there this morning before hitting the road back along highway 50 to 395 to 88, and home.

The walmut ranch has changed since we left--the asparagus which had been harvested and showed just tiny stumps right before we left was pretty much back up and leafed out, so no more asparagus for the season.  The walnut leaves are fully leafed out, but still very thin and new looking.  The cherries are turning pink, but not ripe yet.  The orange tree, which just gave up the last of its fruit, is in full bloom--smelling sweetly from thirty feet away.

The roses have also opened and are in full bloom, including the red Lincoln rose, below.

Tomorrow I go to Santa Rosa EARLY to participate in the Human Race, then back here to get the trailer for the trip home on Sunday.  Our late April trip is now officially at an end.

Extra Terrestrial Highway

The wind kicked up in the night and kept Liz and I awake for some time since both of our beds are at each end of the trailer, then fold out and are covered with heavy canvas which really whips in the wind.  Helen sleeps in the third bed within hard-sided walls, and she heard the wind, but her new memory foam bed was so comfortable that she immediately fell back to sleep.

The next morning we left Cedar City, heading west.  We planned to stop at Cathedral Gorge State Park in Panaca, NV, and we did. It is an interesting park, well maintained, protecting these eroded clay barrens that looked almost like miniature reddish hoodoos of Utah.

After filling up with gas in Panaca, we drove the few miles to Caliente, NV, and continued east to connect to the Extraterrestrial Highway, route 375.  A tall statute of a Roswellian ET stands by a roadside business (seemed closed) just as you embark on the highway.

Several small communities were dotted along the map of our route, and we planned to get gasoline halfway, when my tank would be slightly over 1/2 full.  Nowhere did we see any sign that no services would be available until Tonopah, our destination, and about 170 miles from Panaca.  Generally, I can count on about a 200 mile range pulling the trailer, unless there are several passes or long grades that reduces the mileage from an average of 10-11 mpg, to about 6-7 mpg.

The first  inkling of concern came when one of the little communities on the map was no longer even a remnant on the highway,  and major concern hit when we pulled into the gas stop halfway along the route and the pumps were still showing gas at $2.33/gal and the associated rustic minimart, which sported a sign saying it was open, was locked and the shelves inside were empty.  A dried up mop lay scattered on the floor.  I had a little over half a tank and we had 115 miles to go to Tonopah. Then the climbs through about 1/2 dozen passes began and my tank dropped more quickly than I liked. We were in a real desert  now, with cactus instead of pinyon pine and juniper. Few if any cars passed us, and only one or two were encountered going the other direction.  The highway is remote and lightly traveled through a very dry desert. It was time to be nervous.

Our plan was to go as far as we could, but when the gauge showed 1/8th of a tank, we would drop the trailer and continue without it to get gas and then return to the trailer. Liz had spotted a campground icon on the map that seemed suitable.  That probably would have worked well if we hadn't hit a spot of road construction with a pilot car.  The bottom line was that we were at a lot less than 1/8th of a tank when we hit the rest area (which appeared to allow overnight camping).  Of course, we had not had cell service for some time.

Liz stayed with the trailer, while Helen and I headed down the highway for the last 25 miles to Tonopah.  I was now averaging 23 mpg, but the gauge was very low, and about 5 miles outside of Tonopah the empty fuel gauge warning light came on.  It was on E but on a downhill portion of yet another pass, the light went off, so there was clearly enough gas to slosh around still.  We had just seen signs of the far outskirts of Tonopah when the warning light again appeared, but despite this we made it at last to a Shell station and re-filled.  It took 20.12 gallons, more than I had ever put in before.

We reversed course to return for Liz and the trailer, and in this direction there WAS a sign that said no services for 169 miles.  They need to put one on the other end, too.

We were worried about Liz all alone at a remote rest stop in the middle of the Nevada desert, so I went as fast as I could back to where we had left her.  She was fine--reported that no cars but two had gone by in the hour we had been gone.  One, a trucker, had stopped and used the rest area.  Another, an elderly lady who could barely walk, had stopped and said she was nearly out of gas and she was praying she could make Tonopah.  Liz had told her our story, and why she couldn't help. We didn't see her car along the side of the highway later, so she must have made it.

We were so tired that we camped in the Tonopah Ramada Casino RV "park"--full hookups behind the casino/hotel.  Not too pretty, a little noisy, but good enough. Quite an experience.  This morning we headed to Carson City across some pretty dry and desolate desert.  Tomorrow we will tour Virginia City; at least that is the plan.