April 17th – April 20th, 2023
Nevada is mainly desert covered in sagebrush and the monotony of the road was only relieved by snowy peaks. We were mostly at an elevation (between 1,200 and 2,000 m) and even though it was sunny it was cold and the wind was relentless.
Near Eureka, we joined Highway 50, aptly named “the loneliest road in America”.
The only redeeming fact was that we stayed at a couple of nice BLM camps… in the middle of nowhere. One in particular had the added bonus of free showers, directly from a hot spring !
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Cathedral Gorge State Park – Panaca
Cathedral Gorge SP is a geologic preserve featuring a dramatic landscape of eroded soft clay in different gradient of pink. Trails take you to spires, caves or slot canyon-like formations, many are narrow passages with fluted towers, hence the name of Cathedral Gorge.
The entrance fee is $10 and you can stay at the campground for another $10 per night so we decided to stay. We explored some of the caves and slot canyons. The wind was still very strong and the evening chilly. In the morning we got talking to our neighbours and Eric invited us for dinner that evening so we decided to stay for another night.
Both Eric and Sheree are involved in the music and AI (Artificial Intelligence) industries and they have a recording studio at the back of their trailer / motorhome. They spend half the year traveling and the summer back home in Idaho. We had a very pleasant evening, If you are reading this, thanks again Eric and Sheree !!
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A morning at the shooting range!
Yesterday, we were at the local petrol station/convenience shop and Paul got talking to the Sheriff who was parked next to us. The conversation turned to guns and when John, the Sheriff heard that Paul had never shot or held a gun before he invited us to come round to the local shooting range the following morning.
We met as planned and John took us to the Shooting range, just out of town. He brought a selection of 5 or 6 riffles and one handgun, casually resting on the front seat of his truck…
After giving Paul the necessary safety caution and explanations, he gave Paul a set of ear plugs and handed him a .22 long riffle. He set a target ( tin cans) at 100 yards or so and gave further instructions on how to line up your sight with the target, how to control your breathing and press the trigger etc… John also mentioned that this was the same gun his 5 year old learned to shoot with!
After a few rounds( and hits !), Paul was handed each of the other guns in turn and the target was moved further back. John had brought a scope allowing you to see the furthest target at 300 yards. Paul did manage to get a couple of hits !
A couple of these guns were for hunting and they were louds!
Learning the basics!
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We spent one hour and a half at the range and after thanking John for the experience and giving us some of his free time, we were on our way. The next destination was Gt George, in Utah !
