Tuesday, September 8, 2020

My Great (Basin) Escape...

Dateline: Durango, CO Labor Day Weekend 2019.

“Blap! Blap! Blap! was the overriding noise heard during last year’s “Four Corners Motorcycle Rally.” ThIs audio assault was interspersed with choruses of “Varoom! Varoom!” It was all so “in your face” and ears. The few times I ventured onto Main Avenue, I saw Bud Light bellies, gray ponytails, lots of leather and too-tight jeans. The men exuded machismo and testosterone. A few of the women did too. Overall the scene was as far from Woodstock as one could get. 

When the long heavy metal weekend was thankfully done, I vowed to never put myself through that again. So... I flew at the chance to attend the 2020 Steamboat Springs Labor Day Weekend Crane Festival. Birders are the antithesis of bikers. They whisper. Alas, in our Age of Covid, the Crane Festival was cancelled yet the Motorcycle Rally wasn’t. I suppose loud exhaust pipes provide an immunity to the deadly virus. Although it didn’t work that way in Sturgis, SD.



My search for an alternative getaway began with my well worn Road Atlas. I looked west and further west until I found what I was seeking. There off Nevada’s US 50 (AKA the Loneliness Road in Merica) lies Great Basin National Park. Like a brewpub on the edge of town, it’s a destination. No one will ever say, “I was passing through the almost ghost town of GarrIson, UT (where derelict tractors and jalopies are considered lawn ornaments), and decided to visit Nevada’s only National Park. Heck! I just happened to be in the neighborhood!”

I’ve been in GBNP about a half dozen times. In fact, I was one of its first official visitors when the 77,000 acre Park was established in 1986. 



By now maybe a few of you are wondering what’s the Great Basin? I’m glad you asked since curiosity is a desirable trait. First off, Merica’s Great Basin is a BIGLY region. It’s about 200,000 square miles encompassing most of Nevada, western Utah, and scads of California, Oregon and Wyoming. The Great Basin is a “black hole” to water. The liquid flows in but nary a drop flows towards an ocean. (Unless you count Los Angeles 19O5 pilfering of the Owens Valley water. Read about it: https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2014/08/saving-mono-lake.html )  The landscape is stark, harsh and out worldly in nature. Long dry valleys are punctuated by many disjointed mountain ranges. The Great Basin is home to the oldest trees in the World. (Read all about them ( https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2018/10/lessons-from-prometheus.html  ) BTW. The distances between settlements are vast, please come prepared. Cell phone coverage is flip a coin hit or miss too, so the Cavalry might not arrive in time to save the day. 



The scenery is not for everyone, but I savor the space and openness.

On the human side, The Basin served as a sanctuary to a Born in the USA religion. In 1847, Brigham Young brought his LDS disciples (Mormons) to the edge of the Great Salt Lake. There he proclaimed, “This is the place.” (Why? I have no idea). 



The Basin’s 200,000 square miles made convenient hiding places for Merica’s embarrassments too. When FDR penned Executive Order 9066 during WW II, 120,000 Japanese residents were rounded up and placed in what amounted to concentration camps minus the gas chambers. Most of those folks were American citizens. It’s a shameful part of our history. (Read all about it https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2018/03/manzanar-revisited.html  ) 



The Great Basin is the birthplace of the “Sagebrush Rebellion.” (Which is still being fought. IE: the Malheur National Wildlife Reserve stand-off of 2016.) Many of the Basins residents harbor deep anti-Govment convictions. In Burns, OR the US Forest Service vehicle compound is fenced in with concertina wire. While ambling through, I keep my Liberal “why can’t we all just get along?” opinions to myself.



OK! Time for me to step out of the classroom and back to my Great Basin escape! It’s been two years since my last visit. The one and only grocery store in nearby Baker, NV (Population 68, 2010 Census) has been shuttered. Rough looking homes with “For Sale” signs are more prevalent than in 2018. Honestly it would be a tough place to live or make a living. The closest “real” towns are Ely, NV (67 miles away) and Beaver, UT (over 100 miles). Like I said before, come prepared with lots of food and IPAs. Yet! All these inconveniences don’t seem to stop people from coming. (It’s the Fort Collins Syndrome (  https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-fort-collins-syndrome.html
once again. The NPS campgrounds were all full. However my neighbors weren’t  seeking life long buddies or conversation. They were practicing high grade social distancing. There wasn’t one “Mayor” personality amongst them.   https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2020/07/people-who-need-people-are-the.html
All in all, it was a mellow, relaxed trip and not once did I hear “Blap!Blap!Blap!” or “Varoom! Varoom.”

Shhhh!

Stay safe, sorta sane in these crazy times and healthy,
Cheers!
Jeff back in Durango 
I was supposed to stay out longer exploring the vastness, but smoke and the onset of below freezing temperatures chased me back.
It’s all so freaking 2020










2 comments:

  1. Hey, Jeff! Great Basin NP is beautiful in its own way. Kind of like Nebraska. That's a great cartoon! Once I went to spend the night at a girlfriend's house. Her mother served liver & onions, mashed potatoes, and gravy for breakfast. I guess we were then supposed to saddle up and ride out to round up the herd...

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  2. Thanks. As usual, your photography is beautiful. Larson cartoon priceless.
    b

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