What Next! What Next?

Linda Burton posting from Salt Lake City, Utah – Paraphrasing an old tune: I got to Salt Lake City on a Sunday, by Monday I learned a thing or two. But up ’till then I didn’t have an idea, of all the things right here that I could do. I counted thirteen places with Connect Pass, and then I Googled more and more and more; next thing I read the Travelhost and Chamber, and learned about the Tours out to the shore. What next! What next?

 If that didn’t bring the tune to mind, I’ll tell you — it was that old ditty from Oklahoma about “Kansas City” that was buzzing in my head as I assembled my To Do list.  I learned this – » read more

I Wanna Go Fast

Linda Burton traveling from Elko, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah –Boggled by nature’s theatrics as I drove east from Elko, I thought by now I’d seen every type of terrain. I was wrong. My curving descent at Wendover, past the last of the Nevada casinos, showed flashes of white ahead. A battery of signs assailed me – Mountain Time Zone, Welcome to Utah, High Wind Area. Then another sign, a green directional, that simply said “Bonneville Speedway.” I didn’t hesitate.  » read more

If I Were A Geologist

Linda Burton traveling from Carson City, Nevada to Elko, Nevada on the way to Salt Lake City, Utah – If I were a geologist, I think I’d choose to live in Nevada. Nevada claims to be the “most mountainous” state of the lower 48, yes, ahead of California, Montana, Washington, Colorado. The numbers vary a bit depending on the source, but Nevada has (approximately) 314 named mountain ranges and 172 summits over 2,000 feet. With that many mountains, you wind up with a matching number of valleys of course; just think what a challenging life of ups and downs for a serious-minded geologist! (Technically, that is range and basin geology.) And good news for the traveler, none of these mountain-valley scenarios looks the same. Today, I’m just a traveler. » read more

Let’em Be Cowboys

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada –Mama, it’s okay if they grow up to be cowboys, I say; it’s a very poetic way of life. That was in evidence at the 3^rd Annual Genoa Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival this weekend. “I eat my peas with honey. I’ve done it all my life. I know that might sound funny, but it keeps them on my knife.” Ken Gardner went for the ticklebone recitations, all deadpan of course, with a poem about his diapered pet chicken, and quips such as “We thought we had a problem when our town streaker told us he was quitting, but we persuaded him to stick it out for another year.” Tony Argento, pictured above, does humor too, but includes patriotic and serious performances in his repertoire, such as the Gettysburg Address. I heard him do The Silver Bells and The Golden Spurs, a tale of dueling gunslingers, with appropriate sound effects. There was quite a lineup in the big white tent labeled Mormon Station Main Stage.  » read more

When The Wind Blows

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – Wind Warning topped the news. It was coming over the Sierra, they said, to the tune of 55 mph. I went about my business, as everyone else seemed to be doing. I wanted to check out Mills Park. I knew it had a skateboard facility, a tot playground, exercise stations, and an outdoor fitness center. I knew there was a large pavilion too. Their website http://www.carson.org/Index.aspx?page=1082 told me about a miniature railroad, and tennis and volleyball courts. I was not able to see these things however. Closed, due to high winds, said the permanent-looking sign across the drive. I took refuge across the street to watch the cloud come over the mountains.  » read more

Gentling

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – “I look for intelligent eyes,” Hank Curry told me, as we talked about the saddle-trained horse adoption event coming up May 19. Hank has headed the wild horse saddle-training program at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center for 10 years now. “We have as many as 1,100 horses at one time in our feed lot,” he continued, “but the ones we prepare for adoption need to be trainable and healthy.” The program is a cooperative partnership between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Nevada Department of Corrections, and the Nevada Department of Agriculture, and gentles and trains about 60 wild horses a year. I wanted to know about the trainers too; “How do you build your training team?” I asked. » read more

Artsy Smartsy

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – “On the side of the mountain in northwest Carson City sits one of the most beautiful art galleries in the city,” I read in Focus Magazine (Spring/Summer 2011, p 14) as I tried to learn more about this area. Since I like both mountains, and art galleries, I kept reading. Not one, but three galleries in one building at Western Nevada College, the article continued; the Main Gallery, Atrium Gallery, and College Gallery. I put the magazine down, looked up the address, and drove out West College Parkway. I found the three beautiful galleries, and I learned about the college-on-the-side-of-the-mountain too. » read more

In Ink and Stone

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada — A statue of Sarah Winnemucca graces the center spot of the Nevada State Capitol; a copy representing Nevada stands in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Notice the book Sarah holds in her hand. It is a telling emblem of the life of one of the most influential American Indian women in American history. Born into a legendary Paiute family in 1844, Sarah lived when the influx of white settlers began. Spending time with white families in the 1850’s, she learned the ways of the white world and mastered the English language. In the 1860’s she became an interpreter for the US Army; in the 1870’s she served the Army as a scout. So what about the book?  » read more

Decisions, Decisions

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – It must be terrible to live in Carson City. Every weekend, week after week, you have to decide – do I stay home, and enjoy my beautiful valley? Or, do I go east for 15 miles into the steep brown hills towards Virginia City and explore the ghost towns of mining days gone by? Or, heaven forbid, do I drive 20 miles west over Spooner Summit and mess around on the forested shores of the second deepest lake in all the country? Lake Tahoe, you know. I declare, I don’t know how they stand it. I’ve gone in both directions, now I’m taking a poll, so tell me, what would you do?

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Coming Through

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – A painted blue line shows the way, accented by bronze medallions implanted in the sidewalk beneath my feet. The pear trees are in bloom today and it’s an easy downtown walk along the Kit Carson Trail, 2.5 miles of history, where I’m promised a pedestrian’s-eye glimpse of the past. Modern-day technology in the form of a podcast reveals the juicy bits and basic facts; 64 landmarks to see, and think about. Who came here, and when? Who stayed, and who passed on through?

It’s nice that someone put this together for us to see. Good citizens and lovers of history have made sure we can follow many “trails of the past” – like the Pony Express Trail (a plaque at Robinson and Carson reminds us); and the American Discovery Trail, a coast-to-coast endeavor extending from Delaware to California. It comes through just north of town. Are you familiar with the ADT?   » read more