Time Flies October 4, 2025

I’m confused by the passage of time. I don’t have a job, I have about 75 sq feet to keep clean, I have no one else’s needs/interests to factor into my day to day decision making (sometimes hour to hour) and yet days have passed and I haven’t posted anything since September24th. It’s time for a report on where I’ve been and what I’ve done.

I stayed longer in the bay area than I intended because I was invited to park at the home of friends Jenny and Don. Actually, until this visit we were merely acquaintances as they’re family of my good friend Shawn. I stayed in El Sobrante, spending my time doing some yard work, some yoga, some writing and a little biking. Jenny and I also went to an art gallery reception in Moraga, about 30 minutes away. Jenny offered and I accepted the opportunity to camp at their cabin in Tahoe. That wasn’t in my plan, but it wasn’t a tough decision to make and it would have been silly to decline.

On my way there I made a short stop in Sacramento, visiting the capitol. A memorial on the grounds caught my attention – it was in honor of police who had died on the job, and what I was taken with was the statue of a mother and child reflecting the grief and loss they were thrust into as the result of the death. After a failed attempt at going to Old Sacramento (I’m still getting used to driving the van and one of the challenges is navigating new terrain without making sudden stops, quick turns or turning around, all of which one is wont to do in a new place). I then carried on to Auburn, a wonderful town that has maintained the feel of a historic town while evolving to maintain relevancy. Jenny’s brother, John, is an artist/craftsman who had graciously agreed to show me his work and the town. I enjoyed so much eye candy I was almost dumbstruck. From a ceiling covered in a textured design in plaster, to paintings, to a carved building – perhaps a government building or palace….I can’t quite remember – to a canoe and a wooden bicycle he actually rode, I was in awe. Oh, and he’s rebuilding a 1931 Buick! We also went to a community garden honoring vets that included his and other residents’ artwork as well as a gallery that featured local artists. My visit there was a highlight of this last week.

I spent a night at a campground in Nevada City, then went to Grass Valley to visit the historic Empire Mine and check out some murals on the buildings in town. The Empire Mine museum and grounds were evocative. The exhibits provided detail on the process of liberating the gold from the rock in which it was embedded…far more complex that I had realized. A blacksmith was working his trade and explained some of the process and tools needed at the mine. Safety was, apparently and surprisingly, a big priority at this mine. In operation from 1850 to 1956, they experienced 26 deaths and went some number of days – maybe 189, I don’t remember exactly – without any incidents. There was a safety team and a program…drills, training, etc. I was impressed. More on this subject two paragraphs down.

In Tahoe I hiked a little, rode a little, took a yoga class…I was happy to be there but struggled with a couple of things. My fridge stopped working and I was unable to get the problem diagnosed. I think it’s a big problem, the compressor, but will have to wait until I’m in Ketchum or Salt Lake City to get it fixed. Fortunately ice works. I also ran out of power a couple of times. I was able to get it going by running the car, but I’d been mostly in clouds for several days and I think that was the problem. Also, on my final day when I planned to go mountain biking it poured down rain all day long. I got a lot of reading done but was terribly disappointed at not being able to hit the trail on two wheels.

That got me to Friday when I headed for Elko. I was relegated to staying at an RV park, which wasn’t a great setting but did give me the chance to do laundry, take a shower, and talk to some locals, Dana and Carl, at the bar. Yes, the RV park was connected to a bar and grill. It was fun and interesting and I learned a bit about the current day mining industry, a timely topic since I had just visited the Empire Mine. Dana and Carl don’t work for the mining company, but they both worked for businesses that served the needs of the mining industry. The next day when I visited the Western FolkLife Center (home of the Cowboy Poetry contest) I spoke to a woman who does work for a mining company. In both conversations, a rare death of one of the mine workers the previous week was raised…the issue of safety clearly mattered to them. Environmental protection was a topic that Dana raised. Prior to moving to Elko she had big concerns about the harm mining caused to the environment. Seeing up close the measures taken to protect animals and restore the environment had opened her to the value of it. Carl shared how a bird had nested in one of the machines at a mine site, resulting in that machine being off limits until the eggs hatched and the humans were given the all-clear to carry on. Dana showed me a photo of wild horses passing through one of the worksites and the workers stopping work until they had cleared. Again, I was impressed with the significance of these subjects. I also felt a little skeptical and wondered if they painted a much rosier picture than reality. I want to believe that safety and the environment and animals are a central part of decision making in the industry, but it’s a little challenging to get past my admittedly marginally informed preconceived notions.

One other note, there is a lithium mine in Nevada…that was news to me.

Today is Saturday and I’m camped at the Balanced Rock park outside of Twin Falls. I got here around 6 – on my body it was only 5, but crossing the border into Idaho jumped me to Mountain time. After spending too much at the RV camp, I’m happy to have a free spot in a park with pit toilets, picnic tables, fire rings and a water spigot. There’s a river running through the narrow park which is enclosed by giant rock walls. I didn’t have a lot of daylight left to explore the area, so tomorrow I’ll take the hike to the Balanced Rock and check out the area for a short bit. My hope is that the National Minidoka Historic Site is open tomorrow so I can visit…if it’s closed because of the government shutdown I’ll miss out on that. That may be a repeated disappointment, depending on how long the shutdown lasts.

My to-do list in the next few days, in addition to posting this report from the road, is to buy a telescoping ladder (I’ve learned that I need to clean the solar panels on my roof…who knew?), get my fridge problem diagnosed, watch a Mariner’s game on Sunday or Tuesday, visit the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area and get ready for Lynne to get here and join me to go to Craters of the Moon and the Trailing of the Sheep festival! What a blast!!!