So Much Sagebrush

I'm back from Nevada. I think it's safe to say the state, as a whole, isn't currently dealing with an overpopulation crisis. Unless you count sagebrush, which is as prevalent there as old folks on a cruise ship. I drove roughly 1,400 miles in three days, round trip, and looped around the center of the state, going through towns such as Wells, Ely, Tonopah, Eureka, Elko, and finally Mountain City.

I saw the lunar crater, which is actually a volcanic crater though it looks sort of like a meteor crater.

I stayed in cheap motels. I saw a lot of beautiful mountain scenery. I scouted for the precise location of my fictional town of Wormwood, and I think I found a spot. Visited several small casinos, noted the quiet sense of desperation, and lost $40 at slots. I visited the Northeastern Nevada Museum & Historical Society, which had more dead preserved animals than I've ever seen in my life, combined, and this includes the Natural History Museum in Chicago and the Smithsonian in D.C. They had an entire trophy room in the basement where about 1,000 different animals stare at you from the walls, some extremely lifelike. This picture doesn't even do the collection justice:

Now all those miles of sagebrush speed through my mind, haunting me. Nevada is so bright, even during a chilly late October week, and at one point the sun peaked above a mountain and reflected in my rear view mirrors so luminously I thought you know, maybe I am being abducted by aliens.

3 comments:

Michelle said...

I'm presuming you weren't abducted because you wrote this post, unless you did it over your cell phone as they carried you away. Who knows what might happen in Nevada!

Missy said...

Very interesting reivew. I hope the sage brush does not join forces to take over the world.

David Oppegaard said...

I don't think i was abducted. I could have been, sometimes the memories are buried deep.

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