I thought you was panning for Gold!

Looking West from Highway 376 south of Kingston, NV

Gayle and I have heard some pretty funny quotes over our 32 years.  Once when we'd only had the tandem for a year and were on an early spring bike tour to Glenn's Ferry, Idaho, we had gotten partway back to Boise and had to camp out in the middle of the desert.  We were just nodding off and we heard a pickup go by, slow down, then speed off.  The next morning the same truck comes by, but this time slows down and stops.  The driver rolls down his window, shouts out, "heh, I saw you guys there last night.  I thought you were panning for gold, or something!"  And then he roars off.  So, anytime we're in the middle of nowhere, Gayle and I recall that moment with a shout, "I thought you was panning for gold, or something!"  Which brings us to central Nevada. 

Looks like Half Dome

Nevada is gold mining country and it really dominates the central part of the state.  Round Mountain, east of Hadley, has been almost completely decapitated, ground into pebbles, piled into a huge terraced hill, and then sprayed with dilute cyanide solution to extract the microscopic particles of gold.  While the 12,000' high mountains still dominate the valley that we rode through today, it's hard to miss the heaps of spent ore.  Of course, there are responsible companies that reclaim their pits and minimize the leaking of chemicals into the groundwater.  But there are also many who rape the land, then run away to their home country amidst bankruptcy filings, and then let the government clean up the mess. 

Kris Alvarez, from Hadley NV

All that about mining said, we sure met a friendly geologist from the local mine in the grocery store today, who upon hearing of our predicament in finding a place to stay, opened up her home, let us camp in her back yard, and then shared a barbecue dinner with us.  Thank you Kris!!!