Fallon

"Yes, I think that's how it's pronounced. I've lived here for 23 years but I've never been that far myself". My theory still holds. There are a lot of people in small town America who aren't aware of much beyond 30 miles of home. 

Rachael was sleeping so I hopped over the road for a bite. On my way back I asked the receptionist Carol what there was to see on the road to Ely. By the sound of it, not much. Sand Mountain is a good bet if you have an off road vehicle and if you don't mind joining one of the many who are injured or die trying to get to the top in too much of a hurry. Carol recommended that we climb the last part on foot, then on our knees to look carefully over the edge. Because the mountain is literally made of sand it continually moves and changes shape. At the top you might find a gentle slope on the other side or a precipice with a 20 foot drop. Apparently people have toppled straight over and broken their back.

I found out what the people on 50 do for a living on the road from Carson City. Ranching is one, but there are quite a lot of people who prefer to live in wide open spaces and use the area to commute to Reno. Wow, that's a big commute. Closer to Fallon we had passed a number of lakes which are part of a large irrigation system that was created to bring farming to the area. Carol's father moved here to fish the Lahontan reservoir pulling out 2 tonnes of fish in a single haul. She used to help him as a girl pull in the nets. One of their best catches were Black Fish, bottom suckers not prized locally but highly sought after by Chinese restaurants in San Francisco. She and her father would drive them all the way there, and if they delivered one more than ordered they would go home with a gift of a huge box of crab or lobster.

Getting into her stride she told me about the day her father did the Full Monty to another couple on the lake. He swatted at a fly, she misread this as the signal to move the boat forward, her father nearly tumbled out the back, and his buddy grabbed his pants to stop him falling in.... Through her tears of laughter she can still remember the old boy opposite covering his wife's eyes with his hand ("don't look Ethel... but it was too late" - Ray Stevens).

By this time the manager of the hotel had joined us to offer her advice. "Grimes Point is worth a look. It's the site of an Indian settlement with rock paintings". Whatever we do, we need to fill up with gas before we leave town or at the latest at Harmon Junction. "And take lots of water!"

"I love your accent by the way. Are you from Australia or South Africa?". "Nope, England". "Oh, well that's an island too, isn't it?" "No worries, easy mistake to make". And with that, it was off to bed with a handful of brochures of things to see on the route of the Pony Express.