Petroglyphs near Fallon, Nevada.
I was interviewing Merle Haggard on the phone several years ago, and, regarding an illness, he said he was going to the desert to heal.
I said, “Which one?”, meaning, which desert?
He said, “The nearest one.”
Amen. I’ve always loved the desert. I think Merle’s onto something when he says the desert is a healing place.
Right now I’m looking at the mid-morning light as it hits the red rock canyon walls surrounding Moab, Utah. I’ve got my mountain bike, and later today I’m going to get out and immerse myself in the landscape.
When it comes to deserts, whether it’s healing or escapism or just plain fun, I’m certainly not alone. This past weekend, several thousand people made the trek to the northern Nevada black rock desert for annual Burning Man festival.
I’ve never been, but on Sunday I drove past dozens of rigs heading back west on Interstate 80 toward Reno. You could tell all the ones coming from Burning Man. They were covered in white alkaline dust and sort of looked like ghost vehicles. I noticed one trailer with the frame of a giant fish on it.
Typical looking rig heading back from Burning Man.
Because of all the art projects (sculptures and such), I’m always slightly tempted to go to Burning Man. Two main factors tend to prevent me — the ticket price and the fact that you’re out there with something like 40,000 people.
I’m not huge on sharing the desert with that many people. That’s why Moab sometimes gives me pause. The late, great nature writer Edward Abbey wasn’t pleased with the direction Moab was headed. Still, it’s pretty easy to get out and have some desert solitaire in Arches, Canyonlands and several other surrounding destinations.
Heck, Abbey wrote so passionately about the area, what was he thinking, no one would want to come check it out? If so many people get out and catch a glimpse of what Abbey saw, perhaps this desert has a chance of being preserved.
I passed right through a jewel of a desert on my way out to Utah. Highway 50 through Nevada continues to be a draw. I stopped and viewed American Indian petroglyphs east of Fallon (an easy pull off from the highway to a nice rest area).
Then I once again stayed at Hot Springs Ranch near Eureka, which is a sensational place to soak your troubles away. The rustic ranch doesn’t have running water (for sinks I mean — plenty of hot water bubbling out of the ground), but it’s poised to start hosting visitors. It’s an excellent stop off on the way to canyon country. More information on this soon.
Check out time is in my face here at the Super 8 and my next task is to find a camp site. I’ve camped up the canyon toward Castledale, but this time I think I’m going up toward the Slickrock Trail. Who knows? See which way the wind blows.
