The rain pelted our rain fly the entire night, and for the most part it had the desired effect, keeping me in a deep sleep. It Stopped at about seven in the morning just as I was getting up, but thrn started up shortly after that, causing me to pack a very wet tent. Fortunately nothing but the tent got wet, which I find remarkable.
After a chat with the pleasant attendant, Kaitlyn, we left this wonderful camp got at about 11. When I got to the gate of the camp, Garmin instructed me to turn left and travel 250 miles to Ely. Google Maps, on the other hand, told me to turn right and only go 142 miles to Ely. What did Google Maps know that Garman did not? It was a no-brainer for me, I turn right.
The Road Google took us down was absolutely splendid, twisting and winding through the Ruby Mountains Valley. What views! And the road itself was absolutely terrific, empty, and a smooth paved road that was easy to handle. For the first 10 miles that is. After that, the road turned to dirt and gravel, but mostly dirt and potholes, twisting and turning, climbing into descending the valley. I alternared between cursing the road and uttering words of amazement about the views.
While trying to concentrate on the road, Garmin kept shouting instructions to me, which I essentially translated as, turn back. I carried on, ignoring it. In fact, I carried on for almost 30 miles. Now I see that it was something Garmin knew that Google Maps did not, and not the other way around.
After the 30 mile point, we descended the mountains into a vast, spectacularly beautiful valley, and the dirt road Google Maps put me on now ordered the valley. The one word I kept repeating for the longest time was wow. This was beauty in its purest form. About 20 miles down the road we came to Ruby National Wildlife and we took advantage of the opportunity ti drive through the Reserve and its wetlands. We spent an hour navigating the Reserves's roads with a few stops along the way to give Donner the chance to enjoy himself. What a paradise the birds have here. We got on our way heading to Ely and after passing by a number of herds of wild horses, the beauty intensified, but the road worsened. At times we would come to an intersection and not know which way to turn on our own because there are no signs there. I had become totally dependent upon Google Maps at this point, haven't given up on Garmin. But then my battery on my iPad went dead and I no longer had to Google to direct me through this uncharted labyrinth. Then, when I got battery again, I lost the connection with directions to Ely and for a while there I was flying blind. But Garmin, having given up trying to get me to turn back, took over and ably directed me to route 50, and then i took over from there.
The road so rough that the screws started coming out of my sun visors and they were falling down. At one point a truck came up suddenly behind me, the only other vehicle I was to encounter on the almost 100 mile drive, and as I pulled off to the side to let him pass, my driver side door flew open. Fortunately, nothing happened and I drove on.
I drove on, but numerous contingency plans were roaming around my head. I was low on gas because this road was consuming more gas than on the highway, but fortunately I had 4 gallons on the roof rack. I probably went through a half dozen what if's, and conjured up solutions of one kind or another for each of them. The worst case scenario is that we would have to bivouac there until we could be towed off if something happened to the Defender.
In the distance rain clouds are forming. There were so many squalls in the 180° panorama in front of me that some of them look like tornadoes. But I drove on. Then the rain came, and the dirt and gravel road became more puddle then road. I tried avoiding driving through the puddles because you never know how deep they are, and so that's what I did and headed for the shoulder. Unfortunately, although you could not see this, the shoulder was actually about a foot down very sharp slope at the edge of the road. As i went over that slope, the Defender took a sharp tilt to the right, as it did when we had to get back on a few hundred feet later.
All the while, as the Defender took one hit or another, Donner would jump back and forth from his front bed to his resr bed.
Perhaps 20 miles into this rough road, it turned into a paved road, and I was hoping to enjoy that for the remaining 20 miles to route 50. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed just a few miles up the road when the dirt road returned. But that only lasted for 10 miles and then it was paved highway to route 50, 115 miles after we started out in the morning, most of it on rough dirt roads, but not for the Defender.
I am not to too sure I would've taken that road had I known what it was going to be all about, not because I was concerned about the road, as the Defender can easily handle it, but for time's sake. However, I'm glad I didn't know what it was about because that road was probably one of the most spectacular drives that I have ever taken in my life, and I have been on some pretty spectacular worlds.
It was smooth sailing on the remaining 30 miles to Ely through absolutely gorgeous territory. I remember first driving through that stretch of route 59 , "the loneliest highway in the United States" because it is so empty traffic, and seeing dirt and gravel roads branching off from the road leading up to the mountains. I often wondered where they ride off to; now I know where at least one of them goes.
After a brief stop in Ely to buy a few supplies and set up an appointment to get the Defender serviced in the morning the windshield wiper apparatus repaired, I drove to Cave Lake camp, about 12 miles distant. In the vast panorama in front of me I could see clear sky in all of the valley passes except one. Unfortunately, that one happened to be the valley to get into cave lake. When we arrived shortly after 5 o'clock It was dark and raining and cold. Then the rain turned to hail. Fortunately, I anticipated something like and so made a reservation for the only yurt in the campsite. Recalling the cozy yurt in Tugman Park in Oregon, I looked forward to not having to set a wet tent in the rain, and spending the evening in cozy yurt with a moderately capable heater, a few lights, and a few modest pieces of furniture, like beds for me to Donner.
Much to my surprise, when I opened the yurt door, it was entirely empty. Nothing but a wood floor. No heater, no lights, no furniture. The temperature inside the yurt seemed colder than outside, and it was already about 30° outside. Despite the restriction'ps, I made some tea and some rice, and just about emptied out the Defender of everything I might need, creating a chaotic scene inside the yurt. My fear is that since the volume inside this yurt is much greater than the tent, it will be a lot colder in here than it would've been in the tent. However, at least I avoided having to set up a wet tent in the rain, and that meant for something.
With Donner asleep, I worked on my evening chores and could see every breathe he and i took. But then I also noticed that the back and the inside of his right ear were also steaming where they had been irritated, so I rubbed some Vaseline on and in his ear and that stopped the steaming.
I decided that I would stay for two nights here so that I could get some chores done tomorrow before the long trip back home. But my guess is I will abandon the yurt and get a tent site.
All in all, a challenging day, but a day that brought some spectacular surprises and some of the most fantastic natural scenes that I have ever experienced.
Ed and Donner from Cave Lake State Park in Nevada.
