I rose early, as usual, this morning in Reno, and just savoured the fresh air and calmness that accent a weekend morning on the still emerging East Side of the Biggest Little City in the World.  I made the mental adjustments needed for our trip to Oakland:  No Carson City, Virginia City or Lake Tahoe, this time around.  We would not stop at Donner Pass or in Sacramento, either.   The time we had available, four hours from Noon to 4 PM, would be needed to get straight to Oakland, give or take a few minutes for a potty break.

The occasion this afternoon was special.  Along Oakland’s Lake Merritt, between 100-200 Baha’is gathered to walk the shoreline, commemorating the visit and walk here by Abdu’l-Baha, the eldest son of Baha’ullah, the Founder of our Faith, and His immediate successor, 100 years ago this month.  Tomorrow, even more Baha’is will gather in San Francisco, to honour Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to that stately gem of a city, a day or so after His stay in Oakland.

We got to Oakland in plenty of time to join in the opening prayer, then walked a 3.2 mile course, around the beautiful lake.  I was quickly joined by a friend from several years ago, who is a Baha’i in Phoenix.  “C” shared his grief from a personal loss, and I am honoured to have been able to help him through it, just a small amount.  I think, more and more, that we are put in situations where we can be of assistance to those in need.  How we handle such situations determines our own self-worth.

My friends from Reno, Tom and Michele, took to the route like hiking masters, though they hadn’t been on the trail in quite some time.  We covered about 2.75 miles of the route, before prudence took charge, and “Mima” Michele declared victory.  It was time for dinner, anyway, being nearly 7 PM.

I was delighted to also meet up with another Baha’i friend from the Bay Area, Marta R., and take a couple of photos of her family, with “C” joining in one of the shots.

Marta R. and family, Lake Merritt

Here is Lake Merritt, and here are my friends and I, honouring Abdu’l-Baha’s vision.

After bidding adieu to Marta, “C” and the rest of the Baha’is, the three of us capped a wonderful day with a Thai dinner at this fine establishment.

Gertrude Stein would be pleasantly amazed.  There is a “there” in Oakland.  “Mima’s” family can also be proud of her, for this was no ordinary effort.

I woke at my usual time, 6 A.M., in the Barbarella Room, at Atomic Inn.

While waiting for the coffee to be ready in the motel office, I took a stroll around downtown Beatty, and found these tidbits:

I moved on northward, about 10 A.M., and stopped periodically to look at the scenes of the Great Basin, and the mountains which hem this high desert in.

The small mining town of Goldfield lies about an hour north of Beatty.  It has public buildings of native stone, and businesses typical of a Western mining community of the early 20th Century.

Goldfield also has a fine public park, a bit off the beaten path, on the north side of town.  This was a fine place to have lunch and read today’s Las Vegas Sun.

Moving right along, I took this shot, just north of Scotty’s Junction, which leads to Death Valley National Park.  Notice the striations going  horizontally, across the mountain’s face.

My last stop, before Reno, was at Walker Lake, just north of Hawthorne, NV.  Here are two scenes without reflections, and one with the images of the surrounding terrain.

That was my journey for the day.  I arrived at the Smith residence in Reno, a little after 6 P.M., and spent a happy evening catching up on a dozen years of old times, since we had seen each other last.

I left my humble den at 11:30 AM, after carefully pulling every last weed out of the back yard, cleaning the house and making triple sure I had everything I needed for the month ahead.  Then I went and had my mail held, from tomorrow on.  Today’s mail brought a bonus- my paycheck from Chino Valley Schools!  I celebrated that by having lunch at Bonn Fire, one of the town’s good restaurants.

Pit stops for ice in Ash Fork and an iced mocha, in Kingman, kept me going until it was scenic photo time- first overlooking the Colorado River, near Dolan Springs, AZ.

I drove the relatively short distance that remained, to Hoover Dam, and walked around for about thirty minutes, taking a few shots of the engineering marvel-

and the Eagle Men:

With miles to go before I was to sleep, I stopped ever so briefly at the Boulder Basin overlook of Lake Mead.  Note the two pyramid-shaped islands.  One of them is named- Pyramid Island!

Feeling the heat (96 degrees), and not wanting to deal with traffic any longer than necessary, I drove through Las Vegas, without stopping.  I will spend a few days there next  President’s Day weekend (February), anyway- at Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, etc.

My supper was stuff out of the cooler at a rest area in Amargosa Valley, and cold drinks from the Alien Cafe and Store, across the road.  The store clerk was facing an issue that hits a lot of us in rural areas:  Spotty cell phone service and bad customer service- Some of you might know the drill, “Want us to help?   You need to drive into town.”  (I have this issue with T-Mobile not being in Prescott, so Phoenix is the place to go for service.)  Her carrier is only available 56 miles away in Las Vegas.  Closer, though, is Area 51.

So, where do you suppose I headed next?

WRONG! 🙂

I am spending the night at Atomic Inn, Beatty, NV.  So, I still might end up glowing in the dark.