Jeremiah Watt

Day 7, leaving Tonopah to heavy!

Its Sunday, and I was Praying as I headed out of Tonopah with about an 85 pound wagon pushing on me from behind. This added weight really messes with the bikes handling , making any side wind a potential wreck, or any slip when looking down at the mirror. Really any little thing and you will be picking straw out of yer butt wondering just what happened. I had 4 bottles 20oz. each, and the bladder of 1.5 gallons, giving me a little over 20 pounds of water on board.

I got a good early start, with a slight tail wind and a downhill start out of Tonopah, I was headed for “Warm Springs” on Nevada Hwy 6. A very bleak ride until you get closer to warm springs and it gets quite nice. Dropping off the hill down to the now somewhat distressed Warm Springs resort at about noon I realized also how hot it had become and decided that if there was shade I would take a break in it.

Warm Springs, was at one time a real attraction, with a sort of spa pool outfit, and the natural live running warm water…..about 80 degrees warm……..running non stop through the pool which is now all locked up except for fence climbers and rats like me. There is an old bar there, with all the needed items to open back up, also a great rock corral that is also now defunct. First things first I thought, and a full check of the fence around the pool proved that a slim man could indeed get in……….and once inside an man with no morals could go SKINNY DIPPING. Horrah and poochy Maggie, we going swimming. Yes cars drove past, and I done my relaxin for a good 45 minutes as the water was hot and day was hot I didn’t want to pass out in the pool……..no lifeguard on duty remember!! To be honest, I think that most folks took a look at me swimming and thought that some hunter had left a goose decoy behind was all.

I had parked my bike under about 4 large CottonWoods down by the Bar, so I slid under the fence and headed to the bike, On the way by the bar I found a 5gal pail and an old chair………perfect, a cowboy lounge chair. I promptly, set these up in the shade and the fun started as I relaxed there in the shade with my feet propped up……..the tourists came for you see Warm Springs is where the “Extra-terrestrial Highway” begins. Van loads of tourists would stop to take a pic of the sign that leads them onto the weirdest road in the west. Mom would have a sulking Dad and all the kids scramble out of the van in that 112 heat so they could stand under the sign for a good family pic………don’t forget ya gotta get all the little ducklings standing in correct order…….whew baby its hot, and finally the pic is done. That’s when from my shady perch I would holler down to them, “Don’t miss the hot tub and cold drinks at the Bar”. They would turn in a lightning spin to see who had heckled them from the Ghost Town Bar, and could not see me for green foliage. The adventurist amongst them would walk over just a little from the group for a better view. And that’s when I would wave. But you see from there perspective, it would look like the tree just waved because I was sitting directly behind it. I think that 15 seconds is the longest it took to hear all 13 doors on the minny van close, each kids name called twice and THEY BE GONE!

Another occasion caught me a little off guard. First a small truck pulled up and parked just out of my sight to the right off where I sat, this rig was driven by a lady. Then in short order another flat bed work type truck pulled up behind her truck, and I can see all of this truck from where I am . Obviously this is some sort of a love thing going on and as I sit minding my own business not wanting to loose the only patch of shade in Nevada I am wondering what to do. That is when valor and poor nerves told this young man to make a move on his beer cooler on the back of his truck, this left his women unattended for the moment and her dignity still intact. So when he reached for a cold Beer, I asked him in a quite civil voice if I may also have one. I can still hear that resounding click of his false teeth as they hit the ground, his eyes were so big I thought we may have to call a Doc. Realizing that his jig was up, he gave me a sheepish grin and said he only had one left and ……..well, ur, I er, gotta be getting on down the road.

Well the fun was due to come to an end, it was nearing 5 and I was wanting to get riding. So I mounted up and headed up the ET highway, I rode past the largest flock og Hungarian Partridge I have ever seen, there must have been 200 plus hanging out along the warm springs run-off some ½ mile doen the road. I road till about 7:45 that night and camped in a lonesome place called Adaven Valley. Had a ½ bagel and slug of water and turned in. I had road up 5 passes that day, and one of them was over 11 miles on my odom.
Good Night and God Bless