Oakland, CA

Ideally, if I were writing this as a narrative, I'd be contrasting the dryness of my usual domain with the moisture of my destination. So imagine my surprise when I got to the Salt Flats, and found the sight to the right. I don't know if the Salt Flats are normally flooded this time of year, but they are now.

My plan for reaching California by the evening had one fault--it would take me through Nevada during the day. This meant catching sight of East Wendover while the sun was up, and there is only one question that comes to mind after catching that image: "Who runs Barter Town?"

Some have asked if I'm doing this to get away from the snow. Nope, I like my mountains snow-capped, and I'll accept modest hills like these snow-capped too. I kid, naturally. This is some ski-lift visible from the rest area at the top of Donner Pass, in the Sierra-Nevadas. I'm going to assume it's named Donner Party, it's easier that way. Traveling their path nearly 200 years later in an SUV that may as well have been a space-ship to them, bearing a bevy of electronic devices, and the finest freeze-dried foods science had created to be cooked with a stove smaller than the palm of my hand, carried along upon an interstate highway system, guided by maps refined through aerial photography, all I can say of that ill-fated Party is this: What a bunch of pussies. There was plenty of bark to eat, wasn't there? Yeesh.