I checked out from the former Best Western at 8:15 for morning main street errands. I found a 2-gallon jerry can at True Value (which was already open, earlier than advertised), face sunscreen and cash at Raine's Market, and gas and water at the Chevron. I strapped down the jerry can in the parking lot, topped up my motor oil, and had breakfast at the (Amish) Pony Express Deli, where I had a nice chat with a retired policeman and his wife (former Goldwing tourers, now retired locals) and was sent on my way with a thermos full of coffee and a boxed turkey sandwich for lunch.
At Currant, there appeared to be an active hay-farming operation, and I did see a lady hurrying into her trailer just as I reached the junction with US-6, but it appeared that this place was never more than a roadside stop, and the service station, restaurant, and motel were full ghost status. Some broken restaurant windows had been boarded up; the cash register tray was removed and displayed in plain view, empty, and there was ankle-deep vegetation growing in the floor.
After the oil processing plant, still WB on US-6, there was a huge, foldable, bright pink sign reading EMERGENCY SCENE AHEAD. I thought, “This should be interesting,” slowed, and sure enough, saw some wreckage ahead in the opposite shoulder. It turned out to be a wrecked 53-foot semi-trailer of beehives, and the passengers had survived. The air was filled with a long cloud of bees! When I realized this, I ducked behind my windscreen, had one of those brief moments of disbelief, and then accelerated away with my mouth closed and my head down. Obviously, photoless. On a day filled with the surreal and the spooky, this scene was nonetheless one of the eeriest and most disturbing.
The rest of today’s paranormal events will be covered in a separate entry.
Day total: 380 km, 7h55m Trip total: 4925 km | Start: Eureka, NV. End: Groom Lake Road near Rachel, NV. Soundtrack: Just earplugs today. |