Departing Caliente this morning we found ourselves on an especially scenic portion of Hwy 93 as we headed north towards Ely, NV. Ely is at the east end of Hwy 50 which starts in Reno, NV and is it known as 'The Loneliest Road in America'. I was on that road one year when I turned off it southbound onto a USGT scale road. I always wondered about that, if you leave the 'Loneliest' road to go on a smaller road, then where are you?

The stretch between Caliente and Elko was laser beam straight with high mountains on either side as we ran through an ancient sea bed (Col) that stretched on forever. Not to go off a rant here, but this area prolly sees 330+ days a year of sunshine for at least 12 hours a day, and the land is, apparently, not used for anything. There were no crops in the area, no free range cattle, no windmills. OK, you are tired of hearing about solar panels, put some irrigation in places and grow switch grass to create alcohol based fuels.

Seems like 'mericans, and Canadians are the same, are lazy because the crude oil just flows out of the ground. The area of Alberta close to the US border is the same way, very under utilized. I think we should take advantage of that, slather the area with solar panels, reduce or eliminate OUR dependency on oil and once we have converted everything to cheap AC sell the surplus to America! I am but one man with a vision, who can help me? Remember all we need is 300 square miles of panels to power the entire US & Canada.

Sorry, I said I wasn't going to rant and then I did anyway. There is evidence all over 'merica's roads that the wind generated capacity is being increased.



Each of these big windmills producing about 3 MW's will run 700 homes for a year, that is why we need alot of them! These pictures we all taken at different locations throughout the trip.



I also shot this scenery video, which never fully communicates the grandeur of the visuals as seen by a person, but the beauty of the Great Basin has to be shared. The timelessness of the mountains is stirring. As my Brother in Law Harry has said, 'Keep reading the rocks, they have stories to tell'. I hope I did that sentiment justice.



We are traveling at 140 kph, it is actually a struggle to keep it under 160+ kph as there is a bit of a tailwind and the ground is so flat if you stand on a shoe box you can see the back of your head. I think that I heard my Father say that once when I was a boy as he described how flat Saskatchewan was. Funny the things your remember. I did succumb to temptation at one point when I just kept twisting the throttle until it wouldn't twist any more.

My speedo goes to 220 and the needle was past that mark to what could be 240ish. I held that speed for a couple of minutes, even passed a semi at full tilt, it was like he was standing still! Eventually common sense once again Triumphed (ha, good one!) and I started thinking about how my front tire had this whole trip, the whole Key West trip and a trip before that on it (prolly 35 000+ kms) and I slowed down by 100 kph to a more sedate buck forty.

While I don't condone hooliganism 99% of the time, and great power does demand great responsibility, when the time is right, some times you gotta go for it!

Sometimes though, the law catches up with you. I stopped in Elko, NV for fuel and when I departed the gas station in a momentary lapse in paying attention, I ran the stop sign at a 4-way stop. Now if you are going to run a stop sign, running one at a 4 way is the safest as there is no thru traffic. Also running one in Elko, Nevada is way safer than, say, Los Angeles, but it was still a bad thing to do.

I was sorting out my helmet's chin strap of which I used to stuff the excess into the side of the helmet, but this new one has a snap to affix it to, and I was struggling as I was wearing gloves. If you don't do it up it vibrates at highway speed, creating a buzzing sound and it can hurt if it touches your neck. By the time I got it sorted out I had sailed through the intersection. This would be the second stop sign I ran this trip, if you recall I was the ring leader in a stop sign running gang that included my Bro-In-Law Bill way back in Shelby, MT.

Truth be told, there were no other vehicles at the other 3 signs, so there was really no harm done and I continued on my way. The speed was still 35 mph and hadn't got back up to 65 yet when I noticed a big 4x4 in the mirrors driving aggressively to catch up to me. Was that a roof rack or was it a radio car? So hard to tell these days with those slim LED light racks. All doubt was removed when he lit me up to pull be over.

Unlike the Shelby traffic stop, I immediately moved to the right. I learned my lesson Bill! I shut off my noise cancelling headphones and iPod and waited patiently on my bike. Assistant Special Deputy Truron came up to me with his hand on the butt of his gun and I opened the conversation by saying, 'Good afternoon Assistant Special Deputy'! He was a pleasant enough fellow and while he was African American he bore more than a passing resemblance to Buford T. Justice from that American Film Masterpiece 'Smokey and the Bandit'. Luckily I didn't hafta remove my helmet as I had a serious smirk going on!

I often use the term 'nice lady' when I need to butter a lady up for something, works especially well with the older ones. I once talked an old lady into letting me drive a 5 ton truck through the Calgary Stampede midway by calling her a 'nice lady'. When we went back the next day she wasn't there and I found out she got fired! Anyway, Buford stops at a roadside diner and orders a Diablo sandwich and a Dr. Pepper, and calls the waitress 'nice lady', which is where I got that from. You can watch a short clip on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr772IV p9ys

So back to the traffic stop, he counters with the typical 'Do you know why I stopped you?' Well I do, so I admit it and throw myself, smirkingly, at his mercy. He askes where I am coming from, where I am going and he is quite impressed that I am coming all the way from NOLA. We talk about New Orleans for a bit, he tells me about his trip 20 years to Vancouver and it ends there. It is only after I leave that I realize we never discussed the stop sign at all! I kick myself that I didn't turn on my handlebar camera to get an audio record. Really I should have anyway for my own protection when you consider how wacko the po-po is in 'merica!

Funny, I recall that a couple of years ago I got stopped just outside of Ely for going 94 mph in a 65 mph zone, 1 mph off of dangerous driving. That cop owned a Triumph America and we had a nice 10 minute convo on the merits of British bikes then he left and we never discussed my speeding. I think the Nevada po po are just lonely!

My colleague at work once told me about civil forfeiture in 'merica which essientially allows the po'lice to confiscate any cash you have on you without recourse and without you being charged with a crime. There is a very interesting article on it here: http://www.globalresearch.ca/cash-cops- how-civil-forfeiture-enriched-us-law-en forcement/5436024

In one instance a young man had risen up out of poverty by cooking chicken with a secret recipe and selling it on the street. He saved and borrowed and put together $18 500.00 to buy some restaurant equipment as he was opening a storefront. He was traveling 250 miles to pick up his equipment when he was stopped by a Statie for a tail light infraction. The cop said he smell Marijuana and searched the vehicle, found his cash and took it, saying it was the proceeds of criminal enterprise.

It took the guy 3 years to get $5000 of it back. He was never actually ticketed for the tail light, nor was he able to open his chicken store. Having no options to feed his family he eventually he fell into a life of crime and was shot and killed. Terrible story happening all over 'merica, and CF laws exist in Canada too.

Leaving Elko I was just 200 kms to my stopping point for the day, Jackpot, NV. Jackpot is literally on the Nevada - Idaho border, the outskirts of town are just 500 ft from the Idaho sign. I usually stay at a ho'tel casino that also has mo'tel rooms up on a hill behind it, but I see they closed the mo'tel part of it. I decide that I will try a new place and I go to the West Star Casino. Those of you who know me well know I gamble very little. My wife and I went to LV many years ago and she seemed to think I had a magic touch, but I really do not enjoy it.

However you come out ahead of a casino if you don't gamble. The nice ho'tel room was $30 USD and they had a $9.99 Rib Eye Dinner. Although it wasn't a walkout style I asked to be put next to a exterior door and the front desk guy was very accommodating. Good WiFi, cheap drinks, entertaining bar flys, all in all a great stay without risking even a dollar!

Day 20
Caliente, NV to Jackpot, NV
542 kms