The Green Tortoise Part Vll

Our time in the Ruby Mountains ends and we gather back at the bus, as instructed, ten minutes before departure time, with muddy feet and sunburned limbs. Once aboard, Driver Dave gives further instructions for the rest of the day.

"Okay. We're going to make our first 'Store Stop' which we will do most days. These are short stops so don't waste a lot of time. All your stuff needs to be moved from the front bench," he points to the side behind the driver's seat and continues. "That is where the ice chest is and we will need to repack it with ice so move your stuff." There were bags, books, games, cards, abandoned lunches, water bottles, and dirty socks sitting on the bench seat.

Cassie whispers loudly to Driver Dave, "Oh yeah, don't forget to tell them about that rule we talked about."

He nods back at her and finishes his thoughts on the store stop. "Remember, there is no need for you to stockpile anything. We are feeding you three times a day. We will stop at a store almost everyday so no need to bring a bunch of food back on the bus, okay?" He looks in our eyes for confirmation. We nod in understanding.

"After we board the bus from the store, we are headed to Wells, Nevada to some hot springs. It is about a mile hike in and we will pack-in dinner, spend time soaking in the hot springs and walk back in the dark. You will need your flashlights because it is a dark hike coming back and we may have to cross some streams so wear shoes you can get wet." I look around at the eager faces excited about the hot springs and I shake my head.

I lived in Elko Nevada for about 11 months back in the late 1990's. I first was called there by an old boyfriend of my sister's, Steve. Lisa met him first when she moved to Seattle in the 1980's and he worked as a traffic information gatherer for her when she was a news anchor on a radio station. Steve was very funny and she introduced us when I first arrived in Seattle in 1986. He felt like the long lost Silberman brother I knew existed somewhere and when he met Anne in 1987 after she moved west, he fell in love.

Sadly, Anne didn't have the same romantic feelings for him as he had for her but they remained friends. He found love through a personal ad and met his wife Carol. She was a nurse and found a job in Elko Nevada which was pretty close to her parent's in Idaho so they packed up their city lives and moved to the mountains. Once there, Steve wanted to open a business and there was no espresso in Elko at that time, so he hired me to help him start the business.

I named the shop Cowboy Joe. People were skeptical at first but receptive to the espresso wave hitting the nation and Steve was able to play boss which was good for him since he was the laziest person I'd ever met. He told me, many years later, that he used to make up traffic for my sister when she was on the air...but he was that kind of guy. The kind of guy who naturally charmed anyone into doing anything for him while making you laugh all the while.

Plus he was one of Elko's only Jews. He liked that.

Cowboy Joe did so well that he hired me to come back to open a second location. Then he wanted to open a small restaurant and he hired me to come back to help assist with that project and the word of mouth spread that there was a fancy, restaurant consultant from Seattle in town and I was hired to do a special project for the local chamber of commerce and then another restaurant remodel and grand reopening. I was pulled into Elko lifestyle and became a small part of the community.

There wasn't much to do in Elko. The county, which is the largest in the state of Nevada, has 35,000 people, most of whom life away from others on ranches or work in the gold mines that surround the Ruby Mountains. The Red Lion Casino, the biggest hotel in town, had their own chartered flights from small cities across the west to Elko Nevada. All you had to do was make a reservation in Spokane, WA and show $40 in cash to the flight attendants and you were on a free flight to Elko. While in flight there were lessons on black jack and poker to make you hungry for the tables although most people came for the "loose slots".

People were flown in because it took about five hours in any direction to get anywhere. Five hours to the east is Salt Lake City, Utah. Five hours to the west is Reno, Nevada. Five hours to the north is Boise, Idaho. Five hours to the south puts you in the heart of Nuclear Test sites from the 1950's but if you push on three hours more, you'll end up in Las Vegas.

So when Driver Dave said we were headed to Wells, Nevada and not the Idaho hot springs that was on the itinerary, I was skeptical. I'd hiked just about everywhere in these hills and Wells Nevada was practically a ghost town.

"These hot springs are on private land and you must be on your best behavior." Driver Dave warned. "No drinking allowed." The party-bunch, led by Joe, moaned in unison to this news.

"The rule!" Cassie reminded Dave.

"Oh yeah, RULE NUMBER 9! NO PERFUME OR BUG SPRAY OR ANYTHING SMELLY ALLOWED ON THE BUS! If you must use these things, apply them off the bus, okay? Many people are chemically sensitive and have negative reactions to your chemical smells. That means if your sunscreen has a strong scent to it, put it on off the bus. Same with bug spray, hair spray, deodorant, whatever... Got it?" He looks sternly at us.

We nod yes.

"Good." He says. Cassie smiles and nods.

Cassie starts the bus, the door shuts and Dave yells, "Buddy Check!" We all look around for our new buddies and call out each other names like giddy school children and the bus heads down the mountain for our store stop. I am quiet following my prayer and time on the mountain and take in the landscape one last time, not knowing if I will ever return to these mountains again.

We pass through Lamoille Canyon where Kayla's father had taken me on Thanksgiving to teach me how to shoot guns. He was impressed by my skills and I didn't have the heart to tell him that I had learned to shoot a few years earlier when studying with a Native American Shaman in New Mexico. I let him think that his expert teaching brought me to that level.

The road gradually becomes larger and wider to handle the traffic of the small city that Elko has become. We ride past the restaurants I created and Cowboy Joe. I smile to myself looking out the window as we pass by. The bus drives us to Smith's, a large grocery store near the I-80 on ramp. We park and Driver Dave yells, "TWENTY MINUTES AND THE BUS LEAVES!" We know he's serious about staying on time so we scramble off the bus, some grabbing day packs with personal care kits and head for the store bathrooms. This will become a regular event for us over the coming weeks...rushing through grocery stores looking for bathrooms and emergency items that were needed like band-aids, bandages, tweezers, potato chips, cookies, coca cola, beer, wine, vodka, cigarettes...and for me, almond butter, rice cakes, fresh fruit, nuts and gallons of water.

As I crossed the parking lot I was torn between going across the parking lot to the new Starbuck's or heading into the store. I was glad to see that Starbuck's had made it's way to Elko and decided that it was too late in the day for a cup of coffee and not enough time to get out my laptop to write, so I decided to do a quick refresher in the grocery store public bathrooms and pick-up some snacks.

This mad-dash through the grocery store was the first time I felt like I was on some kind of weird reality TV show. There was a line, of course, for the lady's room and the clock was ticking. Which was more important? A clean face? Brushing your teeth with running water? Washing off your feet? Charging your cell phone for twenty minutes? Going to the bathroom? Changing into your swim suit for the hot springs? Or was it finding fresh water to drink? A new People's magazine to pass the time while the bus rode into the night?

I decide to wait my turn and use the flush toilet, brush my teeth and wash my face before quickly shopping for a snack and some protein bars to have with me. I have the advantage to having shopped this grocery store many times and know it's lay out.

"I wonder what the hot springs will be like?" A voice comes from the bathroom stall.

"I don't know." I say. "I've visited hot springs in these parts before and they're not too fancy. I don't know how one can hold all of us. We may have to go in turns."

"Yeah, it's the same way in Oregon at some of our hot springs there," Val says.

Donna takes the time to wash out Mackenzie's wounds and bandage them up again this time using real first-aid tape and gauze and bandages. Mackenzie looks relieved as the bleeding finally stops.

"Road rash is the worst, and so painful." I say to Mackenzie.

"It's not too bad." She replies. What a trooper!

I finish up, buy a few items and head back to the bus where people are helping load in the hundred pounds of ice into the cooler. Party Master Joe returns with bottles of Wild Turkey and the under-aged kids have twelve-packs of coke to mix it. I see a bottle of Southern Comfort which is a sweet whiskey that is blended with fruit flavors, spices and sugar. It is popular with kids because it has a 100% proof alcohol (which means it's 50% proof) and it is like candy. But it doesn't taste the same way going down as it does coming up!

Kids.

There are a handful of kids on the bus between 18 and 28. Normally I wouldn't put the 28 year olds in the "kid" category, but when they behave like 18 year olds....I do. We have two kids from England who are on a GAP year. It is acceptable in Europe, for kids graduating from school to take a year off to travel the world and then start their studies in college. It makes for a more mature, well-rounded kid who is ready to focus their energies on schooling. Well, that's the theory at least. And I can see it to be true in Rory and Esther. Both are in a GAP year and more mature than the young 18 year old American's on the trip. They have already partied and are responsible for keeping the group more in line than the American or Australian kids.

I'm not a prude, but I hadn't thought about this factor when booking my trip. Since it was a rule that the back of the bus is quiet, I end up sleeping there most evenings during our drives at night with ear plugs in to not be disturbed by the party crowd. On day 11, during an over night drive, Driver Cassie has to tell the group to put the bottles away and get to bed at 3 AM.

It is a party bus.

To be continued...

So much love,
All the way from over here...

Linda