062- Battle Mountain

My sweet niece, Sarah, spends her days herding ickle-kinders AND she lives in a colder Utah than I do. She was in need of a dose of spring so she planned a trip to CA to find it! She started by inviting her folks (my sister) but when our other sister heard that they were coming to the Bay Area they twisted my arm to come along. Can you see my “twistered-airm”?

So bright and early this-day we rendezvoused in Salt Lake City and headed off across the Bonneville Salt Flats. This is a trip I don’t make so much anymore. If I’m headed to CA I usually take the southern route down I-15. But this trip across I-80 is so familiar. We used to drive it before it was I-80!! Both of my sisters went to BYU to college so we would make “that-long-ol’-drive”, usually at night, across the salt flats... with retreads that go flap-a-ta-flap-a-ta-flap-a-ta-flap-a-ta. We became intimately acquainted with all of the landmarks.

By 1964 I was so homesick for my sisters that Mom decided that she would let me go for a summer visit. Back in those days the California Zephyr Vistadome (railroad) went from Keddie to Provo overnight. Mom figured that she could put me on the train at 5:30pm and Sue could pick me up on the other end 14 hours later.

Once on the train I went straight up to the Vista-Dome... that was my haven! I was a big girl on my own! (I was 11 1/2... what a wonderful safe time! A little girl traveling alone and SAFE!) I had company, two elderly ladies. They sat near me (looking back they probably did it on purpose so they could keep an eye on this precocious little girl traveling alone!)

As we approached Battle Mountain (in the middle of nowhere!... oh wait, that is the middle of Nevada. Literally the MIDDLE of Nevada) one of the ladies asked her friend, “So where do you suppose we are?”

Always vigilant, I piped right up, “We’re in Battle Mountain! You can see the big BM on the mountain!”