On my way to the Southwest Oil Leak Tour – Oregon & Nevada.

I’m weightless. Buoyed only by the air in my lungs… and one foot resting atop the edge of the pool. The water envelops and calms me. My thoughts focused solely on the air in my lungs, and the level of the water around my face. Like a whale, instinctively knowing when to close its blowhole when submerging – just as the water reaches its edge – I maintain my semi-floating state by short exhalations, which start me sinking, and rapid, deep inhalations, which rebound me from a submerged state and bob me back to the surface. I learned this from my Grandfather Goolsbee, who could magically stay afloat so well that he would nap while freely afloat in a pool. I can’t manage that, so have to rest a foot somewhere to keep me truly afloat. The process is remarkably calming, and provides my mind with a soft landing. From the harsh sunlight, and loud noises I’ve been enveloped in since daybreak.

I’m in a Super 8 motel in Battle Mountain, Nevada – soaking away the day’s road film off myself. I left Bend, Oregon this morning around 7, and drove south via La Pine, Paisley, and Lakeview, Oregon, where I had a pleasant, but early lunch with my traveling companions Greg & Dianne Meboe. Early because once we left Lakeview we were not going to see another town for many many hours. The direct route to the start of the SOL tour in Laughlin, NV goes right down through the middle of Nevada north to south – there’s a whole lot of NOTHING out there.

Once we leave Lakeview the vegetation thins rapidly to just bunchgrass and sage. The valleys open up and dry lakes appear. The road uncoils itself into straightaways that fly like an arrow towards gaps in distant mountain ranges. This is Nevada in a Nutshell…

An entire afternoon of this, and we arrive in Winnemucca, in the Humboldt River valley, and join the superslab of Interstate 80 for the 60 miles or so to Battle Mountain, where I’m now washing away 27 layers of sunscreen and thinking about tomorrow…