June 3, 2011

Today is the first day of my new life. I leave NY State and head to Nevada to finally be with Joe and my kids and I cannot wait. The house I still love, in Keeseville, is under contract and scheduled to close on June 20th. I'm glad to know that the woman buying it also fell in love with it when she saw it.

I finally got my psychology degree and graduated magna cum laude. Now I need to finish the medical transcription course.

I have a couple of hours before I fly out and am hanging at my sister's with Mom and Carter. Carter had his tonsils and adnoids out and is tired and sore. He is napping now and I feel so bad for him.

Time to get everything together and ready for departure. See you in Nevada.

Sheepshttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3381487887103078126&postID=4086390356600476974 Creek Range

This is the view of the Shoshone Mesa of Sheep Creek Ridge from our house.

Today we decided to check out Sheep Creek Range. I see it everyday from the house and it has a flat ridge and is different form the other three ranges I see which have high peaks. A co-worker of Joes said we could drive all the way to the top (where the communication towers are.) So we brought lunch and plenty of drinks, packed the black dog in (Buddy is getting too old for such an event) and set out on another adventure. It ended good but there were some scary moments for me.
We stopped just below the lowest dark line which is a fall of volcanic rock.

On the way I was very excited because I had been admiring the ridge and wondered why it had dark lines running down it and no snow. Well, the road up the Piedmont was bumpy and rocky and there were many hair pin turns. So the road basically zigzagged up. I was having fun until we hit mud and got higher. I tried to hold it together and then the tears came and I had to have Joe stop. We parked in an inlet that led to another 'road' going the other way and very steep.

Joe had his new DROID with him and was trying to take pictures which was frustrating. Once he figured it out he took a picture of the truck and he thinks we should send it to GMC. I'm thinking he is just all DROID puffed up cuz the truck is not shiny even thought the scenery is beautiful. This is obviously looking down from where we came.

I have always been one to look at rocks when walking but out here it can become obsessive. I found a lot of cool lava rocks and multicolored rocks and boulders. I kept picking them up and loading my pockets. I see a rock tumbler in my future. I laughed and made fun of my mother when she moved to AuSable Forks for a year and her second focus after painting was collecting giant rocks. She was a drug addict in search of a fix. She would ride around and load her trunk with them. Once again I am turning into my mother, heaven help me. Here is part of my collection acquired at Sheep Creek and believe it or not in my yard. Half of it is stone and that is what you do out here.

I wanted to keep going up the ridge but we were not properly equipped for a hike so we turned around and went down. On the way we found a recently killed Chucker. We think someone higher up was hunting because there was another truck there. At the bottom we crossed the California Trail which is overrun with tire marks but still cool to see. We headed to the north of the range to find a place to have lunch. Izzenhood Gap sounded like a good place. But it wasn't. We got past the last ranch, took a right onto the gap road and it was downhill from there. We found out why everyone coming towards had mud up to their windows. Basically a single lane dirt road that was a few inches thick with mud because of the time of day. I was scared to death we were going to get stuck but I also worry too much. We had to go a couple of miles before there was a safe place to make a 20 point turn. My hero got us out of there! The picture does not capture just how bad it was.

We finally got to dryer ground, had lunch and headed home. I checked the map and instead of going back the way we came I found a side road that lead to County Route 505. This would give us a chance to see some new things. I am amazed how different a county road is out here compared to the east. This is a picture of a bridge we had to cross and it hat a big gaping hole in the top lay of slats. The only part of the road that was paved was where you got onto Route 80.We passed what looked like an abandoned ranch. The map called it 25 Ranch. Then we had to cross the above bridge which is apparently not maintained on a regular basis. It is basically 2x4's in layers of three I think. The top layer having a huge rut on the left side which was a bit unnerving as I was driving. We stopped on the other side of the bridge for a photo op and found the front leg of a coyote. Either hit by a car of eaten by a mountain lion.

Can't wait until this summer when we can reach the top.

Friday Dinner

It was last Friday night and I decided that I had cooked, cleaned, washed dishes and entertained enough to earn a night out. So we went to downtown Battle Mountain in search of a place for dinner. Joe has passed the Hide Away Steakhouse many times but had not yet ventured in so we went there. Upon arriving we saw about 10 white mining trucks in the parking lot. You can always tell a mining truck or field BLM truck from the rest of the vehicles on the road. They are covered with mud from the bottom of the side windows to the wheels from driving in the desert and mines. Also, the mining trucks have orange flags on a pole attached to the end of the bed.

Joe said if I thought there were too many of these miner types and I was uncomfortable we could leave. He forgets I was a bartender for many many years with Hells Angels for regulars for some of them. I was not worried about being uncomfortable. I did however not care for the cigarette smoke but once we passed the bar and went into the dining area it wasn't bad.

Being a waitress and person that loves to cook I immediately became a snob about the place. I decided that the food would be mediocre and was convinced when they told me they had only Franzia boxed wine!!!!! I choked the first Merlot down quickly so that the second one would taste better. But, to my surprise, the food was much better than the wine menu.

I ordered grilled halibut with a baked potato because there was no sign of rice any where. Joe ordered a steak. We ordered Texas Toothpicks for an appetizer, one because of the name and two because it was deep fried (I know bad) onion and jalapeno strips. It was part bloomin onion and part poppers but very good. The breading was light and they were tasty. Had we known what was coming we would have skipped it and will next time.

Dinner came with tossed salad, soup and rolls. They serve it family style as I know it but it may have a different name out here. That sounds fancier that it was. The soup came in what most restaurants use for salad dressings on a salad bar but it was delicious. It was clam chowder. To us it was New England clam chowder and it was fantastic. The tossed salad was fresh but your standard iceberg lettuce. They gave you two dressings, ranch and Italian, and it was served in what looked like one of those diet things that has the measurements up the side so you know how much diet powder to put in and whatever you mix it with. The dinner rolls were packaged an room temp, I didn't bother.

It is a typical small town restaurant/bar in that the parents were in the bar area and the kids were sitting at a table drinking pop and being silly. Eventually the parents would join them and they would have dinner. Not unlike what my Uncle Larry and Aunt Pat's place was like. Poppy's Place in Menands, NY. We had a lot of good food at a very reasonable price and will go back.

The next day they were having their Wild Game Day. They set up tents and grills and people bring either prepared dishes or meat to grill and share. I guess it's a big thing and a lot of drinking is involved. The next day we drove by and there were about 5 vehicles in the lot and a whole bunch of beer bottles all over the place. I think they had a good time.

The dump

Part of Battle Mountain

This week we went to the dump to get rid of some packing boxes and packing paper. It is behind a lower ridge of Battle Mountain proper and we see it from where we hunt rabbit a few miles from the house. From the house we see the front with a giant BM on it. They do that in all the towns around here. It is on the far left of the lower ridge, or Piedmont, of the above picture. This was taken on one of my walks with Buddy.
I was driving and trying to be cautious because, like so many roads around here, it is dirt. This freakin' dump truck was behind me and gaining so I had to speed up. It was like a monster chasing us. When we got to the gate he passed us. First rude driver I encountered so far so not bad. The sign at the entrance was so funny. It listed various items that they would take and the cost. It listed animal carcasses with small being $5 and large bein $10. Never saw that before.

So a woman works at the gate and explained that it is basically free unless you are dumping construction materials. Now, thats a county at work. Our taxes pay for the service and we don't have to pay extra. The down side is that they recycle nothing here. Glass, aluminum, metal, plastic, paper all go in the garbage. I can't get used to it and still rinse everything and put it in separate bags. Even though I know it is going to the same place it makes me feel better. I guess if you really want to recycle you have to drive to California with your stuff.

Joe was so excited that we could drive right to the dump pile. When we passed the metal pile he saw 3 or 4 things he would have taken to make some redneck thing out of. Thank goodness I was there and the signs said no scavenging. I'm sure he will eventually come home with someone else's shit. He already has 3 5 gallon buckets he found on the side of the road. I caught him in action here. And wouldn't you know it. The damn dump truck finished just after us and chased me out of the dump. The speed limit is 25 and I was go 40 and he was gaining on me, jerk.

The mud and dust

I will never get used to the dust and mud out here. You can literally dust every day and the next day there is dust again. The mud is quite an issue with the dogs. There is a side pen with a doggy door through the garage. Which we both keep calling the barn because we had one for so long and neither of us has ever had a garage. Anyway, the ground is dirt and some grass or maybe it's hay mixed in the dirt. When the ground is frozen there are no problems. Well, we had some snow last week and then warm weather. The worst mix out here!

The day that we were having Renee and Dustin for dinner I had to run to town for some last minute things. So, after lunch Joe said to just put the kids in the garage. Big mistake. I came home to very muddy paws and Buddy's hold a lot more than Gracie's. So I had to let them in the mud room while I brought the stuff in. Then I had to try to get the mud out and they hate when you try to do anything with their paws. Gracie nipped but she would never bite me. I have to say that I used truck driver language the whole time. I am very particular about my cooking and this was putting quite monkey wrench in my plans.

Just to make sure I did not miss any mud I but barriers between the kitchen and living room and the dining room and living with upended chairs. Gracie could have jumped over but she understood in my voice not to. Buddy would not even try. I swept and wet mopped the kitchen and was finally able to get to making dinner. I left the mess in the mud room for the next day.

After I finally got to clean it up it was the next day. Joe came home for lunch and when he went in there to get something he was talking to the dogs about it. He said to them "Come in here and look at this clean floor and thank Mommy for cleaning it and your better remember to never drag mud in again. Now go to your rooms and stay there for 2 hours." I know it's not as funny written but it was so cute at the time.

Nerd Alert! Nerd Alter!

So I'm supposed to be practicing my signing but just couldn't get motivated. Until I got a brilliant idea. I decided to make sentences using all 600+ words we learned and practice that way. I would instill the words and get better at signing sentences which is not easy. You have to raise your eyebrows at a certain point and then at another point you have to do a head shake or a lean and squint. The head shake indicates a positive or negative to the verb or predicate. The lean and squint makes th e sentence a question.

Anyway, thank goodness I'm a nerd and made study cards. I scanned in the pages and printed them. Then I cut the signs out and wrote what it means on the back. Joe helped me do this last semester. I tried to lay them all out when I got my idea and this is what it looked like. It was easy in the beginning even though I couldn't see all cards. I did 100 sentences the first day.

Because of dinner (the lasagna for our friends) I had to pick them all up but tried to do it in an organized manner so it would be easier to get started again. After they left and I cleaned up the kitchen I got back to work and it looked like this.

Now it is set up on the dining room table and I am down to less than 100 signs to put into sentences. I have 158 total. I'm trying to use more than just two signs per sentence which can be challenging. I'm also starting to use people signs more in lieu of just him/her or I/me to help with instilling those. So, instead of 'a watch he gave me' its 'a watch my brother gave me.' To add to the nerdiness I stapled together the signs for each sentence, except for repeat signs of course, and numbered them and put them in a box in order. So, when I am practicing my sentences I can quickly check the box for one I can't remember. Genius, I know.

This is the tail end of the project. Now I have to start practicing. Tomorrow Joe and I are taking a ride to Austin Nevada and stopping by a ghost town on the way. I'll bring my notebook and practice while he drives. That is, if I can take my eyes off the scenery.

Friends for dinner

I made kick-ass sauce Thursday and we invited Dustin and Renee over for dinner. He loves lasagna, I love to make it and he is in town for only another week. We also want to get Gracie familiar with Renee because she will probably be the one taking care of the dogs when Joe has to go out of town. They got engaged over the holidays which is very exciting but also a new dog. Doc is a Texas Blue Lacy and adorable. He had been here twice before but we did not let him and Gracie get too close. Tonight was the night.

They ran around chasing each other and taking a rawhide chewy away from each other. Gracie was not overly aggressive and must understand that he is a puppy. Here is a quick video.