I was born in Lovelock

shannon · Post by **shannon** » Thu May 12, 2005 3:31 pm

I was born right there in the middle of that there desert. Didn't live there long, but I go back every year and visit family. As a teenager I drove over a cattle guard on a dirt road behind a mountain near there and blew out three tires. I hiked a few miles to a farm house and started reading a book from a bunk house on how to ride horses in case I had to rustle one of their horses to make it back to civilization. Someone came home eventually and gave me a ride to Gerlach. The local mechanic sold me 3 tires that would hold air from the junk pile (all I could afford). I drove on them for 6 months until I could buy 'real tires'. I remember camping at the back side of Pyramid Lake before that portion of the reservation was restricted. I love that desert, and really look forward to a nice visit.

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Thu May 12, 2005 6:17 pm

Shannon, does Basque blood course through your veins?

shannon · Post by **shannon** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:28 am

No, I'm not that girl. I'm the other one.

I like the festas that they have every year though. chorisos, parades. Then you get that small town roast lamb with mint jelly in the community center down the road from the church atmosphere and it drips classic america

Sounds like you may be a bit familiar with the local flavor.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:47 am

I had a friend who was born outside of Wedlock.

shannon · Post by **shannon** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:57 am

Thats next to Bendover. Been there.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:39 am

That's over past Runamucka, right?

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Fri May 13, 2005 11:03 am

Yep, north of Fallin, which is north of Hugethorns... where I spend a huge chunk of my childhood. >gigglios< One unca' worked at the Ammo Depot, another ran (and still runs, as far as I know) the local wrecking yard, granddad had a borax/gold mine south of there, gramma worked as an accountant for the Chevy dealer which owned by the same guy who had the local casino (The El Cap). That was when the town was still a mile square.

God, how I miss the old days!!

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri May 13, 2005 11:57 am

How come there are all of those empty ACME crates laying around everywhere? Once, I SWEAR I saw rollerskate tracks followed by burn marks.....

shannon · Post by **shannon** » Fri May 13, 2005 1:45 pm

now, now cowpolk. I know... fashioning a teepee out of sagebrush is not as envogue as gortex. We were destined to evolve away from the surreality of rural agricultural bliss, into urban suburbia only to find ourselves longing for the familiar simplicity of the three block town. I miss it when my car doesn't want to take me all the way to work. I wax lyrical with you fine folks today in hopes of working up a nice memory lane lather. thanks for the extra hands...

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Fri May 13, 2005 5:52 pm

No, Shannon, the thanks is to you for bringing the topic up... Mondo awesome memories there!

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Fri May 13, 2005 6:17 pm

Shannon, the reson I aske about the Basque thing is that i understand that a good number of them settled in Nevada to raise sheep(?) and that the state has the highest population of folks from that region of europe than any other. Were there any in your town while growing up?

Just (sincerely) curious.

Monkeypoo · Post by **Monkeypoo** » Fri May 13, 2005 11:13 pm

Isotopia...you are such a fucking babe... XOXO

Lovelock, Liplock, what's the fucking difference???!!!!

Oh, fuck, did I just say that??!!

**I'm back off to the Bar, just spreading the love.....taa-taa-smootches...**

Somebody gimme another fucking scotch on the rocks, will ya??!!!

hunter S · Post by **hunter S** » Sat May 14, 2005 9:37 am

Isotopia, You are right about the basuqe haritage in NV, on your way to the playa watch the desert you may see a "stone boy" or two. these are rocks piled or stacked to resemble a Basque herder. the basque got lonley and built these also served as markers for the herders to follow. just north of the plya they are more common. Bring a botta bag of red wine & I'll tell you all about it. Hunter

OK let the sheep jokes flow!

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Sat May 14, 2005 9:55 am

Read The Basque Hotel by Robert Laxalt(sp?) a few years ago. Quite an interesting read. The guy really describes it all pretty well. Never knew about the stone piles. Pretty cool.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Sat May 14, 2005 10:01 am

hunter S wrote:Isotopia, You are right about the basuqe haritage in NV, on your way to the playa watch the desert you may see a "stone boy" or two. these are rocks piled or stacked to resemble a Basque herder. the basque got lonley and built these also served as markers for the herders to follow. just north of the plya they are more common. Bring a botta bag of red wine & I'll tell you all about it.

WOW!! The 2 things I always remember about our/my desert outings as a kid and later were the "bottle wall" buildings (don't see them too much anymore, but want to put one up jus' because they were so mysterious and so awesome from the inside!) and these effigies we used to call "rock snowmen". I never knew they had such incredible significance (my family were transplants from the Dakotas - all Germans on that side of the family, the whole lot of them!) so that just adds to it all...

WOW, what a flash. Would be cool to do something like one of the bottlewall cabins at BRC, I always remember they were cool inside and almost cathedral-like (esp. as most of the bottle-bottoms were purpled or a colored glass, and seeing as the buildings themselves were thick adobe clay) tho the time and whatnot involved would be a bit prohibitive. But now I'm thinking on it...

Ranger Genius · Post by **Ranger Genius** » Sat May 14, 2005 11:08 am

There's a restaurant in Elko called The Star. Serves up some great Basque food and a funky little house wine that seems like it was bred purely to complement mint jelly. Oh man, gonna hafta make a stop on my way out this year.

There are still a lot of nomadic sheep herders in southern idaho and western UT of basque heritage. And wherever you find them, you also frequently find those little (and sometimes large) cairns. As I understand it, they're primarily functional (to serve as markers and waypoints), but have a sort of mythology behind them, as mentioned. I have heard them referred to as "basque boys," but not very often. One person I know refers to them as "shepherd's friends," no doubt for the same reason.

hunter S · Post by **hunter S** » Sat May 14, 2005 8:23 pm

Ranger, I know the Star well, best steak I ever ate. always start with a couple pecan punches, another gift from the Basque!!

emily sparkle · Post by **emily sparkle** » Sun May 15, 2005 7:25 pm

we went to a basque restauarant in reno once... (might've been in the area of twin city) that was really yummy... although i must admit, i'd never had basque food before, so i can't compare, really.... but it was tasty.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon May 16, 2005 6:53 am

[quote="Bay Bridge Sue "bottle wall" buildings [/quote]

Are you familiar with Thunder Mountain State Park? There's an AMAZING cluster of buildings and ruins, including a beautiful bottle-walled barn...and some VERY spooky cement-and-junk sculptures. It's in rough shape, which adds to its charm in a way, but is slowly being restored. Worth detouring East to Imlay, about 100 miles up '80 from the turn to 447. My hair was tired, from standing on end the whole time I was there.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:37 am

Never seen a bottle wall building, but have seen pics. Would like to see one sometime.

Post by **AntiM** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:11 am

When I was 6 or 7, we visited Death Valley. I remeber an entire bottle house. I've always wanted one since.

shannon · Post by **shannon** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:53 pm

I remember a lot of Basque folks from Winnemucca, and Lovelock...Bangochea, Barenachea, Echetta, Echato. There is a basque restaurant in both Winnemucca, and Lovelock.
I didn't see true 'Basque sheep herders' until I moved to Idaho though. Driving East on Highway 84 from Boise I've seen the ole canvas caravan houses, with the smokestacks in them. They are remarkable and such a time warp to see.

shannon · Post by **shannon** » Mon May 16, 2005 2:01 pm

The stone piles that you mention. Thats really awesome about the story of the 'basque boys'. I saw those for the first time in Ashland, Oregon on the Rogue River. I don't believe (then again I don't know) if they have basque origins. They were mystical, and made me curious. I definitely wanted to make one. Haven't yet though.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon May 16, 2005 2:24 pm

shannon wrote:I remember a lot of Basque folks from Winnemucca, and Lovelock...Bangochea, Barenachea, Echetta, Echato. There is a basque restaurant in both Winnemucca, and Lovelock.
I didn't see true 'Basque sheep herders' until I moved to Idaho though. Driving East on Highway 84 from Boise I've seen the ole canvas caravan houses, with the smokestacks in them. They are remarkable and such a time warp to see.

There's a shepard's wagon in the museum of the Rockies in Bozeman Montana. Not sure of the Basqueness thereof, but you can look inside it.

shannon · Post by **shannon** » Tue May 17, 2005 9:13 am

I would love to have gotten close enough to something like that to look inside. Probably wouldn't look any different than inside my tent after several days. It tickles me that something so historical is in a museum and functionally used still. I'm sure they don't worry about no stinkin' shower.

AntiM- I hope you see another glass bottle house soon. That is definitely very JRTolkien.

How would it go...

People that live in glass bottle houses shouldn't...

Ranger Genius · Post by **Ranger Genius** » Tue May 17, 2005 7:36 pm

Those who live in stone houses shouldn't throw glass.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:40 am

shannon wrote:I would love to have gotten close enough to something like that to look inside. Probably wouldn't look any different than inside my tent after several days.

As I recall (not very well, alas) it was a marvel of efficent living in a small space, like a sailboat cabin or a good rv. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pics on the site. http://www.montana.edu/wwwmor/
A dissapointment. It's a good museum and a comparibly good website would be nice.

Post by **AntiM** » Wed May 18, 2005 3:38 pm

Jeebus folks, I'm living in a semi with larry. No cooking, but we do have a 12v cooler. I am devoted to free with 50 gallons of diesel showers now.

Small space living indeed.

It occurs to us that now Larry's trucking, we can live anywhere. Nevada has no personal income tax, and the move from Utah wouldn't be that bad ... hmmm. And Utah sucks. Hmmm.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed May 18, 2005 3:58 pm

Wish you the best no matter where you put down roots!

Smooch!

Ranger Genius · Post by **Ranger Genius** » Thu May 19, 2005 7:37 am

You better get a house big enough for four if you plan to move where I think you wanna.