Halloween morning we settled into the booth at Baldini's Sports Bar Casino in Sparks, Nevada, for complete breakfast -- two for the price of one at $4.99. The middle-aged waitress, dressed in a short skirted witch's garb with buck teeth fangs, took our orders. "You can't beat that for the price," said Andy. "You couldn't cook it at home for that."
When the waitress returned, I asked her about the teeth.
"Well," she hissed, "I glued them in this morning, so I know now what it feels like to wear dentures."
"Dentures," I said to Andy when she left. "I wonder how many people here wear dentures."
He looked around at the restaurant, now crowded with people at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. "You're right," he answered. "I think we are the youngest ones here."
He looked around at the restaurant, now crowded with people at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. "You're right," he answered. "I think we are the youngest ones here."
Another elderly couple hobbled in, the woman with a cane, the man greeting friends at other tables. "They must all be locals," said Andy. "I almost feel like we're at... a convalescent home."
We headed toward Pyramid Lake. Overhead white feathery cirrus 
clouds outlined the horizon in pastel shades of blue and grey blue. Every bend around the lake brought a new scene, more breath-taking than the last. Climbing to the top of several ridges gave us different perspectives as well.
clouds outlined the horizon in pastel shades of blue and grey blue. Every bend around the lake brought a new scene, more breath-taking than the last. Climbing to the top of several ridges gave us different perspectives as well.
When we stopped on lonely Route #447 to take a picture of the mountains, a Paiute Indian man and his two young sons stopped their truck to make sure we were okay. Their concern was genuine.
"I didn't plan to come this far," said Andy, as we approached the Black Rock Desert, "but I'm glad we did. The scenery is incredible, and I know for sure there is one place I don't want to live -- Gerlach -- and that's ever!" It wasn't until later that we learned more than 51,000 groupies descended on this town two months ago and on the playa of Black Rock Desert for the Burning Man festival or that the cost of coming here for the "experiment in community," as it was described, was $360. per person. In Reno News and Review, Burning Man was voted "the best place to run around naked for this area." I guess we won't fit in very well. Good thing, since Gerlach is the end of the earth.
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