How to ‘Discover’ a Remote Desert Village

I’ve written before that one of my favorite activities in Peru is taking a leisurely, meandering walk through the streets (often nothing more than paths) of a small isolated village, looking for that object, person or custom that gives uniqueness to this particular village. Initially we would locate the villages by looking at satellite views on Google Maps. The smaller villages are never named on the map so we would look for clusters of dwellings and then try to figure out how to get to them, which usually involved going to the nearest large village and then asking anyone we came across if they knew of a caserio (a community too small to be called a village) located about x kilometers in whatever direction. Eventually we would find someone who knew of the caserio; knew its name and how to get there. The ‘how to get there’ part normally involves haggling over a price with a mototaxi driver who says it is “too far and takes too long and I will lose time and customers and the road is terrible and I might damage my mototaxi”, but eventually we agree on a price with him or some other driver and enjoy a semi-scenic, teeth rattling 10 – 15 minute ride to our destination. Sometimes we walk. Getting back is always an adventure, though with the help of the villagers who after 15 minutes treat us as long lost friends, we somehow return to the larger village and then to Chiclayo.

That’s how we located these caserios in the past. Now, as our Promesa Peru activities are becoming more well known it’s the opposite… the villages find us. As an example, just yesterday Maribel got a phone call from a professor at a primary school in the caserio of Cascajal, a tiny community located near the city of Olmos quite a distance north of Chiclayo. The professor had learned of Promesa Peru during a teacher conference in Lambayeque and phoned to invite us to visit his school/community. The unspoken intent of these invitations is always with the hope that we will provide assistance to the school, one or more students, or to the community in the form of a chocolatada or medical campaign. Though the motive may be financial, the friendliness of the villagers upon welcoming us is genuine and lasting friendships have been formed.  

Often upon returning to Chiclayo I am usually unable to locate the village we visited on Google Maps because as I said, they are not named on the map and reaching them involves mototaxi rides on winding paths through sugar cane fields, rice paddies and rock hills. To solve this problem I started carrying an old hand-held GPS that I used while hunting many years ago in Wisconsin. When we get to the village I take a satellite reading; mark the coordinates and after converting them to decimal enter them in Google Map and, bingo!.. a little green arrow usually appears on the site of the village. I like to know where I’ve been!

Sometimes we come upon a village by pure chance. That was the case recently when Marcos, Saida, Maribel and I were traveling to the village of Eureka. We were driving on one of those sugar cane field paths raising a ton of dust behind us when I glanced to the right and saw what appeared to be a school among a hand full of buildings. We stopped to check it out. The words Pronoei Capullitos written on the side of the school need a bit of explaining. Pronoei is an acronym for ‘program unschooled initial education.’ Capullitos in this context translates to cocoon or bud, indicating the kids are in the process of blossoming. Pronoei capullitos are not Peruvian government supported schools. They are cheaply made one-room buildings constructed and minimally supported by the regional government. Though they are not officially recognized as kinder schools, kids graduating from them are regarded as having completed kinder and are accepted into government primary schools. Pronoei capullitos can have their status changed to a government recognized kinder school by submitting a petition and going through a lengthy documentation process. The school in El Faicalito where we recently donated a whiteboard and shelves is in that process now. If successful the temporary one-room building will be replaced by a permanent three classroom kinder.

Based on the initial impression of the school and its surroundings we expected to find primitive conditions inside but were surprised. The classroom is clean, organized and reasonably well equipped. Even more surprising was that the kids were in uniform. And their lunches from home were packed in modern plastic containers. The teacher is Karen Flores Castillo and like many teachers in these tiny villages/schools she is very young and a recent college graduate. She told us that the village…Horcon One (there is a Horcon Two) is generally poor, but fortunately the parents place importance on education and do their best to send their kids to school with supplies and in uniform. Karen said she has what she needs to teach, but added that three of the students did not have uniforms because their parents could not afford them. The uniforms cost $21 each which is a bit more than typical but they also include an apron. We think those three kids should have uniforms. If you agree, please help us/them by donating at the Promesa Peru webpage.  Thank you.

Back In El Faicalito

In the previous post we talked about visiting three villages and the schools of two of them - El Faicalito and Eureka. Thanks to several donors we were able to return to El Faicalito and address some of the needs expressed by Norma Urbina, the teacher/director. We had alerted Norma that we were coming and when we arrived it seemed as if half the village was waiting for us.

We put some of them to work moving chairs and tables outside to give us room to work. Others helped to assemble shelves and attach hangers to mount the white board on a wall. Our guiding principle is, “helping people to help themselves” so whenever possible we try to get the villagers actively involved in whatever the project may be. While that was going on Maribel was handing out cookies and candy to keep the kids occupied. It was too hot to send them outside.

Ready for use…two shelve units and a white board with markers all ready to be put to the test. If you look closely at the whiteboard you’ll see it already has some letters on it. They read…”Gracias to Judith B., Chris R., Marcos and Saida. These are the people who made this donation possible. We thank you and so do the folks in El Faicalito.

We’ve still got school supplies and uniforms in El Faicalito and at the school in Eureka to deal with and will need more donations to do that, but today was a good start. Any day we can do something to help keep kids in school and give them an opportunity to learn is a good day.

A Three Village Day

I often ponder on and am fascinated by the chain of events that lead to a particular experience. One such experience occurred recently when we visited the village of San Miguel and happened by chance to meet Marcos and Saida.  In talking with them we learned that they also are involved in charitable work. And like Promesa Peru, they have limited resources but do what they can…perhaps a bag of oranges to one family today and a pair of shoes to another family tomorrow.  They told us about several other villages near San Miguel and when they offered to show them to us we gladly accepted. Marcos and Saida are interesting people and fun to be with. I know we'll be seeing more of each other.

El Faicalito is a typical caserio with vast expanses of dirt and deteriorating adobe houses and poor families just managing to survive. The men are mostly involved in working in sugar cane fields and rice paddies. We saw a few farm animals probably for personal use.

About a year ago regional authorities constructed a small dry-wall structure to be used as a temporary kinder school because the kids were walking as much as one hour to other village schools, and those other schools were at maximum enrollment. The government has provided textbooks but nothing more. The few pencils and notebooks are shared. There is no white board and only a few borrowed chairs and tables.

Norma Urbina is the teacher. Though she is only 22 and a recent college graduate, she has a strong personality, obvious organizational and leadership skills and knows exactly what she wants. She needs basic school supplies for 25 students. She needs shelves to store and organize the text books and school supplies. She needs tables and chairs and a white board with markers.

The twelve students pictured will be graduating to first grade at the end of the cycle and going to a primary school in another village. The uniforms are on their third year and second set of kids and are showing their ware. Norma is proud of these kids and feels that, despite the classroom equipment limitations she did her best to prepare them to move on. 

As we were preparing to leave, an impromptu discussion took place outside the school with some women who had assembled. They told Maribel that one underlying problem of the village was too many babies to feed, clothe and educate. They asked for advice on what they could do, including operations, to prevent conception.  When Maribel suggested that the men could have vasectomies the women were horrified…they thought that meant the removal of the male organ. We’ve discussed a lot of issues in many villages but this is the first time birth control has come up.

Pancal was our next stop. It is a tiny caserio of about 20 families. There is no electricity and water is carried from a nearby reservoir.  The kids walk to a school in another village. We were invited to the home of a woman who administers the ‘glass of milk’ program. Though poor, people indicated they were ‘getting by’ and no one expressed any needs. We sat in the shade, talked, ate pomegranates fresh off a tree and drank Chicha de jora. Our travel companions Saida and Marcos are second and third from the left.

Eureka was our final stop. Everything written above about El Faicalito (except for the birth control discussion) is applicable to Eureka.  The school is overcrowded but is in good condition physically and supply wise. Flor Sera is the director, and when asked if there was anything she needed, she pointed to a set of twin girls and said the family was poor and the girls lacked clothing and school supplies. Another girl has similar issues.

This is Maria. She is an orphan living with her grandparents who are struggling financially. Maria often needs to borrow shoes and clothes and school supplies from other students. I don’t know if that situation troubles her, but it sure bothers me. We are going to talk more with the school director to see exactly what is needed to help Maria and the twins.

As we were leaving, Flor somewhat hesitantly broached the issue of uniforms. She said that most of the students have only one set of school clothes that are washed every night, but if the mother doesn’t have time to do that the child doesn’t come to school, and some days as many as a dozen students are absent. At one time there was an NGO from Spain operating in the Chiclayo area that focused on providing school uniforms to schools for that very reason. Flor asked if we would consider providing school uniforms to be kept at the school for the kids. Norma at El Faicalito didn't ask for uniforms but the need is evident. We can have quality two-piece uniforms made for $14.50 each. Flor has 56 students so we'd be looking at $812 and for Norma's 25 kids $363.  

We want to help Norma Urbina equip the school in El Faicalito. A white board with markers costs $65. The price for two metal five-shelf units is $72. 

We want to help Maria and the twins in Eureka with school supplies and clothing. We estimate about $125 total for the three girls. And if possible we'd like to provide at least some uniforms for the more needy of Flor's and Norma's students. 

The assistance we're talking about will help these kids to get a better education and perhaps a better quality of life. We’re going to need help to do this. If you’ve ever considered donating, please do it now at the Promesa Peru webpage. Thanks in advance.

San Miguel…Not Your Average Little Village

It was somewhere around 70 years ago during a severe El Niño induced flood that an irrigation canal overflowed its banks and effectively wiped out the town of San Miguel. Undaunted, the town promptly rebuilt on higher ground less than 200 meters to the southwest. The ruins of the old abandoned village are still evident today, and viewed from the air they appear to be mirror image siblings joined at the hip, though one is a ghost.

Present day San Miguel with a population of about 200 is anything but a ghost village. True, it shares many of the identifying characteristics of most caserios. There is no commerce, industries, businesses, restaurants, stores, taverns or night life. But that’s where the similarity ends.

Upon entering the town the visitor is greeted by a small but beautiful and well cared for botanical garden. The centerpiece of the garden is an ancient cart that was used for trash collection. This garden is in stark contrast the piles of rocks, debris and miscellaneous nothingness usually found at the edge of isolated villages.

Next to the garden is the town library with over 2000 books including three full sets of encyclopedias; a valuable reference to have at hand when no internet is available. The library is open from 6:00am to sundown and is operated by Lucretia, who also maintains the botanical garden plus serves as the village vigilante. It was she who told us of the history of the village and, along with several other women took us on a tour of the town.

Central parks in these small villages, if they exist at all usually consist of a square of burned out grass with a few scrub trees and flowers that died long ago. San Miguel has a pleasant park, maintained through volunteer effort. In fact the whole village has a pleasing appearance. During our tour we noticed there was no trash in the streets…not even a plastic bag which unfortunately seems at times to be the dominant feature of most villages and cities in Peru. I can’t emphasize enough how clean and well maintained the streets, church, schools (for the most part…more on that later) and other public buildings are, as are the private houses to the best of their owner’s ability.

The town has a large meeting hall used for various activities. We were invited to attend a meeting of the women artisans, who asked for help and advice on how to more efficiently manufacture and market their products, and how to work more effectively as an association. Maribel suggested they document their specific needs and ideas, including how we may be of help. She apparently said the right words as she was given long and loud applause and the end of her comments.  

Adjacent to the meeting hall is the primary school. Director Guadalupe Nunton (green blouse) has four teachers to help her teach grades one through six. The Peruvian government pays the salary of only Guadalupe. Three of the other four teachers are paid from a combination of a regional emergency fund and parent’s contributions. There is no money to pay the fourth teacher, who is doing the job out of love for the town. Seventy years has taken its toll on some of school building. Several classrooms have deteriorated badly and are no longer usable. Guadalupe would like to remodel one of the rooms as a library but has been unable to come up with the funds.

The kinder is probably the most innovative we’ve seen. In addition to the colorful and well equipped classroom, a portion of the building contains a model house for the purpose of teaching ‘social living.’ Director Yola Edquen says she has everything she needs except a CD player for instructional CDs and for recreation.

San Miguel is as as close to a self-sustaining caserio as we’ve seen. Their medical clinic was closed several years ago for lack of a doctor, but the larger town of Picsi is only two miles away and has a clinic. The town even pays for its own trash collection service, which is probably why the streets are so clean.

We were told that there is one family in town who has some problems. A single mother is caring for her retarded son who also has a thyroid problem and is supposed to be taking levotiroxina daily, but that’s not happening because of cost. The mother earns money by taking in washing and collecting and selling recyclable material….bottles, cans, etc. Several town folk told us that the family could use some clothing and basic household items.

We’re looking forward to our next visit to San Miguel. We hope to be able to work with the artisans, and we’d also like to give a CD player to the kinder school and supply clothing, medicine and other things to that needy family. If you’d like to help please visit the Promesa Peru webpage to donate.

The Village of Cùsupe

We live within 15 miles of Cùsupe; have ridden through it dozens of times and until last week didn’t even know it existed. It has no principal park, no medical clinic, no government buildings/institutions; it doesn’t even have the small Catholic Church that until now I thought was obligatory in every village. Though the village straddles a descent highway linking Chiclayo to Monsefù, there are no “Welcome to Cùsupe” or, “Thanks for visiting Cùsupe” signs, probably because there’s nothing to visit in Cùsupe. It’s not even possible to point to a specific location and say, ‘this is Cùsupe’ because there is no central location. Instead there are scatterings of dwellings separated by fields of rice, cotton, corn and pasture land. There is no need for stores or restaurants because Monsefù is only 5 minutes away by combi and Chiclayo not more than 20 minutes.  

What Cùsupe does have is a school; I. E. I. 152 Cùsupe – Monsefù, which serves 60 kinder students from the surrounding area. We had been told that kids were going to school without shoes and that there were shortages of basic school supplies, so we visited Cùsupe this morning to check out the situation for ourselves. A woman on the combi we were riding said she was familiar with the village and told Maribel how to find the school. We got off where she told us to and walked in the direction she’d indicated.

After a mile of walking and seeing nothing that resembled a school we were fortunate enough to cross paths with this gentleman who graciously dismounted and explained that the school was about two miles in the opposite direction.  While he was directing us I noticed that his cattle were continuing down the road at a pretty good pace. I was wondering how he was going to catch up to the herd when he remounted and took off as if Geronimo was chasing him. I didn’t know burros could run! Once back at the highway we took a moto-taxi the remaining mile to the school. 

Señorita Maria del Rosario Senmache is the kinder school director and has taught there for 25 years. She is assisted by two additional contract teachers. She told us that, though Cùsupe is regarded as a poor area and is eligible for the government free food program, most of the people are hard-working and are able to ‘get by’ financially. The majority of families earn their living by selling their crops and milk in the nearby cities. Some of the families weave and sell thatch panels used for various purposes.

We saw no evidence of extreme poverty. A very few of the kids wore clothing that was a bit tattered, but all had shoes and most were dressed much better than kids in many of the villages we’ve been in. There was no indication that school supplies are lacking.

The school buildings are well maintained inside and out. Outside there is a small play area that the kids seem to enjoy. We watched for 20 minutes as they screamed and laughed while trying to jump from tire to tire. Señorita Senmache would like to put a roof over this area to shield the kids from the sun.

The remainder of the school grounds is just plain ugly (the school is on the left). Señorita Senmache would like to erect a brick wall around the school because she feels the kids are in danger from cars and moto-taxis taking short-cuts through the school grounds, and also because some ‘undesirable older kids’ occasionally invade the play area. She has appealed to the authorities in Monsefù but no help has been offered.

We agree with the improvements Señorita Senmache has proposed, but aren’t sure this is the type of project Promesa Peru should be involved in. There is no emergency situation and it doesn’t really fit our criteria of ‘helping people to help themselves’. It’s possible we could get involved, but we’d like to see the community take the initiative first.

On a different matter, we received a phone call from Edith Fuentes telling us that her husband has been released from jail and is in the process of looking for work.  She sends her thanks to all who donated to her ‘shopping day.’ This was very good news!

A Day of Restaurants

We don’t eat out as much as we used to. There’s no specific reason for that. It’s just that we’ve both been watching our diets…trying to eat a little healthier and exercise more, and besides, Maribel likes to cook. But there was a day recently when we set out on an early morning walk and didn’t return until later that night. In between we ate at three of our favorite restaurants.

 

They’re not fancy restaurants…Chiclayo only has a couple of upscale restaurants and they’re located in the better hotels. Personally I avoid fancy restaurants. All the elegance is wasted on me and sometimes makes me uncomfortable. I can’t relax when I’m sitting in surroundings that resemble a posh Hollywood movie set or Smithsonian museum display. And I’m uncomfortable reading a menu containing offerings that I can’t pronounce and have never heard of. I usually try to fake the order by authoritively mumbling and casually pointing to the item on the menu. Thankfully the waiter usually doesn’t embarrass me by asking questions because he’s already figured out I’m a rube. Then he’s back with the wine bottle. I always dread that after he removes the cork he’s going to make me do the sniffing and tasting routine but usually he doesn’t …he knows I don’t know good bouquet from road-kill odor. So I nod in approval as if I’m familiar with every wine bottle label that’s ever been printed and he pours.

I like the kind of restaurant where you sit in a booth and a gum-chewing middle-aged woman wearing an apron comes up to you and says, “What’ll ya have hon?...we got pot roast and meatloaf on special today.”  You just know you’re going to get good food and plenty of it and the coffee will keep coming. And if you happen to drop a knife on the floor so what? Nobody’s going to ‘turn up their nose’ at you. Anyway…on to our favorite restaurants.

For breakfast Balta 512 gets the nod. It used to be Romana and everybody still calls it that. It’s one of the oldest restaurants in Chiclayo, having been in business at the same location (Balta Avenue) for over 40 years. It’s clean, the service is good and so is the food. The waiters don’t call me ‘hon’ but they do say “Buenos dias Señor Tomasz.”

The menu lists typical Peruvian fare but what I go there for is desayuno Americano (American breakfast). What comes on the plate is always a surprise. One morning it will be toast with jelly and scrambled eggs with ham. The next morning could be French toast with fried eggs and ham. I suppose I could specify what I want but I like being surprised.  

La Cumbre is the choice for lunch. This restaurant has been open for two years on Santa Victoria Avenue. As of this writing their hours are 11:00am to 3:00pm but there is talk of expanding. As with all of the restaurants we patronize, La Cumbre is clean and quiet with good service and food. The menu is somewhat limited, but what they do they do well. Salads are fresh and crisp, and if you like fish; either fried or grilled La Cumbre is as good as it gets in Chiclayo.

Okay, we’ve had eggs for breakfast, fish for lunch, and now it’s time for some meat, and that means Joshe Grill, located at the intersection of Pacasmayo and Avenue Grau. Here you will find the best ‘lomo fina’ (tender loin) in town. We’ve been eating at this restaurant for years and have never, ever had a bad meal or experience. Even when the restaurant is full it is never noisy, and the service and food quality doesn’t deviate.  They’ve expanded and remodeled recently and I have to admit that I miss the feeling of coziness in the ‘old place’, but they have managed to retain a feeling of intimacy in the new setting.  

If you’re visiting Chiclayo be sure to try one or all of these restaurants. Maybe we’ll see you there.

Enjoying a Visit to a Nevada Desert

Everyone living on Peru’s Pacific coast lives in a desert. Some live in coastal cities like Lima, Trujillo and Chiclayo that serve to ‘hide’ the desert, but these municipalities are really only urbanized islands surrounded on three sides by desert. Non-city coastal dwellers are confronted every minute of every day with desert realities: windblown sand, hardpan soil and sparse patches of lomas brush and huarango trees as the only vegetation. What we’re going to talk about (among other things) is exploring opportunities for enjoyment in a desert, but not a Peruvian desert. We recently visited a desert in the United States…more specifically the Carson Valley in northwestern Nevada, located in what is known as The Great Basin Desert – the largest desert in the United States, encompassing almost all of Nevada and half of Utah. The reason I mentioned Peru was that I was struck with how similar the geography is between the desert surrounding Chiclayo, and the desert surrounding Reno. In fact to a casual observer I’d bet it would be difficult to determine if he/she were in Peru or Nevada. Except that it snowed in the Nevada desert the day after our arrival. Anyway….

….it is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Acknowledging that beauty is a personal preference, I’d still bet that not too many beholders would judge the geography of the Carson Valley and most of Nevada for that matter to be beautiful. In 1861 Mark Twain, the author of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ and ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ visited Carson Valley and had this to say:

“Visibly our new home was a desert, walled in by barren mountains. There was not a tree in sight. There was no vegetation but the endless sage-brush and greasewood. All nature was gray with it.”

And somewhat surprisingly, a Nevada tourist guide book echoes Twain’s comments 125 years later:

“The mountains of Nevada are like sleeping women, sprawled languorously across every horizon. They are not pretty mountains. They have been scuffed and worn too long by desert winds, and their skirts are stained with the dried mud of long-vanished seas.” 

The bleak images created by both sources are still evident, though like the previously mentioned cities of Peru, modern Nevada cities such as Reno, Carson City, Minden and Gardnerville have sprung up to challenge the desert for supremacy.  

So, lacking beautiful scenery, how does one enjoy a visit to northwestern Nevada? History…primarily wagon train trails and mining history are huge tourist draws, and there is no better place to start than the Bucket of Blood Saloon in Virginia City. Here you can belly up to an original 1860s bar and enjoy a beer or sarsaparilla while tapping your toe to the music of the Comstock Cowboys. Purchase a 10-gallon hat, leather vest and western boots at one of the many stores in town and you’ll fit right in with the rest of the patrons. A pistol strapped to your waist is optional…about half the men in the bar including the musicians were wearing them. Virginia City is a fascinating town if you’re into the old west. Sure, it’s touristy but there’s enough of the old buildings standing (much of the town was rebuilt in 1875 following a fire) and enough characters on the street in period dress that with a little imagination you can transport yourself back to the heydays of that Comstock mining town.  

If you’re not into history there are the towns of Reno and Carson City that offer all the dining, shopping, gambling and night life you could ask for, with a few museums and other attraction to boot. Hotel rates in both towns are very affordable and nearly every casino has a first-rate restaurant with quality food at modest prices.

Another historic town…in fact the oldest permanent settlement in Nevada is Genoa located just 10 minutes west of Minden. Genoa was originally settled by Mormons in about 1850 who farmed and established a trading post to serve immigrant wagon trains on their way to California. Genoa boasts of several historic sites including houses dating to the mid 1850s and a replica of the trading post. It also features the Genoa Bar (photo), the oldest saloon in Nevada. Just 200 yards behind the saloon the mighty Sierra Nevada Mountains begin. Many immigrant parties stopped at Genoa to provision and regain their strength and rest their animals before attempting the difficult and dangerous pass over the mountains, a journey that could take from one to four months depending on where in California they were going. Deciding to put the desert behind us for awhile, it took us just four hours to drive from Genoa to San Francisco.

This was our first visit to San Francisco and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf (a delicious lunch at Scoma’s Restaurant), Pier 39, the view of the city from Twin Peaks, Alcatraz and of course the Golden Gate Bridge were mandatory stops and well worth the time.

The drive from San Francisco to Monterey on California Highway 1 is gorgeous. I don’t know how many times we stopped to take photos and enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately our schedule didn’t allow us to see as much of Monterey as we would have liked , but we agreed to return some day and continued on via the 17 Mile Drive to Pebble Beach were we did some gawking at what may be the world’s most famous golf course and picked up a few souvenirs at the gift shop.

After leaving Pebble Beach we arrived at Carmel where we walked the white sand beach and then explored the shops on both sides of Ocean Ave. I like Carmel. I like the look and feel of it. It’s a wealthy community, but it’s not obnoxious or pretentious. About an hour’s drive south on Highway 1 is the Nepenthe Restaurant. It’s a somewhat unique restaurant with a great ocean view from up high. We had lunch there before continuing to our ultimate destination, the town of San Simeon and the Hearst Castle.

The Hearst Castle is impressive. Opulence is everywhere…in the castle itself and on the grounds of the estate, including the dining room shown in this photo. Every time I put my camera away thinking I’d taken enough photos, I’d turn a corner and be blown away by another scene that demanded its picture be taken. I do have one tiny complaint though. For $25 you don’t see much of the interior. There are two more tours available, also at $25 each that cover additional rooms, but I’ll bet that all three tours don’t come close to showing the 165 rooms in that castle. On the other hand, you’re free to explore every nook and cranny of the exterior, and we spent several hours doing just that, all the while imagining the lavish parties attended by guests such as Bob Hope, Charlie Chaplin and hundreds of other celebrities.

Our time was running short so we decided to drive directly back from the castle to Minden in Nevada, which Miss Garmin (that’s what I call the female voice emanating from the dash-mounted GPS unit) said would take 6 hours. She would have been correct if we hadn’t stopped at the Harris Ranch in Coalinga California for lunch. Here we had some of the finest beef I’ve eaten in years. Just north of the Harris Ranch off Highway 5 was the largest collection of cattle that I’ve ever seen. There were literally thousands of cows. I would love to know what it takes in terms manpower, machinery and material just to feed these animals for one day. The remainder of the drive was uneventful, even though it was at night on winding roads over and through the mountains with huge snow banks on both sides and signs warning of avalanches.

And that’s how we enjoyed our visit to a Nevada desert, with a side trip to California thrown in. Oh…one more thing. We did not and could not have discovered all of these attractions by ourselves. We're grateful to our good friends and guides Jeff and Angie, who made this visit so memorable. Rumor has it that in this photo of Carmel beach they're standing not too far from the spot where Jeff proposed marriage and Angie accepted. We're glad that happened!