The signs were posted in a wide variety of places around the hotel property. “Do Not Feed the Wild Horses. Stay back at least 30 feet from the animals.” Hmmm. I thought maybe this was someone’s idea of a joke right here in Virginia City. I walked out to the motorcycle and quickly discovered it was no joke. The horses didn’t seem very wild but there they were right across the parking lot from our hotel.

These guys didn’t seem all that wild but I wasn’t taking any chances. I am the gut that got thrown off the electric horse ride in front of Eavey’s Supermarket once upon a time. Virginia City sure knows how to maintain the wild west image.

For some reason, the bikes were packed and ready to roll by 8:00 instead of the usual 9:00 departure time. Fine by me. I had been dreading the climb up the steep hill followed by a sharp turn onto Main Street to get out of town. It turned out that no such maneuver was required. Go out of the parking lot, take a right turn and leave town via Mill Street and Six Canyon Road. Easy-peasy.

Once out of town and past the 10 mills that are on Mill Street (we saw exactly zero of them) we made the turn once again onto US-50. The hotel was nice enough but their breakfast offering was sad (restricted for obvious reasons). We found ourselves in Fallon, NV where the gas station attendant pointed us to Jerry’s Cafe which was right down the road, even in the direction we were heading.

All of the morning routine was satisfied – gas in the bike, food in our tummy. We turned due north on NV 95 and made our way to the much traveled I-80. The rest of the day was spent heading east on the interstate with the cruise controls set and our feet up on the highway pegs.

The high desert of west-central Nevada is barren but beautiful. Along the roadside were sage plants and not much else but sand. Part of the area was open range. We talked about what could possibly be grown on this vast arid land. There was an investment opportunity posted on signs along the road – 3 Acres for $3,000. I wonder how many acres it would take to support 1 cow. We rode about 300 miles through this stark land to our final destination for the night – Elko, Nevada. A Mexican Restaurant was a short walk from our hotel / casino. Now it’s time for bed.

Sorry about not taking many pictures. I’m still counting on being able to use the video I’m accumulating from the bike’s camera system. Stay tuned.

PS: I’m feeling much better today. Thanks for asking.