If one thing is for sure, the fat lady has not sung yet. According to plan we should be zooming across highway 80 into California about now. Instead, we are spending the day here in Battle Mountain, Nevada. According to a billboard we passed this morning, Battle Mountain was just named "Armpit of America" by the Washington Post. We have the privilege of spending the day here because my car needs a new front axel. The part won't come in until tomorrow morning (on a truck from Sacramento) and then we'll be on the road again.
Battle Mountain is not actually an armpit-town in our opinion. With all the crazy weather of this winter, Nevada has been dumped on with snow and the surrounding mountains are beautifully white. We ate a decent Mexican lunch, and now we're hanging out at the public library checking the internet to kill some time. While it may not be an armpit, there isn't a WHOLE lot to do in Battle Mtn. So far we've found two streets with signs of life in the entire town. Sitting in the motel jacuzzi and watching a movie on HBO will probably be this afternoon's highlights. If we were gamblers, we could play some slots.
One thing we learned today of interest: Battle Mountain and the surrounding goldmines produce more gold per capita than anywhere else in the world. Also, the Battle Mtn area produces more gold than anywhere else in North America, and there were once large turquoise mines here.
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