Residents of Baker, Nev. (pop. 68), like to outdo one another in “Post Impression Art,” a whimsical hobby started by the Permanent Wave Society in 1997. All around the area, locals and visitors create art installations on fence posts, pretty much just for the hell of it.
My favorite was a simple pink flamingo nailed to the top of a fence post. Why? Because it’s a pink flamingo, dammit, in the middle of nowhere in the Great Basin’s sagebrush desert. The only thing better would have been a garden gnome. The flamingo wasn’t photogenic, though, so I only have memories.
This Sunday, Feb. 28, was something of a catch-up day for me. I hung around the Whispering Elms Motel and Campground, finished a few blog posts, and wrote my semi-monthly letter to my list subscribers. (Sign up at top right!) Basically, other than lunch out at T&D’s grocery store/lounge/restaurant, I was chained to my laptop. No, actually, I was even chained to the laptop while eating lunch.
Still, Baker is a lovely town to take a rest in, especially out of tourist season. I asked the grocer lady when folks start rolling into town to visit Great Basin National Park. Oh, forgot to mention: Baker, Nev., is the gateway to Great Basin National Park! Anyway, she said people start showing up in April, but things really kick off Memorial Day Weekend.
That makes sense. The mountains are still snowed in, and even down in Baker, it’s below freezing at night. In fact, much of Great Basin National Park is inaccessible, except by snowshoes, as I discovered Monday ...
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