“Relationships don't always make sense. Especially from the outside”
― Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride
In my last blog I told of my mother's arrangements for a friend of hers' daughter to go with me to Reno. Marian was a good friend of mine so it was a good plan. I loaded up my Ford Fairlaine with all the belongings I would need to live out there; my clothes, my black and white tv, and Dagmar, my German Shepherd. Marian was going on to California to visit some college friends of hers then fly back to Illinois by herself.
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| Map of the United States |
Off we took...1,637 miles by today's standards...27 plus hours! We decided to save money by driving straight through, stopping only for potty breaks and gas...and a bite to eat. We would take turns driving and sleeping. We crossed the highest part of the Rocky Mountains at night time so we had no idea of how high up we were! One time I was driving towards dawn and, as we came around a curve, there was a herd of cattle on the road being herded by real cowboys. Boy, did that set Dagmar off! And we two sweet young things were having a blast being surrounded by cattle and cowboys!
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| Highway coming down from the Rockies |
As we came into Nevada, we had to cross the Great Basin Desert. There were gas signs all along the way for miles telling just how far to the next gas station, to be sure and fill up and check the radiator to see that there was plenty of water in it. We started into the desert then decided we had better go back and fill up, etc. We had passed a car with a guy standing along the side; he was still there on our return trip. After we had been by him for the second time, we got to wondering if he had run out to gas. There was very little traffic and we thought maybe we had better go back and check on him! After all, we had Dagmar with us! As we pulled up, I rolled down my window, just a crack, to ask him if he needed anything. He laughed and said "Just which way are you girls going?" as this would have been our fourth time past him! He then explained that he was out of gas but his sons had hiked back to get gas and would be back any minute....and he offered to buy us breakfast if we wanted to go back to the nearest town when the boys got back. We declined and went on our way.
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| The Great Basin Desert with towns few and far between...at least in 1963! |
We finally made it to Reno, but before we let Dick know we were there, we stopped at a gas station and cleaned up....washed our hair in the sink, did a little sponge bath, and put on some clean clothes! We then called and met him at Shakey's. Marian and I got a motel room for a couple of days, then she went on to California.
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In the days after Marian left, I needed to find cheaper accommodations and get a job. Dick had a nine to five job at Stead AFB and a part time job at Shakey's Pizza so I was pretty much on my own to do these things. I located a rooming house not far from downtown (the source for a few blogs!) and with my lovable huge Dagmar, I was ready to move in. Dick was with me that day to help; when we got there, my room was upstairs. The house was an old two story with a stairway that went up halfway then a short landing and a complete turn for the second set up. It was kind of dark up there and Dagmar would not go up!!!! I knew once she did it a couple of times, she would be ok so I had Dick carry her up there...remember she is a BIG German Shepherd! And, as I knew, once she saw it was safe, she was OK.
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| A rooming house...not the one I lived in but very similar |
Now you have to realize....this is pre-cell phone days. To make long distance phone calls was a big deal. You didn't have unlimited minutes etc. There was a pay phone in the rooming house for all to use. Times were really a lot simpler and less stressful. Maybe it was the ignorance of youth, but, although I didn't have a job, I wasn't worried...I knew something would show up. I was surrounded by strangers but that was ok, too.... a good opportunity to meet different people!
