but I’m probably different. I like the
desert and I love riding my motorcy-
cle on the highway, even the inter-
state. In the desert, you can see for
miles and miles. In the distance, I’d
seen a moving string that looked like
a row of army ants but was a train
crossing the state. I thought of how
frustrating it would have been for Mr.
Nixon, the Winnemucca bank owner.
He likely saw the escaping robbers
on the horizon even though he was
unable to do anything, they were so
far ahead.
Arriving in Elko, it didn’t take long
to see that it’s still a gold rush town.
The airport had private jets with Ca-
nadian flags on their tails, meaning
Barrick Gold has operations nearby.
When I pulled into the parking lot
of the Thunderbird Motel, it too was
filled with work trucks. The Thun-
derbird is another of the many motels
now owned by an Indian-American
families. Kris, the owner, was work-
ing behind the desk and checked me
in.
I asked him about business, and he
told me that it’s good, but he strug-
gles to compete with the chains. And
although he has innovated by finding
ways to reduce costs, he wasn’t able
to keep staff. They’re lured to the
mines, where the starting wage is
TRAVERSE 85