Subes for life!

[Ha! Clickbait title. Did it work?]

Yes, I was in Zurich for several days, but probably not the one you’re thinking of.

This time, it was Zurich, CA.

It’s not a place.

It was a place, back in the day* … a busy train station and part of the westward expansion. Now, it’s a couple of gravel roads and broken down fencing and rusted contraptions decomposing in the desert. And yes, a few tumbleweeds meandering past, ’cause it gets windy as hayall out here.

Oh, and just a mile or so north, a Jo-Wah research station**.

Unlike at MM79, this place has real fences and gates and cameras and threatening signage. Dead end road, unless you have a pass. No wandering in just to look around at this installation….

And, that’s not really why I’m in Zurich, after all, is it? Here’s the view from my camp site:

Those views. And, the quiet. I heard a cow mooing in the distance, and it was loud enough to catch my attention. Once in a while a car drives by, but the mountains to the east have a “CHAINS REQUIRED” sign and there are probably better ways to get to Death Valley anyway.

The nearest town is about three miles away, and it has an OK city park, a good coffee house***, and an amazingly good Chevron station. “What’s that?” you say. Yes, you heard/read that correctly. It looks like a humble gas station from the outside, but inside it goes full TARDIS and expands into a Harold’s combined with a Merwin’s with part of a Samuels restaurant tacked on. Then add some clothing and sporting goods just to round out the interior. I wandered around for what seemed like hours, and still didn’t cover all the aisles.

I commented to the clerk that they sell everything here. And yes, he said Everything but the kitchen sink, because that’s how small-town people talk, but then he pondered aloud that they probably had too much stuff.

But, in a town without a grocery store or a hardware store or pretty much any other stores, this is cornerstone. Sure, you could easily drive 15 miles up to Bishop, but that’s not always the fastest or bestest option.

Anyway, back to Zurich for me.

I have some mountains to keep an eye on.

See you on the road!

*I do believe there’s even a Wikipedia page on it. Not 100% sure about that, though, and I’m far too lazy to go check. Do your own research.

**It’s called Owens Valley Radio Observatory, and they say they’re doing work with radio telemetry. But, IYKYK: the truth is out there. Here’s a link to their propaganda page: https://www.ovro.caltech.edu/ … in case you want to see what they tell the public.

***For reals. Kinda reminds me of Monarch Mountain, for those readers familiar with that Sandpoint establishment.