East Walker beauty

One thing I have learned in my time on this, the Third Stone From the Sun, and learned indelibly, is that women really, really, really hate being lied to. For many, being lied to is nothing less than an Instant deal-breaker. Do I speak from experience? You’re damn right I do. (It just didn’t seem like that big of a deal!)

So if we agree on this assertion, then how the hell did it come to pass that 47 percent of U.S. women voted in 2016 for the most blatant, brazen, lying bullshit artist in the history of history? This is Twilight Zone shit, man, straight from Serling City. My guess is that number will be significantly lower in 2020 (assuming that Don Don escapes the primary challenge of Bill Weld, who just may be a bit of a factor in the next eight months, mark my words).

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Way back in the ’80s or ’90s, the magnificent PBS series Nature ran a terrific episode on a very special place in Nevada. Great Basin National Park? Nope. The awesome Ruby Mountains? Nope. The very predictable Lake Tahoe? Nope. It was a look at the East Walker River and the beautiful stretch of that stream that runs from Bridgeport Reservoir in California to its confluence with the West Walker in Mason Valley, near Yerington. The show was called The Flowing Oasis, and it was an excellent and memorable tribute.

Did you know there is now a new state park on the East Walker? Established last year, the Walker River State Recreation Area is open and ready for action, and it’s pretty doggone nice. A park that’s def built for the future, it boasts some features that are quite attractive, especially to those of us who have switched over to RV/trailer mode. The two campgrounds are wide open and very spare, 35 spaces total, not terribly pretty, but very functional. Boasting a central main bathroom with nice showers (a first for Nevada?) and lots of pull-through campsites with plug-in electricity, it’s very appealing for large, fatass 35-foot RVs. Each site has its own permanent picnic table, shaded by a pyramid-shaped structure, which is dandy.

The visitor center is nothing less than gorgeous, and the rushing river itself is pretty and precious, featuring a perfect walking trail right alongside. Since the park is brand new and almost totally unknown, it’s gonna be all yours this summer no matter when you show up. The road going in is just fine, about four miles of easy gravel. All in all, a very positive first impression.