Unreachable on the Loneliest Road
Untouchable? Un-get-in-touchable is probably more accurate, but it makes for a lousy title.
Yesterday, I made the cross-state trek from Ely in the east to Carson City in the west, driving along US Route 50, otherwise known as “The Loneliest Road in America.” It fit the moniker for the most part. As I drove, I calculated the distance between cars approaching, and it sometimes hit twelve to fourteen miles between cars. That’s pretty significant given the number of cars driving in general.
As part of the lonely part, the cellular service is pretty spotty and sparse too. There were stretches as I left Ely where there was no signal at all. Other times, there was a modest three bars of 3G.
Why is this important? I had a telephone visit with the cardiologist scheduled for 0830, and I was going to be on the road. I needed to ensure I was in a place somewhere I could take the call. I watched the fluctuating signal as I went, and decided I would be safest if I pulled over a good chunk of time before the scheduled visit where I had decent signal.
To that end, I found a spot that when I eventually stopped in a nice pull out had three bars of 3G. That should be plenty to accommodate the phone call. All I needed to do now was wait for about fifteen minutes, during which I could do some reading. Perfect.
I’m somewhat into the book (fourth in the Lady Astronaut series for those who care), when I notice it’s spot on 0830. Perfect timing. I check my phone. No signal. At all. WTF?! I hadn’t moved, the phone hadn’t moved. Apparently the phone signal gods found it fun to play me for a chump.
I get rolling. Hopefully, there is another place close where I can salvage this.
I drive for another ten minutes, cresting a pass. Suddenly I have five freaking bars of 5G. And I get a series of messages about how they tried to call me several times and were unable to connect.
I calmly and rationally used up my monthly allotment of F-bombs.
Then I called the office, and tried to make alternative plans. Then, after that was generally unsuccessful, I sent a message to the specific person via MyChart apologizing for the situation, asking how best to reschedule. Then, after once again hitting the road, I used up next month’s allotment of F-Bombs.
Fun and games on Highway 50.
The drive itself was easy peasy. Set the cruise to 74 and go. I think I overtook three cars all day, and had about the same number overtake me. There was very little oncoming traffic as well. Just views in all directions, the hum of the road, and downloaded music. Quite pleasant. It’d have been nice to have an actual rest area here or there, but even without, pulling over to pee is easy and, for the most part, private.
The sand dunes were cool. I’d stopped and visited a few years ago, but skipped it this time.
When I arrived in Carson City, it was lunchtime, so I hit Costco. Mostly for cheap gas, but at nearly a dollar a gallon more than in Flaggo, not that cheap. I snarfed a slice of pizza (I forewent a dog. Shocking I know!), and decided to sit outside the entrance for a bit and see how long it’d take to see someone I knew. I thought to give it twenty minutes or so, before moving on to a park and chill under a tree with a book. It was probably only about ten minutes when I saw Kevin. We chatted for a bit, and I invited him to join George and me for a beer later in the day. He did, and we had a nice beer. Or two.
As for the reschedule, I’m supposed to get a call sometime today. I have no plans to be out of cell range, and my phone will be never more than a foot away. My plans for the next few weeks hinge on the call, so it’s kind of important. At least to me.
Be kind and take care of yourselves. If you can, care for someone else, too.
Slang, out.