Here’s the story, I drive chemical tankers as a solo driver in a day cab (no sleeper) all over the western U.S. and Canada out of Portland, OR. Jerry the Dispatcher called me Tues. and asked, “ Do you feel lucky!?”. Put my hand on my wallet and inquired what was going on. A trip to Empire, NV. he said, about 495 miles, deliver at 8am, 20 hours away. Empire? Never heard of it. I’d have to take a DOT break so I wondered where I was going to find a motel. Well, Gerlach was nearby he said, maybe there. I’d heard of Gerlach, sounded like an opportunity to explore old casino sites and maybe pick up a chip or two so I took the load.

Looking at the map, I started to doubt the likelyhood of being on time to deliver 6000 gallons of Smelly Brown Goo to the U.S. Gypsum plant in Empire. Gerlach, the smallest dot available on my Rand McNally, is about 70 miles north of Fernley which is near Reno on I-80. Gerlach isn’t on I-80 but on a really thin black map line called Hwy 447. Empire is nearby but doesn’t show on some maps. Hmmph. My route hinged on the portion of 447 that approached from CA. and north of Empire. That road doesn’t appear on some maps either. Hmmph. Gravel road? No trucks allowed? Government UFO base? We’d see, wouldn’t we? Between Fuller’s Index and C/W it appeared the no gaming clubs ever did business in Empire and about six or seven were in Gerlach, ending about ’73. Maybe I’d find the Capooch Club!

After an uneventful trip through some desolate country dodging deer and jackrabbits I arrived in Gerlach about 1am. As I approached Gerlach I noticed a state issue sign pointing off into the desert with legend “Burning Man Festival”. Later research showed this to be an Labor Day weekend art festival, bring your own loincloth, artists preferred, NEA taxpayers not wanted please. Gerlach itself is dark. Pitch black as a matter of fact. There are houses there, typical by-passed NV mining ghost-town houses. Tiny wooden boxes with a tiny porch and a tiny picket fence and a 60 year-old paint job. If you’ve been to oh, say Mina or Nixon NV. then you’ve seen Gerlach. Took about six seconds to drive through town and I didn’t notice anything like a motel or Starbucks, you’d need to wait ‘til daylight for sighteeing.

Woke up in the U.S. Gypsum parking lot hard by Empire. A sign across the street says “No Discharge Of Firearms Allowed In This Village”. Dang, Feinstein country! Empire itself would fit nicely in the casino area of the Luxor. Fill up the SBG tank and set off south. I fueled in Fernley and headed over to the Truck Inn for food and a visit to their Mardi Gras Casino. Bummer, machines only these days! A VP game teases and finally keeps my money. The Silverado casino is nearby but I know big rig parking to be tight so I head off through Reno to hook up with a Portland load out of the Bay area. The truck stop at Sierra Sid’s is machine-only too and I’ve got my driving face on so no further NV stops this trip.

In the end, I can’t recommend a visit to Gerlach, unless you are an Indiana Jones type like Phil Jensen or James Campiglia. Not enough scenery to fill the space out there. If you do go there, gas is available in Empire but preplan anyway. Didn’t check convention facilities at the Burning Man site. I’d imagine there is plenty of table room out in the dirt. No tables though. Maybe small mesas. Should meet the Chuck/Chuck desire of less crowding for the first trading session. Drop-in traffic would be less than even what The Orleans would offer. I’m gonna be over at the Trop.