Basque-ing in the glow...

Our plans to go into Boise for a Basque dinner were thwarted by the BSU vs. CSU senior-day football game.  Motels and restaurants booked, we wound up in Bliss, ID for the night...and really, how bad can things be in Bliss?  Bears is an appropriately aggressive mascot, but really, shouldn't they be the Smiles?  Or the Dreams?  Or the Ignorance????
With Basque lunch on our minds, we turned south towards Nevada, stopping at the Hagerman Fossil Beds NM and 1000 Springs state park along the way.  The waterfowl migration has not begun yet, so one of our stops was at a pond so loaded with noisy ducks and geese, you couldn't speak in a normal voice.

And then, along a county road, we stopped and watched and listened to a covey of valley or California quail busily go about their day, chasing each other, whistling, and acting all quail-ly and cute.  Most satisfying perhaps for me was Sophia's appreciation for the birds, their beauty and their habits, without a blood lust desire to whack 'em.  Make no mistake, I love chasing them with Kali, and yes, they are tasty, but quail - all quail - are my favorite birds with their jaunty personalities, gaudy plumage, and family instincts.  Wish there were more and we certainly drove through places in southern ID where they were probably once abundant.  When it comes to upland hunting, I was definitely born a generation too late.  But, I'll not RAGE on about clean farming for now...

Basque cuisine was brought over from the Basque region along the Spain/France border by the shepherds who found work and a familiar environment in the region that encompasses southern ID, northwestern NV, northeastern CA and southeastern OR.  They built communities of immigrants complete with motels for lodging and meal houses for communal dinners using foods and spices reminiscent of home, especially lamb and garlic!
Suffice to say I'll drive a long way to sit at a Basque table.  Unfortunately, Basque tradition also means that Sundays are family days, so no lunches were available at any of the Basque joints in Winnemucca.  We pressed on for Reno, not one of my favorite destinations due to its size and gambling focus, but necessity required it.
Did go out to see Lake Tahoe along the way.  Averages 1,000' deep - jeez!  I'm sure it's very appealing, and crowded, during the summer, but we had the beach to ourselves...

Headed over the mountains into Reno at dusk and had a white-knuckle drive over ice and snow down the mountain.  Parked right outside Louis' Basque Corner and were seated immediately.  Sure coulda used a carafe of the house red wine, but settled on really toasty black coffee.
Soph had the NY Strip and I had the lamb chops.  We were joined at our table by a couple from Reno and one of their long-time companions, all probably retired and well-traveled.  Conversation quickly turned to Sophia's carschooling and then to upland hunting!
The hour and a half dinner just flew by.  The food and conversation were exactly what I had hoped for Sophia to experience.  All were in agreement that a Basque restaurant would be hugely successful in Austin!
We'll continue to seek out Basque establishments for the rest of the journey, as Sophia has become as big a fan as me ... and Funk ... and Burf!
Shut down in Truckee, and will visit Central Pacific RR and Donner sites before dropping into the Sacramento Valley, then beginning our turn to the south and east for a return to Helena for Thanksgiving.
So how far would I drive for a Basque meal?  Did 640 miles on Sunday!!!
Oh, and had an interesting conversation with the CA agricultural inspectors at the border about the Douglas fir on top of the truck ... but, we stil have it!