Last night, I attended a Little Feat concert - a small, intimate affair in Ridgefield, CT featuring two lead guitarists - and while they were blues'ing their way through "Willing," I had an epiphany.
Being a Romancing the Road kind of girl, I'd always loved that song - a trucker's anthem - and knew the lyrics well. But as Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett wailed out
Williin' I heard the beginning of the chorus as if for the first time.
In Nevada, Route 6 runs through just two real towns; Ely and Tonopah. When I began my research, I had this strange feeling that I'd been to Tonopah or at least had heard of it enough to get excited about stopping there. And last night I understood why:
I've been from Tuscon to Tucumcari
Tehachapi, to Tonopah
driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
driven the back roads so i wouldn't get weighed
Tehachapi to Tonopah! Tonopah!
Once known as the Queen of the Silver Camps, Tonopah was also, apparently, a favorite of Dallas Alice. I'll be making the reverse ride (Tonopah to just outside of Tehapchapi, CA), in June.
Follow along.....
Though I'm home, the road still calls. I won't be answering for awhile, with hearth and home, family and East Coast generating equal appeal. But it wasn't always so. An eon ago, while in High School, I gave serious thought to becoming a truck driver, so I could satisfy my desire to explore the open road while making a living at the same time. Back then, I'd listen to the song "Willin'" by Little Feat with welled-eyes - fully understanding the sentiments behind the words - "If You Show Me A Sign, I'll Be Willin' To Keep Moving." Little did I know back then, that The Sign would be the US Route 6 Shield! 
