View of the West Walker River as it flows through the spectacular rock walls of Wilson Canyon.
I admire the poplars that are bursting forth with the coming of spring and thrill to the sight of running water. West Walker River is clear and cold and home to trout. It’s a treat to see so much water in this somewhat parched high desert. Who knows, we just might see a blue heron standing stone still until it spies dinner floating by.
Each curve brings a new view into focus and my imagination conjures up what would happen if the wedges of rock that reaches from water’s edge up hundreds of feet should be awakened by a tremor and come sliding down. Holy moly, we’d have a puddle, a pond and a lake and Smith Valley would be a sea and Mason Valley would be bone dry. An earthquake could rattle the earth just enough to tumble down tons of rock and gravity would just be doing its job.
My eyes drift skyward. On top of ledges that wall us in, I single out forlorn boulders fashioned by the wind waiting for just the right nudge to come rollicking down. For now, nature has called a truce and I won’t see it in my life time, I tell myself, and we glissade out of Wilson Canyon. I did the smart thing, I didn’t hurry. I cleared my mind and enjoyed Mother Nature’s embrace and we enter Mason Valley. Time for another sensuous delight; dinner.
Sherry’s Stage Stop Café is my easy answer to deciding to what to do about dinner. On this trip, Kay Flaxa is joining us. What is more satisfying than good company and good food? “Regulars” are a certainty at Sherry’s. Her menu has wallet appeal, the portions are more than generous, and she knows almost all of us by name. We have been coming to Sherry’s when Coy, her extra special husband was the chef. They were performers in the popular concert world and Orllyene and I tasted showbusiness as well, so a comradery developed. There’s another reason, Sherry has my admiration. She and Coy were victims of Covid and Coy succumbed. This left Sherry with a “what to do?” situation.
Sherry is highly devout and has a ton of faith and she cut her operating schedule down to three days per week and now is back up to five days and has a staff of young people who are loving and devoted, and she’s the chef.
The world is sometimes hectic, sometimes crazy but for change of pace, why not drift out to Wilson Canyon and set your sights on Sherry’s for an outstanding meal?
Ron Walker can be reached at walkover@gmx.com
