President's Report
November 2024
A Pleasant State of Mind By PK
One thing I noticed on our last run to Tonopah is that Nevada has a lot of straight roads to offer. As we
fueled up in Tonopah and departed for our long journey home, I was amazed how few turns there were
in the first 100 miles. Still more remarkable was the lack of traffic in front of us. I don’t think we
encountered a single car until Walker Lake! And during those miles, my mind wandered back over the
previous days adventure with John Mears and the club. As we stood in the bottom of the mine, listening
to John relay the history and the future of the project, I couldn’t get over how incredible of an
experience we were having. John pointed out that “most people will never see this in their lifetime!” Let
that sink in. We were gazing upon rock formations that were created millions of years ago. Not to be
upstaged by the grandeur, we also were visited by one of the many bighorn sheep that reside in the
area, a first for Redona and I. It was an adventure that I had been looking forward to for about 4 years,
back when I first met the Sierra Treasure Hunters.
Alas, the desert beauty faded too quickly as I had to fly out to a trade show in Honolulu. Everyone always
says, “Oh how lucky, you get to work in Hawaii!” The sad truth is that it’s still work and my backdrop for
the week was cinderblock walls inside a convention center. But every evening, I returned to the hotel to
collect Redona and together we would go seek out a little Hawaiian exposure with the remaining light of
the day. It was a mental switch that had to be thrown each day to get me out of “work mode” and allow
the Aloha spirit a chance to take over. It got easier as the week progressed. By the third evening, I was
able to better understand what makes the island lifestyle so special.
In its basic form, the Aloha spirit urges one to seek harmony, be pleasant, be humble, be patient. At first,
it struck me as nice words, something you’d find on a greeting card or a motivational poster on the wall
in an HR office. Yet by that third evening, I began to see it around me. Not just from the hotel staff or the
Uber driver, but from the people on the street, waiting at the traffic light to cross the street, holding
their plastic bag with their dinner they’d bought at the food truck. Their commute was a simple walk out
to the beach to enjoy the evening meal while watching the Sun fade slowly into the ocean.
For anyone who must work in different time zones, you know the drawbacks of forcing your internal
clock to function properly. It’s a challenge, it’s stressful, it can put you in a really bad mood. The Aloha
spirit reminded me to slow down, take a deep breath, and smile. Yes, the phone is going to ring, and it’s
going to bring challenges to overcome. But it’s not so different from what we put ourselves through
every time we go out on the trails. True, it’s frustrating when somebody breaks down on the trail ahead
of you, forcing you to wait. It becomes even more aggravating if they were doing something stupid that
resulted in the breakdown. But we’ve all been there, and we’ve all had to ask for help. The spirit of Sierra
Treasure Hunters has always leaned toward volunteerism, and it shows up on every run we do. We help
each other out. It feels like our version of Aloha spirit and I’m hoping to pull a little more of that into our
daily lives.
A reminder that our Turkey Shoot is coming up, a key fundraiser for the Christmas toy drives. No turkeys
will be harmed! We also will have the annual Chili Cook-off competition, which guarantees no one will go
home hungry. See you on the next one, Aloha!
Phil Klinkenborg
President, Sierra Treasure Hunters 4 Wheel Drive Club