Ely Nevada

Friday April 27, 2018

My master gave me a bath this morning. As much as I don't like a bath I have to admit I sure needed one. The water was black with dirt. I guess my hair is picking up all kinds of dust off the street. That must be why my master carried me over to the grassy area after I got clean. Good thing we weren't in a hurry. I just can't do a thing with my hair after a bath.

We left the hotel about 9:30, gassed up and my masters had breakfast at the Rancher Cafe. They won't be needing lunch after the biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon and pancakes. Finally we are heading west again on Route 6, destination Ely, Nevada. At first the terrain is flat and the road is straight. That only lasts about 30 minutes then we start to see some rolling hills. As always there are mountains on the horizon. We pass by Sevier Lake, so Google says. It doesn't look like there is any water. According to Wikipedia it is has been dry throughout most of recorded history. It is the remnant of a prehistoric lake called Lake Bonneville. That is the same lake responsible for the sand that created the Little Sahara Sand Dunes we saw yesterday. Great Salt Lake is another remnant of Lake Bonneville.

We see another teardrop camper. This one is larger, an R Pod. That makes 3. We start to see more hills and they are getting closer to the road. Next the road starts going up then down. Then the road starts to curve and before you know it my master has some serious driving over the summit and through the pass. I don't see the railroad and instead of the Colorado River there is only a dried up creek bed. There are snow caps on the horizon. It is the Great Basin National Park.

We cross from Colorado to Nevada which means we also change time zones. I see a Grand Army of the Republic sign but my master is too slow to get a picture of it. It is quite desolate; little vegetation, no animals, no cars, very few buildings, just our Corvette, the road and the mountains looming ahead. Sacramento pass gives us another thrill ride as we go up, down and all around on the Route 6 roller coaster. I thought this was a cool image looking back at the road in the side mirror.

We see another wind farm just before Majors Station. We stop but it is closed. My master took some cool pictures. We enter Humboldt National Forest. Connors Pass is the last one before arriving in Ely. I tried to capture the progression of the terrain in this series of photos.

Ely is a gambling town. I guess all towns in Nevada are to some extent. We are staying at the Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall. It first opened in 1929 offering drinking and gambling - both illegal at the time. Several celebrities have stayed there. There are stars on the sidewalk out front with their names.

We arrived around 12:30. They had a room ready so we checked in. They allow smoking in the ground floor casino so there was a strong order when we entered the hotel. We don't notice it in the room. Room is small and there are no chairs. It will do for 1 night. My master carried me through the hotel and around outside until she found some grass. When I was done, she carried me back to the room. It is embarrassing but better than getting a bath after every walk.

We arrived too early to ride the historic steam train. They only run on weekends. Bad timing on our part as we have to leave tomorrow too soon to take the ride. Maybe some day we can come back. So instead, my masters left me to work on this blog while they walked down the street a few blocks for beverages and a snack. They said it was the only restaurant that doesn't allow smoking so they will likely go back for dinner. What a difference a state line makes. You could barely find a place to drink in Utah let alone smoke, cigarettes that is, indoors and certainly no gambling or other vices. Nevada is a free for all by comparison.

After my masters get back to the room, we hang out together for awhile. Then just as I predicted, they left for the restaurant for dinner. The name of the place is Racks because of all the taxidermy deer heads on the walls. Karen had a really great burger and Bob had a delicious Philly cheesesteak. Some light TV watching and it is time for bed. We even have party lights outside our window from the hotel sign.