Ely

   There comes a time for everyone when, if on vacation, cabin fever sets in. Spring Break always sounds really great, and the first few days are mostly delightful and restful bliss. Soon after, you look around to see the family, furniture, even neighbors have grown vampire fangs the length of a Slim Jim jerky-wannabe. That's when it is time for a getaway.


   For us, the getaway was Ely, a pleasant Old West town just 300 miles from home and 60 miles from the Utah state line. The drive itself is quite pleasant although long. After leaving town on I-15 north in late morning, we took U.S. 93 north, but first grabbed a little needed Subway grub since we'd neglected breakfast (common for us on vacay). 93 goes through miles of desert valley surrounded by various mountain ranges. After a while we crossed into Lincoln County. One thing people should know about Nevada counties is that they are HUGE! As the state is so sparsely populated, there is no need for much regional government. 93 is in Lincoln County for 172 miles.


   After 38 of those miles, we stopped in Alamo for, you guessed it, a rental car! No, just a bathroom break. After Alamo and later on Ash Springs, there is a decision making point: the long way or short way to Ely, a difference of 45 miles. We chose the long way, meaning we stayed on 93, which veered east for over 40 miles before heading north through Caliente (bathroom and snack stop), Panaca, and Pioche. There is a warning in Pioche: LAST SERVICES FOR 113 MILES! They aren't kidding. While there is now more greenery among the mountain peaks and valleys, there is a definite shortage of people...and traffic. We were lucky to have the road to ourselves for the most part. The one bit of excitement was the crossing into White Pine County. 26 miles later, we hit a cool place. Well, it's cool for a road nerd like myself, anyone else is saying, "ARE WE THERE YET?!" This cool place is where 93 meets the duplex of U.S. 6 and U.S. 50, making a highway triplex for the last 26 miles to Ely. I love these shared roads because eventually they split for their own destinations.


   Ely is the place for that split. The first to abandon the trio is 6, which heads southwest toward Tonopah and eventually ending in Bishop, California. 50 and 93 share another mile before splitting. 93 heads north to cross I 80 in Wells and continue to Idaho, Montana, and the Canadian border. I want to explore 93 further one day north of Twin Falls, Idaho.


   We'd made reservations at the White Pine Motel. This means that we made sure we had a place to sleep in a pleasant yet aging motel. Nothing special, but not bad, either. Dinner was at the Silver State Restaurant across the street. Once again, not great but not bad, they just need to season the food more. After that it was time to retire for the evening. A nice end to the night was occasional snow flurries. Ely can get this all year!


   The next morning, we got up (no kidding), dressed, packed, and headed back to the restaurant for breakfast. They did slightly better at this. Afterward, we went to our reason for the trip: the Railroad Museum. This place is quite a marvel, a wonderful blend of railroad nerd artifacts and history nerd artifacts. The engine house is the jewel of the place, and anyone who is not impressed by the engine collection just has no soul. The smell of oily maintenance just adds to the charm...as well as lung gunk buildup.


   We had a special treat there. When we paid for our admission, we were asked if we wanted to be on the train to act as extras in a movie. With nothing else to do, we agreed and boarded the train. The seats were a bit cramped, but it was fun sitting there. After a little while of nothing, the crew started to get things going, and we figured out that the movie was a Bollywood production. The train got hooked up to the engine and we began heading west for 7 miles. The track runs pretty much along 50 into the canyons west of Ely. After a point near a bridge, the train went back to Ely. All along the way, we were listening to the same scene in Hindi being shot over and over again. Some of the actors were amused at the repetitiveness of it all. As for me, the thrill of a train ride and going through 2 tunnels made my day!


   After getting back to the station,  a lot of nothing happened so we got off. We could have reboarded as they were doing another run, but I was tired of the entertainment biz by then and wanted to see more of the museum. The extras had been promised lunch, but we weren't in the mood for Indian food. We checked everything in the museum out, bought some baubles, and left.


   Hungry, we went to the Jailhouse Café downtown. Nothing fancy. You walked up, ordered, paid, and waited for food and drink. Quite the amateur effort. After the lackluster lunch, we drove on U.S. 50 along where the train had run for 6 miles.


   Let me diverge a bit here for U.S. 50. It was once a transcontinental highway, running from Ocean Beach, Maryland to San Francisco. As the Interstate system grew, the new routes  and pavement negated the need for the old roads and their route numbers. 50 suffered a few casualties, the biggest one in California where it was cut back to end in West Sacramento. It also had a big route change in Utah after I 70 was completed. Instead of following 6 from Green River to Ely, it followed 70 to Salina, where it traversed north to Scipio, then west to meet 6 near Delta. 50 was also duplexed with other Interstate highways in other states and was, occasionally, poorly signed.


   U.S. 50 in Nevada is a treasure I want to explore one day. It is nicknamed "The Loneliest Road in America" in this state and rightly so. Interstate 80 made life a whole lot easier for traffic, particularly trucks, when it was completed in the 1980s, making 50 a deserted piece of pavement from Carson City to Ely. A tourism-boosting group devised a challenge for travelers to drive across Nevada on 50, with a book to be stamped in each town. There aren't many. After Carson City there is Fallon, Austin, Eureka, and finally Ely. I don't count the potion of 50 between Lake Tahoe and Carson City as it is heavily traveled and is a divided highway.


   As I wipe a wistful tear away, let's return to our trip. Returning to Ely, we refueled (interesting to note that gas stations in Ely use the 85 octane as their "regular" fuel as the area is of higher elevation), then headed to U.S. 6 west...I never go back the exact same way unless necessary. 6 ascends a summit, then heads into a desert valley. It continues this pattern of summits and valleys all the way to California, and could be considered the true loneliest road west of Lund Junction. At Lund Junction, we headed south on Nevada Route 318. This is the short route to Ely. It is more of a straight shot and goes through White Pine, Nye, and Lincoln Counties. It passes through pleasant Lund, then 90 miles later Hiko, along with beautiful mountain scenery and a few passes before rejoining with 93 just north of Ash Springs. After that it was backtracking home.


   I love 2 day jaunts like this! Truly the highlight of Spring Break!