Day 14 Summer Vacation 2009

We had to set the alarm for 6am this morning so that we would be sure to be awake and ready to leave Wendover UT by 7am. The reason for this early departure is so that we can drive 2 hours to Ely Nevada and be on time to catch the Steam Locomotive train ride that leaves Ely NV at 9:30am. We were on the road by 7am, but what we forgot about was the time zone change that occurs when you cross from Utah into Nevada, so we gained an hour one minute after leaving the hotel and we will be arriving in Ely NV at 8am instead of 9am as we planned. That is ok, we will get there at 8am and we will have a good look around the rail yard.

Here is our route for today.

During the first half of our drive, we only encountered 5 other vehicles. It was a lovely drive with lots of great scenery.

At the half way point of the drive is the 4 corners of Lages Junction NV. There is a little gas station and a Lincoln Highway Sign.. we are still on the Lincoln.

There was more great scenery between Lages Junction NV and McGill NV.

Arriving in Ely Nevada an hour and a half early allowed us to explore around the rail yard. This is the Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yard. This yard is a National Historic Site. This is an operating Historical Railroad.

As the brochure says, It’s gritty. It’s dirty. It smells of coal smoke, creosote and sweat. Here you can climb aboard a steam powered passenger train and experience travel from the last century. It is America’s best preserved short line and complete rail facility.

For more information about this railway yard and the trains, you should check out their website. For a fee, you can even learn how to operate the steam locomotive or the diesel engine and take them out on the tracks for a ride.

Here are some photos that I took at the rail yard and aboard the Steam Locomotive Engine # 93. For this blog I will post a few photos. I can’t post any videos to the blog so if you want to see the videos and all of the train photos from today, you will need to visit my FLICKR site.

After the train ride we got to tour through the Engine House, where they repair or rebuild the diesel and steam locomotives.

After our train ride we went in search of some of Ely Nevada’s Murals and Historical Buildings that were around when the Lincoln Highway ran through town. Well, the murals are new, but the buildings are old. The first mural is United by our Children. The Second is Basque. The Third is Pony Express.

Here is The Hotel Nevada and The El Rancho Motel

We are staying at The Ramada Copper Queen Casino. This place is quite expensive but we have enough Wyndham Rewards Hotel Points to allow us a free night here.

Here are some photos of our room and the inside of the hotel / casino.

Tomorrow we will be driving about 300 miles to Reno NV on what is billed as “The Loneliest Road in America” We like lonely roads so we are looking forward to this drive.

If you wish to see all of our photos from today, please check out my FLICKR site.