Day #3 - June 16, 2010

Ely, NV to Salt Lake City, UT
269 Miles

Ely, Nevada is a hoot. It is a modern day wild west town. The main street has mainly casinos and bars and a few restaurants. I've never seen this many Harleys and pick-up trucks in one place before. The people are very friendly and down to earth.

Last night I stayed at the historic Nevada Hotel and Gambling Hall in the middle of town. It was built in 1926 and at the time was the tallest building (6 floors) in Nevada. The main lobby has the reservation desk and a lively casino. The ladies working at the desk will both process your room reservation and pay out your gambling winnings. The rooms are small and clean and look much as they must have looked in 1926. Several diverse celebreties, including Wayne Newton, Vicki Carr, Stephen King, Evil Knieval, Senator Harry Reid, and a host of others have stayed at the hotel over the years. Jimmy Stewart stayed in the room next to mine and there is a plaque on the door to commemorate the event.

There is entertainment at night in Ely. Country music karaoke seems to be quite popular all over Nevada. And some of those cowboys can really sing.

As you can see, people have some very strong political views here in Eastern Nevada.

I left Ely about 10:00 a.m. this morning and traveled north along what is now Highway 93 and again, as yesterday, I saw very few cars for about 100 miles.

About 40 miles north of Ely on Highway 93 is a memorial to the Pony Express - their route passed through this area from Missouri to California.

Highway 93 connects with Highway 80 and crosses into Utah. Shortly upon entering Utah, the landscape becomes totally white and looks like snow from a distance. This is the Bonneville Salt Flats and is the site of the International Speedway where several land speed records have been set. A road was built about 3 miles into the salt flats where you can drive and observe the area up close. The salt flats are still somewhat wet from the winter rain and snow, but I assume by August they will be completely dry for the speedway.

I arrived in Salt Lake City about 4:30 p.m and checked into my hotel. I was surprised to find that my hotel is about 6 blocks from the ballpark. So tonight I walked to Spring Mobile Ballpark and watched a AAA ballgame. The Salt Lake Bees (Angels) played the Las Vegas 51's (Blue Jays). The home team lost 6-4.

I'm going to spend another full day in Salt Lake City exploring the downtown area tomorrow. Now to bed.