7-4-2020 Elko, NV Part I

Evidence provided by Fred, who saved
this picture.  Lindy driving # 93.

Highway 229 through Ruby Valley to Elko

Full disclosure:  Rob, Fritz, Pal and I drove locomotive # 93, NOT # 40.  All that time, I was making love to the wrong locomotive.  It was ~15 years ago, do I get a pass?  They are both very cool, in any case.

It was a gorgeous drive to Elko.  We were on the big road for a while but then we diverted onto a smaller one that goes through the mountains.  It was hard to keep my eyes on the road with the landscape around us.  The Great Basin is like a big bowl that makes up parts of several of the western states.  The edges are mountains that are streaked with snow almost year round.  The snow that melts gathers near the base of the mountains creating fertile grasslands.  More toward the center of the basin, there are dry, dusty plains and desert plants and animals.  The road was squiggly up at elevation but Noobee handled it like a champ.

Heading for Lamoille

Grasslands of the Great Basin

Little Church of the Crossroads

When we arrived in Elko we took our first side trip out to a tiny village called Lamoille (pronounced, “lum-WILL”), nestled at the base of the Ruby Mountains.  In the early 1900s, it was a thriving ranching community but now, it has dwindled down to a post office, a couple of bars, a church and a gift shop.  Still, it was a pretty drive and we did stop to have a beer at O’Carroll’s, a bar on the site of the original Lamoille Hotel built in 1907.  The “Little Church of the Crossroads” is sparkling white.  I really wanted to stand within and see the sun coming through the beautiful rose windows but the church was not open.  The brochures say it is the most-photographed church in the United States.  (I don’t know how they know this.)

Sheepherders camper spotted in Lamoille

O'Carroll's Bar and Grill, the site of
the Lamoille Hotel built in 1907

Hopefully, you can read
this.  It's really funny.

In the evening, we chose to have dinner at Machi’s Saloon and Grill. It was owned and operated for years by Rex and Dorothy Steninger.  Dorothy is of Basque descent and several of the meals she served were Basque family recipes.  The Basque word for “Grandma” is “amachia.”  One of Dorothy’s little grandchildren could not say that long word and “machi” became Dorothy’s aka.  That is the origin of the name of the restaurant.  Twenty-two years ago, when the Steningers retired, John Lemich became the new proprietor.  The restaurant has maintained its charm and several of its Basque specialties, including the picon cocktail, which is apparently the way to preface any meal.  The principal ingredient is “amer picon,” a rather bitter aperitif made with orange peels, gentian root and cinchona.  (The only one of those I understand is orange peels.)  The instructions for making a picon cocktail were provided by the friendly bartender, Chelsea.

Rob and his first Amer Picon cocktail.  Cheers!

One of the dishes that John created is called “Basque Pasta.”  He likes to keep it simple, he says, and here is how it is made.  Sauté Basque chorizo with mushrooms, sliced black olives and chopped onion.  When tender, John adds his tomato-y spaghetti sauce and continues to allow the mixture to simmer.  Then he adds cooked spaghetti and stirs it all together and serves it in a hot bowl.  Each dish is made to order, John says, so one doesn’t always taste exactly the same as any other.  Rob ordered Machi’s specialty of the day, paella.  Moi steamed clams and mussels.  Spicy and delicious!

Today, we wish the USA a happy 244^th birthday!  We are always on a mission to find a parade and festivities to attend somewhere in the country on this day.  Many of the events have been cancelled but we found a parade that was still on in Spring Creek, NV, a community adjacent to Elko.  So we were there, parked conveniently near Muley’s Bar and Grill, which was serving up bloody marys by the bucketful.  The parade was about an hour long and limited but there were horses, ponies and wagons, banners, flags and music and much patriotism in the air.  It was a really fun way to spend our 4^th of July.   – more to come on Elko