7-1-2020 Ely, NV Part I

 It was a really pretty 350 mile drive from home to Ely.  After we finally escaped the concrete and craziness of Las Vegas, the land opened up.  The variety across the Nevada landscape involves tall pines, junipers and piñon pines, miles of sage, yucca and flowering Joshua trees that fight their way up through huge mounds of massive red and golden rocks.  Then we passed an enormous lake, expanses of farm land covered with blankets of green crops and grazing land for range cattle and wild horses. Expanses of brown desert weeds dotted with brush and scrub trees blow in the wind across the land all surrounded by beautiful purple mountains that define the horizon and separate the land from the dark blue sky.  Sometimes, big white fluffy clouds blocked Mr. Sun’s blazing rays, other times the elevation and the breeze cooled things down.  Nevada is so beautiful.

Tractors pulling

Four trucks pushing, two pulling

Oh no.  We were informed by our friends, George and Kathy, that a strange event was to take place along our route today and we should be prepared for a possible delay of hours.  A company named Energy Solutions decided that on this day and on the DeLaMares’ route, they would move one of their decommissioned nuclear reactors from San Onofre, CA (down by San Diego) to Utah via Highway 93.  The beast is the largest and heaviest chunk of machinery that has ever been moved on Nevada’s roads, 16.5 feet in diameter and weighing in at 1.5 million pounds.  Its flatbed, a 122-foot-long trailer sitting upon 192 tires, is being pushed and pulled by 6 heavy-duty class 8 trucks.  The entire convoy, including pilot cars and other escort vehicles, is about 2 miles long and travels at a breath-taking 5 mph.  If you become stuck behind it, be prepared to remain stuck behind it.  As luck would have it, we came upon this monstrosity en route.  It was pulled over off the road for reasons that are unknown to us.  Maybe it was lunch time although we did see a few fellows under the hood of one of the trucks.  Mostly, it was just too cool to be believed and we had to stop and stare and snap a few pictures.  Later, we continued to move along, fortunately ahead of the beast.

Count the tires on this beast!

Inside the sheepherder's trailer

As we meander along, it occurred to us that we could keep our minds open to shopping for a new RV.  At the KOA in Ely, one caught our eye.  It is fully-equipped and functional for every need except for maybe air conditioning.  It would require a bit of down-sizing, to be sure, but we remain open to new ideas.  This little rascal was built in the early 1900s and belonged to a sheepherder.  The Basque folks who populated this region were predominantly devoted to raising sheep for the wool and mutton.  They lived in the fields for long periods of time tending the flocks.  Little living quarters like these were not so uncommon, we are beginning to learn.  They were surprisingly well-designed and bigger inside than they look from the outside, Rob observed.  The only word I could associate with them is, “lonely.”

We stopped in to the Hotel Nevada for a beer this afternoon.  It was built in 1929 and considered a premier establishment in those days.  It has been host to folks such as Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, Charlie Pride, LBJ, Ingrid Bergman, Wayne Newton, Mickey Rooney and Benny Binion.  It is a beautiful old hotel with much of the original flavor remaining.  In order to sit at the bar, however, we were instructed to have a mask attached to some part of our bodies.  And so we joined in with others to enjoy a cold brew. – more on Ely, NV