Hello Everyone! It’s been a cold week out here on the road with nighttime temperatures dipping into the single digits. While I’m always prepared for the cold and have plenty of warm clothes and blankets, it’s no fun getting out of bed in the morning. Thankfully it’s also been a week of catching up with old friends and tagging along with them on their adventures so my spirits have been high all week. I started my week in Winnemucca, made my way across the top of the state on Interstate 80 and am finishing my week here in Reno, “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
After signing off last week, I got the chance to explore a little more of Winnemucca. There were some cool old buildings around town and I’m always a fan of the old-school casinos that dot the state of Nevada. I went to see Winnemucca’s biggest claim to fame – the old First National Bank building which may (or may not) have been robbed by Butch Cassidy. It’s now an insurance agency, but they do have a small sign out front letting you know what it once was. I also saw a painting of Phil Tobin, the Humboldt County rancher who introduced legislation back in 1931 to legalize casino-style gambling in the state, which had been outlawed 21 years earlier. Tobin had no interest in gambling himself, but saw it as a means to fund public education in Nevada. I have been telling my tour passengers his story for years as we cruise the Las Vegas strip, but had no idea what he looked like so it was cool to see his portrait at the museum. In the afternoon, I dropped in for lunch at the historic Martin Hotel which was built to serve the railroad passengers coming to town way back in 1898. This is one of Nevada’s more well-known Basque restaurants and it didn’t disappoint. The atmosphere was homely and welcoming, the service was good and the food was hearty and plentiful. It’s not often that I leave food on my plate, but I did just that at the Martin, leaving quite satisfied.
By the time I left Winnemucca, it was later in the day than I had intended, but I did have enough time to pay a quick visit to Thunder Mountain. Thunder Mountain is a huge art instillation near the small town of Imlay, Nevada and was the vision of World War II veteran Frank Van Zant. After returning from the war, Van Zant got a job with the Forest Service and apparently was thrilled that he got to keep any discarded items he found on his rounds. He collected all of those items and over the course of many years, built a home and assorted outbuildings meant to memorialize the American Indians who had once inhabited the area. I’ve seen places like this around the country and they’re always interesting to check out and this was no exception. After leaving Thunder Mountain, I headed on to tiny Lovelock, Nevada for the night. I went for a quick drink at the Longhorn Saloon and, seeing as I was the only one there, had a really interesting conversation with the bartender who was a Lovelock local. She told me she really liked the town and the area, found it safe and friendly and loved the huge, open spaces of Nevada. At some point a local EMT came in after work and we all had a nice chat while watching the Ole Miss – Miami game on TV. It was a pleasant evening in Lovelock.
It was just 13°F (-9°C) when I woke up the next morning, so I decided to pop down to the little café in town for a coffee and to read my book for a bit before starting my day. When the sun had had a chance to warm things up for a while, I took a nice wander around town to see what I could find. While the town was named for early settler George Lovelock, the town has certainly latched onto its name and there are plenty of places to buy and affix padlocks around town. Apparently the idea is to write your name and your sweetheart’s name on the lock, lock it up and then throw away the key. I guess it must feel quite romantic at the time. Of more interest to me was the town’s round courthouse, which was inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s library at UVA (which was also one of the models for the Jefferson Memorial in DC). It is the only round courthouse in daily use in the country and apparently the courtroom inside is also round with extra-large pegs behind the judge’s bench for them to hang their cowboy hats on. There was also a beautiful old 1880 train station, the only remaining residential No. 2 style, two-story station house built along the Southern Pacific Railroad. I also enjoyed an old WPA painting in the post office. For a small and compact town, I really found a lot to see in Lovelock.
I was originally going to go out to Lovelock Cave which is a really important archaeological site for the state as it was where some of the earliest evidence of human habitation was discovered, dating back to 2500BC. But despite this fascinating history, it didn’t look like there was much to do there other than to say you had been so I decided to head on down the highway instead. I made my way out to the small town of Nixon where I was able to spend some time in the wonderful Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Museum. This museum was excellent, presenting the history and culture of the local indigenous people (who refer to themselves as “Numu”), the endemic cui-ui fish which were their dietary mainstay, and their interactions with European settlers which led to the 1860 Pyramid Lake War. While the Numu people refer to the huge lake in the area at “Kooyooe-Pa’a”, explorer John C. Fremont named it Pyramid Lake during his 1844 expedition after having seen a pyramid-shaped rock formation on its shore. I really enjoyed this museum and am always grateful to find anywhere where I can hear the story as told by the indigenous people themselves. I was also able to purchase a camping permit at the museum which allows you to camp overnight pretty much anywhere along the west side of the lake. It was cold and windy when I pulled up to my chosen spot, but it was also exceptionally beautiful. I enjoyed the sunset and watching the colors on the surrounding mountains change with the waning of the day. I spent a couple of hours reading in my van that night, but got out occasionally to look up at the stars. The sky was fantastically clear out there and exceptionally beautiful.
I was up before sunrise on Saturday morning because I wanted to see the sun come up over the lake. While it took some self-convincing, I wrapped up and hopped out to get some photos of the sunrise which was quite striking. I cooked up a little oatmeal for breakfast to warm me up and then headed on down the road towards Reno. After stopping at the gym for a quick workout and a desperately needed shower, I headed into town to meet some friends at the 10 Torr Distillery and Brewery. The greater Reno/Lake Tahoe area is quite a hotbed for retired tour guides and I know quite a few people in the area. Two of my old guiding friends, Pete and Graeme, and their wives were going on a tour of the distillery and I was quite happy to be able to join. While I’ve been on more than my share of brewery and distillery tours in my life, this one was quite good. Our guide was the brewmaster, Evan, and he was really passionate about what he was doing. At the tour’s end we sat for a liquor tasting while Evan continued to spin stories of his craft. It was fun to be among friends and I was impressed by their offerings. After the tasting I went back to Graeme and Jen’s house to watch the football game and have a few beers. They have a beautiful home and they’ve done quite a bit of work on it since they bought the place. We were up late, watching the game and then listening to music from their extensive vinyl collection. It was a lot of fun.
I slept in my van in front of their house (they had offered me a warm bed but I don’t want to get soft - it’s going to be a long winter) and I was just about to head off to the gym in the morning when Graeme texted me and told me to pop back in. We had coffee and then the NFL playoff games came on and then other people showed up with food and beer and I ended up spending the whole day right there on the couch. One of their friends brought a delightful Hatch chile pork stew and Graeme smoked a whole turkey in his back yard which came out perfectly. It’s hard for me to just take a day completely off from everything, but it was much appreciated and very much enjoyed.
I did get up and moving on Monday though. I hit the gym and then changed my oil which was overdue. Then I stopped into the library in Sparks to get some work done. When I was getting ready to leave the library, I texted my friend, Pete, to see what he was up to. He had been working on a friend’s house all day and was just about to call it quits and grab some lunch and invited me to tag along. We had a nice burger and a couple of beers and chatted about what they’ve been up to since I was last here in 2023. After lunch he invited me back to their house where we continued our conversation until his wife got home. Then we got comfortable and watched a movie (One Battle After Another) which was exciting and fast paced and we all enjoyed it. Afterwards we watched the Golden Globes and this same movie won quite a few awards so we were glad we had seen it.
I spent yesterday morning with Pete and Kristi. They are going to be opening a café up in Tahoe City in a month or so, so Pete was going to do some juicing. He cut up 6 pounds of fruit to make one gallon of juice, but it was really good when he was done with it. We had some juice and some breakfast and then went for nice long walk along the Truckee River which was really pleasant. There were some geese which were cruising down the rapids and making quite a bit of noise and I couldn’t tell if they were having fun or if they were terrified. We stopped for coffee and then headed back to their place. They had afternoon plans, so I headed out to the gym and then went to downtown Reno to take some photos of the art, the statues and the neon signs. I like the classic feel of Reno over the more modernized (and ever-changing) lights of Las Vegas and I had a really good time wandering around. I ended up at the Gold Dust West casino for dinner and they were featuring a $14.99 prime rib special with a salad, veggies and a baked potato. It was pretty good too (for the price). After dinner I went to Mid-Town to meet my friend Devon for a few drinks and a good catch-up. He’s done quite a bit of travelling in Nevada, so he was happy to share some top tips with me as well for the road ahead. It was good to see him and to hear what he’s been up to lately.
Today has been pretty quiet. I did get to the gym this morning and now I’m back at the library to finish up this post and get it published. From here, I am heading up into the mountains to Truckee, California to catch up with some friends up there. Either tomorrow or Friday I will head down to Lake Tahoe to catch up with even more friends around the lake. I might even get some skiing in while I’m out there. I may still be in Lake Tahoe at this time next week, but I may have moved on back into Nevada as well. When I do get back to the Silver State, I will be ready to set off across Highway 50, “The Loneliest Road in America”. I hope to catch up on even more photos this week so that my desk is clear and I can cruise down the road with a clear mind as well. Have a wonderful week out there wherever you are and I hope to see you back here next week. Thank you, as always, for reading.
-Mike