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Published: June 25th 2013
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Come on down, you're the first contestant on The Price is Right! (and yes Carol, you win a prize, TBA, for being the 100th comment, THANK YOU for all your notes of encouragement along our journey!).
How do you say no to a $40.00 room in a biker friendly hotel that gives a further 10% discount to riders? We are taking advantage of this good deal and staying for another day to rest the iron butts. You really have to see this hotel to believe it, in a good way, we keep laughing at how bizarre it is. It is, however, exceptionally clean, the staff are exceptionally friendly, the food in the restaurant was exceptionally good, all in this 1929 brick hotel. There's alot of history here and everyone working at the hotel is proud and happy to tell us about it. The pictures of the hotel are just a few examples of the decor, with each floor showing off its own artifacts and style. Our room was next door to Jimmy Stewarts room, and other big names who have patronized the hotel in their day include Stephen King (we keep running into him), Pat Nixon, Wayne Newton, John Schneider,
Charlie Pride, just to name a few. It was the place to stay in 1929. Our Emma would not approve, well me neither, but what do you do - the furry wall hangings were probably all killed in 1929 too!
When we walked helmet in hand up to the registration desk, the clerk asked us to park our bikes right in front of the entrance doors on Main Street, behind the orange cones. I had seen all the cones when we pulled up and wondered what it was about, and we learned that 12 more bikes were scheduled to arrive later that afternoon and this section of Main cordoned off for them. We parked our dirty, dusty, tired and scratched up little VStroms right in front of the main doors in the middle of all the cones, first come first serve. We unpacked our bikes, grabbed a bite of lunch in the hotel diner, and afterwards found our bikes surrounded by big, gleaming Harleys. "One of these bikes doesn't look like the other bikes, one of these bikes just doesn't belong" (Sesame Street) ... My bike was also parked the wrong direction because of the lame kickstand, which added
to the humour and ridiculousness.
We had a chance to talk with the bikers, all from California, and immediately they wanted to know our story because of our licence plates. Their reaction was one of envy and desire to do the same trip, as well as amazement that we accomplished it on these little Suzukis. We always acknowledge how privileged we are to be able to take time off to do a trip like this. They were out for a 10 day loop through California and Nevada, and there were two women in the group also riding their own bikes, not something we have seen much of during our entire trip.
One of the highlights of Ely (pronounced eeeeeeeleeeeeee) is the steam train and museum and its associated history. It was actually very fascinating to hear volunteers who "work" on the trains each day and lead impromptu tours talk proudly about the railroad and how it came to be. We took the coal fired steam train and part of the experience was getting covered in smoke, ash and coal cinders as we sat outside on the flatdeck car. It took 3 hair washes just to get it out
of my hair, and i even had cinders in my bra. Hmmm. After an hour and a half out and back trip, we were given a tour of the machine shops. Our Dad would have been in his glory checking out all the century-old still-used machinery and tools. It was an entertaining morning spent doing something!
Another highlight of the day was Ian pagging me to the train station because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to take my own bike. This was the first time Ian has pagged anyone, and he did a great wobbly job, laughing and apologizing each time he almost stalled or trepidly rounded a corner! Although riding my own bike is fantastic and I absolutely love it, it is another high to be on the back of someone else's bike. The engine sounds different, there's less wind in your face, you have your arms wrapped around their waist, and you're in the driver's control. I felt a sense of pride, loving that my man was driving us around. I'm not sure I could go more than a short ride on the VStrom, it's not exactly passenger friendly or comfortable. Ian later admitted it
was a white knuckle 10 block drive for him! Sorry babe! But thank you!
Our evening highlight was how to each make $1.00 last in our Jackpot Party slot machines! We managed about 4 hours on a buck, sitting side by side, playing one line one penny a pull laughing at each other's pulls and results. OK, it was way more fun than this just sounded. Like I said in an earlier blog, we are gambling lightweights, and the casino lost money in hydro costs alone on us tonight!
The rest of downtown Ely is a wash, with most stores, a few hotels and restaurants all boarded up. Scenic value was excellent. We spend the rest of the afternoon preparing ourselves for the rest of the ride along the Loneliest Highway in America. We picked up a survival guide, we bought a tee shirt, and a couple bottles of water. Good to go!
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Rod
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Ghost Rider
You HAVE to read 'Ghost Rider', written by Neil Peart (drummer for RUSH). He rode all over North America on his all-terrain BMW as a therapy after his daughter and wife passed away. Life changing read. He had many, many conversations with himself like you did Helen on Route 50. I can't wait to ride that road and sleep in the desert (in a battened-down tent, to keep the gazillion Tarantulas out) ! Cheers !!