After driving several hours on Nevada’s Route 93 South (click here), my husband and I came to our first town, Ely. We stopped at the only hotel we saw, a Holiday Inn Express, but they had no un-booked rooms that evening. The front desk person there told us a Ramada was right down the road. “If that doesn’t work out . . . ?,” Mister Rain asked.
“The next lodging is three hours away,” she said in a way that indicated it was not the first time she had said it that day.
Luckily, the second property, a former Ramada now Copper Queen Hotel and Casino, had availability. The room was clean and spacious. We didn’t go to the casino, but we could see the penny slot machines from outside our room. The indoor pool was located on the other side of a low brick wall from the gambling, something I had never seen in Las Vegas or Atlantic City.
Route 50 is a 3,000-mile highway running from I-80 in West Sacramento, California to Route 528 in Ocean City, Maryland. The 400-mile stretch across Nevada, famously dubbed “The Loneliest Road in America” due to its wide open desert valleys and lack of services, runs through Ely.
Before continuing south to Zion National Park the next morning, we stopped at Beans & Brews Coffee House for coffee and egg sandwiches. Although we had never heard of the chain, they have locations in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Texas.
While my husband waited for our order, I got us a table. A woman was sitting alone in a nearby booth and I struck up a conversation with her. She was originally from Las Vegas, but had lived in Ely for 20+ years. “Where are you from?,” she asked.
“Outside of Philadelphia,” I replied.
Without missing a beat: “I’m sorry.” She was not kidding. “I always wanted to go to Philadelphia, but now I don’t.”
Externally I didn’t react. Internally I thought WHOA! A glutton for punishment, I continued. “We had quite a ride from the Salt Flats (click here) yesterday. All the nothingness was amazing to experience.”
“What you people east of the Mississippi don’t understand . . .”
I was torn between gratitude and disappointment when her friend arrived. On one hand I wasn’t even caffeinated yet for this, on the other, when someone says “you people” what follows is sure to be interesting, no matter where you’re from. I couldn’t wait to share this interaction with Mister Rain when we got back to the privacy of our rental car.
Unlike the morsels this stranger had served me, the latte and sandwich were a terrific way to ease into the day. I love a coffee shop; I saved the bag, framed it and hung it in my kitchen.
Whenever we are out west, we (well, the we who can see) are always on the lookout for wildlife. About to turn onto the highway on our way out of town, my husband shared excitedly, “I thought I saw a moose, which I did, but it’s not real.” The McDonald’s has an assortment of animals around its property.
While not a destination on our itinerary, this place was most certainly a journey. Yes, the Lonliest Road runs though Ely, one of the Quirkiest Towns I have ever visited.
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