We go north by northwest on a trip to Elko that will take us through a mine, to a historic Basque restaurant and through the backroads of eastern Nevada. September 2013
It’s always nice to come over the Apex Summit on Interstate 15 and look into the Las Vegas Valley — it means we’re home.
Nevadans have been thinking big long before Las Vegas went big. Look no further than a little — by Las Vegas standards — hotel in Ely.
About a half-hour drive south of Elko is Lamoille Canyon, one of the “gotta go’s” that we’ve been told we “gotta go” to, and there’s a good reason to go.
The more we travel, the more we hear about the “gotta go’s,” as in, “When you go to Tonopah, you gotta go to the Mizpah Hotel.”
Tonight is the Nevada Press Association’s annual awards banquet, which is in Elko this year, and like any journalism event, there will be plenty of stories told — some of which are true and many of which get better with age. Nevada has a rich history of journalism, and there have been many colorful storytellers who worked in the press, particularly in the state’s early days.
At Newmont Mining Corp.'s operation west of Elko, there are all kinds of things you'd expect to see — an underground mine, open-pit mines, people in safety equipment, 20-foot-tall dump trucks and piles of ore. But what you don't see is somewhat surprising: Gold.
We spent much of the day touring a mine west of Elko where several people greeted us with a question: “How do you like our weather?”
At Newmont Mining Corp.'s operation west of Elko, there are all kinds of things you'd expect to see — an underground mine, open-pit mines, people in safety equipment, 20-foot-tall dump trucks and piles of ore. But what you don't see is somewhat surprising: Gold.
Mike and I will be touring a gold mine today, and with gold prices estimated to stay at more than $1,300 an ounce through the end of the year, I wonder if they’ll check our pockets on the way out.
We’ve arrived in Elko, and it’s clear we’re not in Southern Nevada anymore. It’s cold and supposed to snow tomorrow morning. Ask somebody in town that and you’re likely to get a shrug of the shoulder. It’s Elko in September. Snow happens.
We have hit noticeable traffic on our way north today – as much as we’ve seen recently outside of Clark County.
I ask the waitress at Windmill Ridge, a comfortable little country-style inn and restaurant, how she ended up here, and she tells of moving from Las Vegas a few years ago with a now ex-husband. But, the small green valley has become home.
We’re off to Elko and we’ll do a bit of exploring but there’s business as well – the Nevada Press Association’s annual meeting. Our luggage is a little heavier than normal because the forecast is calling for a cold front moving in and potentially snow. Yes, snow. In September.
Join Matt and Mike's journey with your comments below. Tell them where they should eat, who they should meet or what they should see on this trip, share your experiences with the places they are visiting or explain why Nevada is interesting to you.
