Long Drive to Baker NV

Our first day of vacation consisted of a very long drive. Ed was up by 3:30 A.M., Colleen by 4:30.  We left home at 7:30 and arrived in Baker, NV, our home for the next two nights, at 5:30 in the afternoon.  And this was with only a very few of our usual stops to explore, take photos, or follow whatever distraction caught our attention. We did make a brief stop for lunch at a little park outside Austin, where Colleen was amused by a highly unusual sight: Ed being >cold<! He even had to add a jacket and long pants to escape the chill. This is our first time exploring Hwy. 50 through Nevada (other than a trip that a very young Colleen once took with her parents in the vague and distant past) and we’re pleased that it traverses some very spectacular scenery, made even better by dramatic weather.  It rained off and on all day, sometimes with thunder booming in the near distance.  We only took 18 photos which attests to our dedication to keep moving.  Here are three of them…

We are staying at the Silver Jack Inn and dining at the Lectrolux Cafe.  We booked here with some trepidation, knowing this establishment would be at best… quirky and eclectic… or maybe just a dump.  But there are not a lot of choices in Baker, which is just a few minutes from Great Basin National Park.  Our alternative was to stay in Ely, an hour away.  So we mustered up our sense of adventure and made the reservation.  Our room is… well… basic.  Very small and very basic, but clean and reasonably comfortable.  Dinner and breakfast are included in our “package deal.”  The Lectrolux Cafe is named for the humorous sculptures hanging from the ceiling consisting of old Electrolux vacuum cleaners with colorful artistic enhancements... feet, wheels, wings, brooms and stuffed toys...  Our food was quite good, though.  Everything was fresh and homemade, from the vinaigrette salad dressing with herbs to the apple pie and brownies for dessert.  Wifi seemed pretty good in the restaurant but not so much here in the room so it isn’t looking good for getting this posted tonight.  I’ll pass the computer over to Ed and see if he can work some magic.  Or maybe we will be able to post in the morning in the cafe.  Or maybe not then either.  We have the feeling this vacation will be that way, but we do love these off-the-beaten-path places… even if they aren’t always where the wifi lives.