A Quick Trip to Ely, Nevada

 

On a recent trip to Ely, Nevada, we saw they had new posters up with "10 Places to Explore in White Pine County." These places are:

Great Basin National Park, Cave Lake State Park (and in winter), Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park, Lehman Caves,  Garnet Hill Recreation Area, Ely Art Bank, White Pine Public Museum (and McGill Drugstore Museum), White Pine Golf Course, and Ely Renaissance Village.

You can see my take on these great places by clicking the links above. I still need to visit the McGill Drugstore Museum. I've only been to the White Pine Golf Course when I camped on it during the NSS Convention. And I've had a quick trip through the Ely Renaissance Village that I didn't blog about, but have seen it from the train a few times--I definitely need to do a proper visit there! A post on Ward Charcoal Ovens is coming soon.

The Ely Art Bank is a place I go to regularly, as they sell my books and photographs there. I love going, as every time I see something different. This time I saw this fun painting by Katherine Rountree. I recognized some of the people in it.

 

 

So cool!

I even found a piece of artwork I really liked and bought to grace one of the walls in our house.

In the basement of the adjacent Garnet Mercantile is the Cuchine Collection, a lovely collection of Nevada artists.

Also on display was a White Pine County art contest. Every person in White Pine County was invited to submit a piece of art.

Katherine Rountree won second place for the beautiful painting of a cattle drive.

Laurie Cruikshank made this bench.

You can vote for your favorite.

While we were there, we were told we should go check out the new gate at the Renaissance Village. It's just a few blocks away from the Art Bank.

The gate was made by the Rountrees and looks quite lovely. We wanted to check out the village, but realized we didn't have enough time on this particular day.

Partly because we still needed to eat a proper lunch, and it was already two in the afternoon. These two gals had helped sell a framed canvas I brought into the Art Bank, and the kind buyer gave them a commission to cover the cost of their milkshakes, so we went to Economy Drug to enjoy! They have the best milkshakes, plus great sandwiches. And while lunch was being prepared, the girls so enjoyed looking at the amazing toy selection downstairs.

 Our last fun stop was a newer one in Ely: the Aquatic Center. It was time to play in the water! And on the climbing walls--where we all had multiple races to the top. I even got them to do a few laps with me. This is such a nice facility, we try to stop here whenever we can.

So if you're looking for something to do in White Pine County, there are lots of great places to start! Scroll back up to the list at the top and check out the links if you want some suggestions. Let me know what you like doing best in WPC!

More Cowbell Bike Trail near Hurricane, Utah

 Fall break in October involved a dentist visit and getting the SUV serviced, but we managed to mix some fun in. While Desert Boy ended up sick and staying home with dad, Desert Girl and I headed to sunny St. George. While the vehicle was being checked, we biked over to Thunder Junction All Abilities Park. This is a newer park and so much fun! First we had to take the train ride, which costs a whopping $1 per person. Desert Girl really wanted to sit in the back, and since we were there on a weekday, there were plenty of open spots.

Then it was on to playing in the water and almost getting eaten by a dinosaur.

The next day we were off to try some mountain biking. I had done some research and found an easy trail recommended: the More Cowbell Trail near Hurricane, Utah. It's in the Gooseberry Mesa-Hurricane Cliffs area, which is gaining more attention as a great mountain biking destination.

We started off and then I got confused by the trails, so we went back and I took a photo of the map at the trail head. We had to start off on the Dead Ringer trail and then we'd take the More Cowbell loop.

The loop was about 2.5 miles. Desert Girl was a bit hesitant, but I knew she could do it. We were closer to the edge than this near the beginning, but she made it through just fine.

Then we got into a nice groove. We had great views and could see part of the loop trail down below us.

We had one rocky section where we got off our bikes, but then we were back on. We took a couple breaks, including at this "bench."

It was such a beautiful day to be out!

Good times!

We kept riding the nice, flowing trail. We could see the highway for part of it, and long sweeping views in other directions.

Near the end of the loop there's a cowbell, and Desert Girl was delighted to ring it!

Then we followed the Dead Ringer trail back. Here's the trail junction where we originally took off for the More Cowbell trail.

I had Desert Girl lead so she could start learning how to read the terrain. We had one more section where we got off, but otherwise we rode the whole trail.

Desert Girl was so proud of herself for riding over her first rock. She really was quite a beginner, and this trail was great for her. We're hoping we can do some more mountain biking and increase her confidence. And enjoy more beautiful times outside!

Ice Skating at Stella Lake

 My friend Jenny and I had been watching the weather carefully. It hadn't snowed in awhile, and the temperatures were getting colder and colder. The Wheeler Peak Snotel site showed night temps in the teens. That meant it was time to do some high elevation ice skating! Jenny had discovered this last year when we had another dry winter, and it was amazingly fun. This time we combined forces on November 10 to ice skate at Stella Lake in Great Basin National Park.

The Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive was open up to the Summit Trailhead. The trail was so inviting and had very little snow.

We weren't sure what the lake would be like. Last year the ice was only thick enough on the eastern lobe and we had open water on most of the lake. But this year, when we got our first view of Stella Lake, our jaws dropped. It was totally frozen! We gingerly stepped out on the ice to test it. It seemed good.

We found that the ice was good on most of the lake. The place it cracked the most was the cove where we had skated last winter. Most of the ice was quite smooth, with some bumpy spots. And the surrounding scenery? Marvelous.


Jenny was all smiles and quick to get out on the ice. We could see right through some of the ice to the bottom. It wasn't deeper than two feet anywhere in the lake.

 

This strange looking item is a buoy covered with a dark sock. Attached to it is a line with dataloggers to measure the water (ice) temperature at different depths. 

 Last year I had bought adjustable ice skates for Desert Boy and Desert Girl. That turned out to be a good choice, as both of them had fast-growing feet this last year. Desert Boy ended up not going, but his skates fit Jenny's kids, one the smallest size and the other the largest size. Hurray for adjustable skates!

Jenny is better than me at getting selfies, so thanks to her I'm in a photo! Look at that beautiful ice!

In some places there were really cool bubbles trapped in the ice.

 What!? Another photo of me in the same post!? This time with Desert Girl, who had gotten so warm that she had taken her coat off.

 Desert Girl was so happy.

She and Ava skated and skated.

Meanwhile Jenny and I took lots of photos.

We had the artistic segment.

The speed skating segment.

And even a little ice hockey.


Ice dancing.

Jenny challenged herself to do some artistic movements, which made me try them too. They are harder than they look! 

These girls were so full of energy.

I ended up taking approximately a zillion photos. Who could resist with such a beautiful backdrop?

Finally, the lake started being cast in shadow. Actually the southern end was shaded just after one in the afternoon. Yikes, so early! On the hike back, we took the opportunity to add in a little sledding.

What a great opportunity. If you're interested, keep an eye on the weather. The ice should be good, but if there's any precip, the road will close.

Lexington Arch--Worth the Trip!

I had a hankering for some more outside time, and I wanted to take the dog. I hadn't been to Lexington Arch in years, so I decided to give it a try. A big fire burned through the area in 2013 and subsequent floods washed out the road. I had heard that the road had been repaired.

Along the way is this scenic old cabin, once home to the Woodward Family. They had several children and Mr. Woodward and the older sons worked at the sawmill up the canyon. 

I continued up canyon and found the road dramatically improved from the last time I had traveled it. Fall colors made for some nice contrasts.

I surprised a group of deer.

I parked at the large meadow area about 11 miles in from the highway. From there the road turned rockier and into a two-track. Four-wheel drive vehicles can go about another half mile up the wash.

This sign warns about snag hazards.

When I got to the end of the 4WD section, which ends at an old campsite (we camped there in 2012), I could spot the Arch up canyon.

The old trailhead sign doesn't say anything.

I wasn't sure how the trail would be, but it was fantastic. A new bridge had been made over a gully.

Skunkbush made for some very red leaves.

At the overlook, I found the bench had been reoriented to face Lexington Arch. The Arch is really a natural bridge, the remnant of an old cave system. I was hoping for snow on it, but the snow on the rock had already melted. There were patches along the trail, making it muddy.

Another view of the arch.

 I continued on the trail to the backside of the Arch, which has some great views.

I even did a timed selfie with me and our dog, Maggie. This is one park trail that dogs are allowed on--mainly because most of the trail is on BLM land. And it was the Forest Service who constructed the trail before the land switched to BLM. So it's certainly an interagency trail!

A view from the east side looking up.

I ran most of the way down the trail. The numerous switchbacks make for a gentle trail.

 And in three miles I was back at the vehicle and heading out. It was such a fun trip. I'd recommend 4-5 hours to drive out to the arch and hike up to it. It would be a hot hike in the summer, but it's perfect on a cool autumn day.

Of course you might want to take a little extra time to just enjoy the isolated scenery.

There's something about the wild that just feeds one's soul.