2019 Fire and Ice Festival

One of our favorite events in January is the Fire and Ice Festival in Ely, Nevada. This year the events were expanded to include many more activities, such as water volleyball, darts, bowling, a bonfire, and more.  We didn't have a chance to make it to those, but we did head out to Cave Lake on Sunday to enjoy the traditional ice/snow sculpture contest. Some winters it's not cold enough, but fortunately Mother Nature cooperated this year. We checked in on friends making Engine 93 from the Nevada Northern Railway to celebrate the 150th anniversary of White Pine County.

We also brought ice skates and desert Boy gave it a go. The ice was rough for skating, but he made it work.


Then Desert Girl and Ava gave it a go. Having a ski pole keeps you upright more. :)


We also got in some sledding. Then it was time to take another look at the snow sculptures. This one was quite impressive, with the horse breaking out of the water.


That inspired our group to do our own snow sculpture. The kids made a snow alligator.


Meanwhile, Jenny and I made a sea creature (we never could quite decide if it was a dolphin, fish, or monster!)  Photo by Jenny.

Usually we eat at Cave Lake, but the food booth was having trouble getting their heaters to work. We hadn't brought lunch, so my dear husband ran into town and got us some burgers. They never tasted so good!

Some year I'd love to stay for the fireworks, but the drive home at night over mountain passes in the winter with lots of wildlife on the road is a little daunting. So for now it's a daytime event for us. And good news, our friends won 1st place!

Maybe next year we'll get organized enough to compete??  See more photos of the event on my friend Jenny's blog.