Experience Escapes - Escape Room in Ely, Nevada

During Christmas Break we did an Escape Room and really enjoyed the experience of working as a team to get out of the room in 60 minutes. We had heard that an Escape Room had opened in nearby Ely, Nevada and decided to give it a try. Experience Escapes is located at 409 Murray St. in Ely. We had called ahead (775-296-3744) to reserve the room.

We had friends who wanted to join us, and the owner, Lori, told us it would be better if we split into two groups of four and have a friendly little competition. So Jenny went in first with the boys.


I hung out with the girls in the Virtual Reality area.

Before long, we were up in the special chairs with the goggles on, trying out some new experiences! It was pretty cool, but it did make me a little motion sick!

They have over 200 games to try.

 

We weren't exactly quiet trying out the games--some of the screams got so loud that we distracted the boys in the Escape Room!

When the boys and Jenny escaped (with 2.5 minutes to spare!), they were quick to get into the chairs.

Then it was our turn in the Escape Room. I don't want to spoil it, because so much of the fun is figuring out the problems presented. I will say that the Escape Room is very professional and had some really cool puzzles, some that I never would have dreamed up. Lori said she bought the idea from a company in Poland. Her husband is great at construction work, so he was able to do the necessary carpentry to make it all come together.

They plan on adding a second Escape Room in the near future. They also plan on rotating out different Escape Rooms about every year to keep it fresh.

At the end we took photos with some of the props.

The girls and I made it out with 7.5 minutes to spare, so we beat the boys!

It was super fun, and I highly recommend it. You can find more on the Experience Escapes website and Experience Escapes Facebook Page.

Happy 2020!

 Desert Girl and I enjoyed some cross-country skiing to kick off 2020! Here's to a great year with lots of outside time and fun adventures!

My computer crashed and I lost some files and photos, but hopefully I'll be really up and running soon. If not, I'll just have to spend more time outside, lol.

After a first successful ski trip, we went another time, this time with Desert Boy accompanying. He is a moody tween, but realizes he needs a break from screen time. This time the snow was quite icy, and we had trouble getting traction going up in Grey Cliffs Campground.

It was nice to find a flatter spot on the way to Loop B.

The edges of the snow were very thin, as the afternoons are warm. We're in need of another big snow (at least for the mountains!).

I'm hoping we can do lots of cross-country skiing this winter, it's such a lovely sport and makes being outside more fun. We are also looking forward to the Bristlecone Birkebeiner cross-country ski (and fat tire bike and snowshoe) race on January 18 in Ely!

An Afternoon of Winter Fun in Ely

 

On a recent afternoon, we went to Ely, Nevada. And as most of our trips to town are, we had lots of things to do on our list--take in recycling, eat some yummy Chinese food, and then head to the Art Bank, accessed through the Garnet Mercantile on main street (Aultman Street).

The Art Bank is an old bank building that has been turned into an art gallery. Every time you go in, you see different works of art. I sell some of my photography there. When we go, the kids and I always pick out our favorite piece of art. It's never the same, because there is so much good art!

 

Besides photography, there are paintings, wood boxes, stained glass, jewelry, scarves, and so much more.

 

Here's the Art Bank's website.

It so happened that on that Saturday afternoon, Santa Claus was at the Garnet Mercantile, willing to take photos.  It took the kids a minute or two, but before long they recognized Santa. Benefits of living in a small community--you know everyone! They had a fun discussion.

The resulting photo came out very nice.

Next up was a trip up to Ward Mountain Recreation Area. We go here every January for the annual Birkebeiner cross country ski (and now also fat tire mountain bike) race. It's lots of fun, but why limit it to just once a year? When I saw a Facebook post that the trails had been groomed, I knew we had to go!

The question was just how far we should go. I let the kids decide, and they were soon off on the trail to the warming hut, and I was trying to catch up!

The warming hut wasn't too warm, so after a quick look, we continued on.

Desert Girl was so happy to lead the way. She tried to keep far ahead of Desert Boy.

But in her haste, she fell down. Desert Boy kept going.

Even though it was over 40 degrees, the grooming had done wonders with the snow, and we didn't have any sticky snow.

Before long, we were back at the trailhead, having completed the short loop (1.5 miles) of the Birkebeiner route. I think the kids are ready to move up from the Kid division!

We weren't done yet. Time to shake off those sore legs with a swim at the White Pine County Aquatic Center. They have a small, shallow pool...

...and a six-lane 25-yard long pool.

There's a deep end...

...with two climbing walls. We met friends there and had a fantastic time. We'd like to try and get back once a month throughout the winter, as it's such a pleasant way to spend some time, and good exercise.

Next up was some birthday bowling. We hadn't bowled in for so long, so I was just hoping to bowl an 80. I remember my 80+ year old grandma used to be able to bowl a 160 when she bowled weekly with her friends. I channeled her, and ended up getting a couple strikes in a row and a 117! Woohoo!

There was plenty of space at the bowling alley late on the Saturday afternoon, and it was a fun time.

There's so much to do if you just go out and do it! Click here for more about what to do in Ely, Nevada.

More Ice Skating at Stella Lake

November continued with more dry weather, so we headed back up to Stella Lake with more friends on Veteran's Day. We took a picnic lunch and planned to spend several hours there. We started off on the cove on the east side.

It was a warm day, so the kids didn't even need coats. Desert Girl was one of the first ones out on the ice.

Desert Boy let someone try his adjustable skates (what a wonderful invention! Skates that adjust several sizes for kids!), so he was trying to skate in bigger skates. He will probably be this size or bigger soon!

Before long, the kids were getting creative. 

I thought these skating chains were pretty fun.

And it didn't even matter if you had skates on or not!

We wanted to skate out on the bigger part of the lake, but the ice had thinned since last time. I went out once and didn't like all the cracking. Loren was braver and made several traverses out. He only fell through once...lol...and fortunately it was only inches deep!

It was Veteran's Day, and Billie had thought to bring up a flag. The kids sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee.

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From ev'ry mountainside

Let freedom ring!

 It was so great hearing the song ring out from the mountainsides!

 Finally it was time to hike back to the vehicles and drive down the mountain. Desert Girl wasn't tired, she just didn't want me to take a photo!

Not long after, we got snow, and the road was closed. No more Stella Lake skating for us this winter. Sure glad we got to go while we could, and we'll be on the lookout for lower elevation skating possibilities.

Random November Happenings

This Jerusalem cricket showed up in the work parking lot one morning. It sure is a strange looking creature! Jerusalem crickets are nocturnal, so I don't seem them often. They are native to the West.

Our local 4-H club started dog training in late October, and we have been glad to take our nine-month old puppy. All the dogs are doing well, learning how to sit, stay, and heel, and generally getting used to other dogs and taking commands.

One session even had seven dogs at it, and they did well. We will go to Ely next July for the 4-H dog show competition. Since we're starting from scratch, it's good to start these training sessions early! We're starting with obedience and then will move on to agility.

I had a quick jaunt down to Lake Mead National Recreation Area for a two-day science conference sponsored by the Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Network. I learned some interesting things, met colleagues from nearby park, reconnected with old friends, and gave a talk about Communicating Science.

Back at the park, I accompanied a researcher into Lehman Caves who was interested in the lampenflora, or cave algae and mosses and other stuff that grows by the cave lights. In some cases it almost looks like a forest! Ugh! This is bad for the native wildlife and can also change the pH of surfaces.

My husband took the kids fishing one day, and they were quite successful.

 

4-H Achievement Night was held, and Desert Boy walked away with lots of pins. The night was organized really well so it was shorter than in the past (hurray!). 

Desert Girl has had the opportunity to meet Pip, the new horse of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. She absolutely loves riding Pip.

I went back into the cave and found an actual plant growing among some of the algae. Sigh.

Later I went to one of the most gorgeous caves I've ever been to. The geology, particularly the mineralization, was stunning.

We oohed and aahhed as we did some monitoring. So many cool colors and forms.

 I still have a couple more posts to do from November, then I'll be ready to dive into December. The winter slowdown is sort of happening! And I like it.