OK, so we didn’t leave early this AM. In fact, we didn’t leave on time either! Unfortunately, I missed the photo op to show you why we didn’t leave on time. The Rambo living room was piled high with luggage and we had to stuff it all in the back of their Sequoia! There are only four of us, but since it is winter we needed extra layers and extra suitcases to hold the extra layers. And then, we had to get the four of us, our computers, our geo-bags, our snacks, our blankets and more coats and hats in the car! Ok, we are in the car but we may never be able to get out again. Our first test came at Starbucks (our traditional first stop) and we managed without too much difficulty. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my heavy coat off and now I am stuck in the car in my coat with the heater on! It’s getting warm in here! Oh--it was about 7:15 when we actually hit the road! Not too bad, but not good since we are on a tight schedule.
Where is our trip taking us this time? To finish the Nevada County Challenge cache! We need three more counties (White Pine, Lincoln, and Clark). Somehow we missed White Pine on our northern county excursion so we have to head east before we can head south. Our destination for today is Ely, Nevada. Mike planned the route for us and Ely seemed to be the most likely spot to stay overnight once we picked up the cache in White Pine County. Tomorrow we head down to Las Vegas! While in Las Vegas, we plan to attend an event and meet some of the folks from groundspeak!
The weather may be our enemy on this trip. Today we are ahead of a storm that will eventually blanket the Western states. We expect to encounter a little sun (very little), a little cloud cover, a little or a lot of snow, and lots of rain on the day of the event. This is one of those times you really want the weather person to be wrong!!!! We actually thought it would be nice to be in Las Vegas and get a little sunshine in the winter! HAH! At the moment it is very cold for us---20º when we started and now it is down to 18º. It is only expected to be in the 40’s in Las Vegas. Maybe it is not so cold at home after all.
Our route will take us out 80 to Fernley, down alternate 50 to Fallon, out 50 to Ely. We take 93 out of Ely to Pioche to pick up Lincoln County, and then to Las Vegas to the Sun Coast Hotel and Casino. In case you are wondering, we are not gamblers, we are geocachers. We will not win our millions, nor even try to win our millions, but we will find lots and lots of caches! Maybe Larry will sneak down to the casino and play a couple of quarter slots, but I strongly doubt it! He will be too tired from geocaching.
Our first stop was in Fernley. We actually stopped there to make a pit stop. The logical spot was MacDonalds and, of course, there was a quick and easy lamp post skirt cache in the nearby shopping center. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity! And there was one more lamp post skirt just a short distance away. It really was right on our way and it was so cold we appreciated a couple of easy finds!
We circled around Fallon and picked up several caches. The majority of them were bison tubes hanging in trees and lamp post skirts. At least we managed a few quick and easy caches on our way to Ely. Alright, we did find one in a rock pile, a couple of fake switch plates on power boxes, and a guard rail or two.
Middlegate is alive and well!! We had heard rumors that Middlegate Station had been destroyed by fire. The four of us eagerly looked out the window as we approached. There it was in all its glory, looking exactly the same as the last time we were here. The inside was arranged a little differently, but we knew our way around and settled down for a great lunch. Larry and I had hamburgers while Cynthia & Mike had turkey sandwiches. The food is excellent and we highly recommend it to everyone. Our first trip here occurred after we found the final cache for the Nevada Delorme Challenge and our second was for dinner after a day of geocaching in the Dixie Valley and surrounding areas. This was our third visit and we were so glad to discover that it was still standing. We were also glad to be able to squash the false rumors of a fire. We immediately took a picture and sent it off to Bryan (Skwerl), using the free wifi access at the Station. Technology is everywhere--even in the middle of nowhere!
We followed the trail of history in Nevada as we traveled along highway 50 (the Loneliest Highway in the US). We stopped at several of the historical markers and learned about the pony express route in Nevada as well as the New Pass Station (part of Butterfield’s overland mail and stage road systems between Salt Lake City, UT and Genoa Nevada), We also stopped at a cemetery in Austin (“Where all the Dead People Live”).Our highest point (elevation wise) was the summit outside Austin, Nevada. We had stopped at the cemetery as we headed into town but we were unable to get through the snow to get to the cache. We were close, but we were not equipped to dig in the snow. After a quick rest stop in the town of Austin, we made the steep climb up Hwy 50 to the summit. Larry planned to take some pictures from the summit (we had some beautiful views on the way up the “hill”), but when we got to the top, we couldn’t see anything but more hilltops surrounding us and the view was not quite as effective as the views we saw as we looped around on the road. So far we had not encountered any falling snow, but it was getting colder again and the skies were getting cloudier and darker.
Eureka! We have found it! We found both the town of Eureka and the one cache we were looking for in Eureka. As we were leaving, Mike announced that we had one more hour of sunlight left. I was tempted to tell him he should speed up a little as we had three more caches to find before Ely, but I didn’t think that was a good idea. The roads are clear but there have been a few icy patches. I would hate to be responsible if we slid through one of those patches. The skies are getting darker but we did see a burst of sunlight at one point. Shortly after leaving Eureka we entered White Pine County! Just one cache is all we needed to grab this county for the challenge and “Eureka! We Found It!” just 9 hours after we started the day. One down and two to go!
I guess at this point I need to give Larry and Mike the credit for finding all the caches today. Cynthia and I stayed in the comfort of the car and opened the door now and then to offer hints while they searched in the cold and the wind. The White Pine County cache (Fragmented) was the final straw for them. It was cold with a wind chill factor of -12 (according to Mike--not scientifically based) and the snow was knee deep. The specific location was out across the snow field behind the trees. The good news is that they actually found 3 caches in the trees. The bad news is that Larry fell face down in the snow at one point and then he and Mike had to walk back to the car. We managed to capture the walk on camera. It appeared to Cynthia and me that they were having fun romping through the snow. That was not exactly the explanation they gave us when they returned to the car. I won’t print what they really said!
As we were approaching Ely, the sun was setting behind us. It was casting quite a glow on some of the hilltops before us. It gave the effect of a fiery gold mountain rising in the midst of dark shadows. It was a spectacular sight in real life! Hopefully, the pictures will do it justice.
We arrived in Ely just a little before 5 PM. We were glad to reach the warmth of the hotel room. Once we unloaded the luggage and settled in our rooms, we went over to Cynthia & Mike’s room to celebrate the end of our first day. We enjoyed a glass of wine, posted our logs, and feasted on whatever snacks we brought with us.
The first stage of our three stage trip has ended. Tomorrow we begin the middle stage.
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