Utah and Ely, almost home....

I-70 and Route 6 were so close to each other.  It was nice to be able to stay off the interstate, though.  We found the above marker on a very rural and underdeveloped Route 6.  We were also fairly quickly greeted by a state forest ranger.  It was a bit eerie, as he just seemed to appear out of nowhere.  He seemed to be a decent guy and informed us that the road does get better a few miles up the road.

The best part about Utah is that I was not able to drive.  I was there a few years back and got a ticket for speeding which I never paid.  Thus, a warrant had been issued.  Thus, I can't be found in Utah.  Tom had to drive the entire state.  After 7 days on the road, I was ready for a break.  It also helped reversing the roles for a bit, as it somehow eased the lingering tensions.

There is not much to see in Utah except Utah.  Route 6 took us Northwest to Provo and then Southwest towards Great Basin National Park.  There were no such things as Dog Parks and the landscape was littered with thorny plants.  It was going to be a long day for the dogs in the car, but we did find time to pee and let the dogs do the same.

My Ray of Sunshine

We were talking again, albeit short bursts.  We had gone through the Uinta National Forest and the Sevier Desert, gone up and down ranges until we finally reached the end of the other side of Utah.  The next large town was Ely, Nevada.  We were both hungry and it was getting late.  The storm clouds had been with us the whole day with lightning flashes often on the horizon and in the mountains.  Tom wanted to get a hotel due to the heat and the possible rain.  We stopped in Ely at the Motel 6.

I was not a big fan of staying there.  First off, it was $80 + for a room.  Across the states, Motel 6's were $29-40.  Why here, in the middle of nowhere, was it double the price?  About two hours down the road, there was a roadside motel called the Clown Motel, complete with clown motif.  I gave them a call but found they had no rooms.  Stupid Saturdays!

We drove into town to see what else they had to offer for food and lodging.  Ely is an olden gambling town.  I figured that if there were casinos, there should be cheap rooms.  We drove down the main road and then back again and then back again after that.  There was one hotel called the Four Sevens Motel with rooms starting at $35.  Ding ding ding.  We have a winner!

Four Seven's Motel

Along with the room, they gave me a few coupons for a few margaritas at the Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall and a few beers at another spot.  We first needed to eat, so we drove down the road to the Big Apple Family Restaurant where I had the Chicken Fried Steak and Tom had the Elk Burger.  Neither were outstanding, but the meal filled the hole.  We went back to the car, only to find that the rear window was not working.  It appeared that BuddyJack had been stepping on the switch whenever he looked out the window.  Could he have broken the motor?  We finally got it up, but this was just another downer for the times.

We headed over to the Hotel Nevada to get our free Margaritas.  The gambling hall was smaller than what we were used to, especially compared to Las Vegas.  I have a tendency to over gamble when I do so.  I quickly put in and then lost my first $20.  Try again?  Down another $20.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Oops. There goes our budget.  Tom on the other hand, puts in $5 and played the poker machines for a penny.  Up.  Down.  He always had close to his original bet.  I tried a few machines, but when my dollars dwindled I sat next to Tom and put in $10 into the machine.   Ding Ding Ding!  Winner.  I ended up staying at that machine winning my losses back and then some.  It was a good machine.

Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall

We stayed for a few hours total, until we had some money in our pockets and went back to the 7777's to sleep.  We were so close to home and even closer to Bishop, CA, our end of Route 6.