Days 049-50 – 7/12-13/11 Ely Rest Days

Distance = 0 Miles; People Met = 8

Ely being located shortly before Utah, and the only town where I give a Lions Club talk, we spent two rest days here preparing the maps for the next state, catching up with Internet postings and meeting people.  Ely is the biggest town in this part of Nevada, formerly another mining boom and bust town that boomed again.

We were allowed to stay on the grounds of the high school with the keys to the school in our hand, thanks to Paul Johnson, former president of the Lions Club and my contact beforehand.  We met Tirrell, the school’s office manager, and Shawn, the custodian, who accommodated our stay here.  We could shower and have wifi access, though the school blocks facebook.

We finally met Barrett Jordan here in Ely, another west to east ADT hiker we first learned about in the western part of the state.  He stayed with us here at the school and will continue on with us for a few days.  His dog Buster is a mix of breeds I can’t remember but he looks like an oversized chihuahua.  I have not taken many pictures in Ely while my camera batteries were recharging, but pictures of Barrett and Buster are soon to come.

Like us, Barrett was not doing well financially in this economic climate and he saw this as his best option and opportunity at this time.  He was/is an IT manager with a variety of other skills which he uses for trade at some stops along the way.  He also served in Desert Storm.  We look forward to his company for the next few days.

The talk at the Lions Club meeting went very well.  People were engaged and contributed many questions and comments.  Annette, current president and works at assisting people with jobs and entrepreneurial skills, lingered to talk with us about her frustrations at what she sees and the disintegration of the families that lay behind it.  Glenn, a retired rancher and lifelong student, chatted the most afterwards and bought a copy of my book, Systems out of Balance (available at Amazon).  Marty, a city councilman, was very engaged in the talk and promised to post a comment about it on the web site.  Larry, a retired hospital clinician turned administrator, met with me later for an interview about the Ely Lions Club.  That will featured in the Nevada issue of our newsletter.

We are now all rested here and ready to tackle Utah.  But first we have a more relaxed stretch through the remainder of Nevada ending near Baker, which is supposed to be a fascinating community.

Onwards!