Wittenbergs
Showing posts with label Elko Nevada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elko Nevada. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Elko County Fair
In the spirit of checking out things in our "new" town (it's still new to us), we met Melody and Michael for lunch at the fair one day.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Our First Visitors to Ruby Lake
Mom and Dad flew out to visit us in late May/early June, and we were so excited to play hosts! They flew into Salt Lake City, the nearest airport to us (4-4.5 hours away), rented a car and drove out to Ruby Valley. They arrived on Friday May 28 in early evening. We had a busy time planned for them - just how we like it!
Mom had packed an entire carry-on suitcase full of plants, and I was fortunate to have their help in some of our yard beautification projects! They don't let grass grow under their feet - Mom and I got to work right away planting flowers out front! And even though it was almost June, it was COLD!
Here is the water feature I'd already installed in the flower bed, we just planted around it! I've had birds drinking and bathing from it, including a Lewis' Woodpecker, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbirds, and Lazuli Buntings.
Rod had to contribute to the flower bed too with his own personal touch!
Dad, aka "Durvish Dad", helped around the house too, from washing cars to planting vegetables in the garden to hanging birdfeeders.
Sunday we got up and headed towards the Utah border to Great Basin National Park, a little over 3 hours away. To do this, we headed south to Ely and traveled on Highway 50, the "Loneliest Highway in America".
However, we all agreed that the road taking us south out of Ruby Valley and through Long Valley was MUCH lonelier!
We did pass a small group of "wild horses" on the way.
These are very controversial out here. The BLM and the Humane Society of the United States are always fighting about these horses. They are truly feral horses, that have been living free on the open range for decades. There are many facets to the issue - from them not having adequate water or food on the open range and thus starving, to the case that they are destroying habitat, to the possibility that they are competing with native wildlife as well as cattle. As an ecologist, I totally see a case for the fact that these are non-native introduced species that shouldn't be here as they unnaturally alter the ecosystem and affect the wildlife living in it. However, for every feral horse out there there must be HUNDREDS of cows, so it seems ridiculous to me to take on the issue of eliminating horses for the minimal damage they may be causing, when the effect on the environment from cattle is astronomical. Until grazing is addressed, talking about the horses seems absurd.
Here we are, at GBNP!
We drove up Wheeler Peak scenic drive (at over 13,000 feet, it is the second tallest peak in Nevada) and debated hiking to the top, but here's what we encountered:
Hmmm... maybe we'd better not. Instead we found a lower elevation trail - Pole Canyon:
We stayed at the Silver Jack Inn, which was really a trailer converted into very simple rooms.
And we ate at the Lectrolux Cafe - an eclectic little restaurant/bakery/gifty shop that I loved!
Here, we celebrated Mom's birthday!
Monday we headed back to Ruby Valley, and Tuesday I had an OB appointment in Elko. While there, we visited the Northeast Nevada Museum and saw the original Pony Express cabin, which used to sit on the south end of the refuge.
We also ate at The Star - a Basque restaurant/hotel started one hundred years ago as a safe haven and socializing spot for Basque sheepherders who had settled the area. The food is served family style - cabbage soup, salad with a creamy garlic dressing, bread and butter, and french fries for all - plus whatever main course (usually a garlic-laden meat such as steak or lamb) you order. (Except for me - I just do the sides!)
We spent Wednesday - Friday bumming around the refuge. We got a tour of the Gallagher State Fish Hatchery, where I spotted a bird never before seen in Nevada (see following post). We planted my vegetable garden. We drove the refuge auto loop (more than once). We hiked Cave Creek trail, and walked the dogs around the refuge roads.
Dad hiked up to the top of the mountain behind our house. Mom helped me do some baby preparation. It was nice to just spend time together.
When driving the auto route, this Killdeer frantically hopped up and down, capturing our attention and luring us away from her nest - which we weren't sure about where it was located, but upon further investigation Dad found the four small speckled eggs, right in the middle of the road.
We also got some great looks of a Short-eared Owl!
Saturday, Mom, Dad and I headed to Salt Lake City, leaving Rod behind for a long three weeks by himself. We toured the Mormon/LDS Temple Square area in the middle of SLC. We had two very nice "sisters" who gave us a tour, and learned a lot about the Mormon religion. It was a great week!
Mom had packed an entire carry-on suitcase full of plants, and I was fortunate to have their help in some of our yard beautification projects! They don't let grass grow under their feet - Mom and I got to work right away planting flowers out front! And even though it was almost June, it was COLD!
Here is the water feature I'd already installed in the flower bed, we just planted around it! I've had birds drinking and bathing from it, including a Lewis' Woodpecker, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbirds, and Lazuli Buntings.
Rod had to contribute to the flower bed too with his own personal touch!
Dad, aka "Durvish Dad", helped around the house too, from washing cars to planting vegetables in the garden to hanging birdfeeders.
Saturday, their first full day, we headed to Lamoille Canyon, also in the Ruby Mountains but about 1.5 hours away. It was absolutely beautiful. We couldn't get that high up into the canyon, however, due to heavy snow pack covering the road.
We did get really close to a porcupine, who seemed completely unconcered with our presence...
... and we saw a whole herd of mountain goats!
We did get really close to a porcupine, who seemed completely unconcered with our presence...
... and we saw a whole herd of mountain goats!
Sunday we got up and headed towards the Utah border to Great Basin National Park, a little over 3 hours away. To do this, we headed south to Ely and traveled on Highway 50, the "Loneliest Highway in America".
However, we all agreed that the road taking us south out of Ruby Valley and through Long Valley was MUCH lonelier!
We did pass a small group of "wild horses" on the way.
These are very controversial out here. The BLM and the Humane Society of the United States are always fighting about these horses. They are truly feral horses, that have been living free on the open range for decades. There are many facets to the issue - from them not having adequate water or food on the open range and thus starving, to the case that they are destroying habitat, to the possibility that they are competing with native wildlife as well as cattle. As an ecologist, I totally see a case for the fact that these are non-native introduced species that shouldn't be here as they unnaturally alter the ecosystem and affect the wildlife living in it. However, for every feral horse out there there must be HUNDREDS of cows, so it seems ridiculous to me to take on the issue of eliminating horses for the minimal damage they may be causing, when the effect on the environment from cattle is astronomical. Until grazing is addressed, talking about the horses seems absurd.
Here we are, at GBNP!
We drove up Wheeler Peak scenic drive (at over 13,000 feet, it is the second tallest peak in Nevada) and debated hiking to the top, but here's what we encountered:
Hmmm... maybe we'd better not. Instead we found a lower elevation trail - Pole Canyon:
We stayed at the Silver Jack Inn, which was really a trailer converted into very simple rooms.
And we ate at the Lectrolux Cafe - an eclectic little restaurant/bakery/gifty shop that I loved!
Here, we celebrated Mom's birthday!
Monday we headed back to Ruby Valley, and Tuesday I had an OB appointment in Elko. While there, we visited the Northeast Nevada Museum and saw the original Pony Express cabin, which used to sit on the south end of the refuge.
We also ate at The Star - a Basque restaurant/hotel started one hundred years ago as a safe haven and socializing spot for Basque sheepherders who had settled the area. The food is served family style - cabbage soup, salad with a creamy garlic dressing, bread and butter, and french fries for all - plus whatever main course (usually a garlic-laden meat such as steak or lamb) you order. (Except for me - I just do the sides!)
We spent Wednesday - Friday bumming around the refuge. We got a tour of the Gallagher State Fish Hatchery, where I spotted a bird never before seen in Nevada (see following post). We planted my vegetable garden. We drove the refuge auto loop (more than once). We hiked Cave Creek trail, and walked the dogs around the refuge roads.
Dad hiked up to the top of the mountain behind our house. Mom helped me do some baby preparation. It was nice to just spend time together.
When driving the auto route, this Killdeer frantically hopped up and down, capturing our attention and luring us away from her nest - which we weren't sure about where it was located, but upon further investigation Dad found the four small speckled eggs, right in the middle of the road.
We also got some great looks of a Short-eared Owl!
Saturday, Mom, Dad and I headed to Salt Lake City, leaving Rod behind for a long three weeks by himself. We toured the Mormon/LDS Temple Square area in the middle of SLC. We had two very nice "sisters" who gave us a tour, and learned a lot about the Mormon religion. It was a great week!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Movin' in to Ruby Valley - Take 2
On Sunday, Rod and I ventured back into Elko (now that we had plenty of space, coolers, a list of what we knew we needed, etc.), had lunch and did a major shopping trip. Saw lots of wildlife en route: mule deer, Rough-legged Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks (including some dark morphs), Prairie Falcons, a Great Horned Owl, and Rod's first good look at a Golden Eagle. Rod was very happy when the DISH network guy came Monday – he was missing TV! Monday night, we had dinner with some people from the valley we'd met at Niki's party. Shauna and Rex had us over, and also there were Stephanie and Marlo and LesAnn (and their kiddos). Shauna made a GREAT mexican meal, and Rod got recruited for the LDS basketball team.
So now he's into week two of his job... finally he's not coming home pondering aloud what in the world he's gotten himself into and doubting his ability to learn this job. It is really overwhelming for him right now, but I have no doubt he'll catch on and do great. One of his major duties is to monitor water levels on the refuge, so he has to drive the levys and take water measurements at several locations.
Friday Marti and her husband Ken came back into town for her retirement party. We all loaded up, and I met Allen, the fourth fish hatchery employee, and we rode with him over Harrison Pass (our first glimpse at this route - we saw around 75 mule deer) to the Jiggs Bar. WHAT an experience! A true cowboy bar. We spent a couple of hours here, socializing with a crew from California making their annual boys' vacation here, before driving into Elko to have supper at Sergio's Mexican. Mmm-mm. On Saturday, Rod and I drove into Elko again. This time we were on a mission to open a bank account so Rod could set up his direct deposit. After, we had lunch then did some more shopping before heading back home. The wildlife was a repeat of last time - lots of raptors and some deer. Makes the 2 hour drive enjoyable! Sunday a technician came out and hooked up our internet – NOW we’re cookin’!
So, week three of living in Ruby Valley-
Tuesday night was book club – Niki took me to introduce me, I’m on my own from here on out! This month the book is The Far Pavilion. I need to order the book and get on it! Wednesday night Jeff had us over to his house for supper: Niki, Ian, Eric, Lowell, Rod and myself. Thursday we all went into town. Everyone had an errand they needed to run, so it just made sense to all go together. Rod and I applied for our Nevada driver’s licenses. We ate at The Star, an historic Basque restaurant, for lunch. The Basque people are sheepherders that came from the Pyrenees region of Spain and France and settled here, and have a fascinating history. Jeff gave us a tour of Elko’s Red Light District – crazy. We picked up some Papa Murphy’s pizza before heading back home, and all got together at Eric’s Thursday night to eat it. Friday afternoon I spent some time with Niki learning about the refuge’s concession (t-shirts, books, etc.) which I am taking over the sales of.
A big event in Elko is the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and the annual event kicked off last night and lasts all week and into next weekend. There was a free showing by Richard Elloyan at the LDS church down the road, and Eric, Rod and I went yesterday to watch him. Rod then stayed and played basketball, and Eric and I came home. Well, Rod realized at about 8 pm as they were about to leave the church to drive home that I’d taken the car keys with me. So, I got in the little Focus and putted up the road to Rex and Shauna’s house, where he’d left his car parked, to take him the keys. The roads were icy and it was snowing, and I mean I went SLOW... it took me about 30 minutes to travel the 12 miles to their house. I only slid once... when a Great-Horned Owl flew twice back and forth in front of my car.
Now we’re heading into our fourth week in Nevada! Rod says we have more of a social life here in this isolated valley than we've ever had, and is hoping for a quiet week to be able to do some of his own unpacking and settling in!
So now he's into week two of his job... finally he's not coming home pondering aloud what in the world he's gotten himself into and doubting his ability to learn this job. It is really overwhelming for him right now, but I have no doubt he'll catch on and do great. One of his major duties is to monitor water levels on the refuge, so he has to drive the levys and take water measurements at several locations.
Friday Marti and her husband Ken came back into town for her retirement party. We all loaded up, and I met Allen, the fourth fish hatchery employee, and we rode with him over Harrison Pass (our first glimpse at this route - we saw around 75 mule deer) to the Jiggs Bar. WHAT an experience! A true cowboy bar. We spent a couple of hours here, socializing with a crew from California making their annual boys' vacation here, before driving into Elko to have supper at Sergio's Mexican. Mmm-mm. On Saturday, Rod and I drove into Elko again. This time we were on a mission to open a bank account so Rod could set up his direct deposit. After, we had lunch then did some more shopping before heading back home. The wildlife was a repeat of last time - lots of raptors and some deer. Makes the 2 hour drive enjoyable! Sunday a technician came out and hooked up our internet – NOW we’re cookin’!
So, week three of living in Ruby Valley-
Tuesday night was book club – Niki took me to introduce me, I’m on my own from here on out! This month the book is The Far Pavilion. I need to order the book and get on it! Wednesday night Jeff had us over to his house for supper: Niki, Ian, Eric, Lowell, Rod and myself. Thursday we all went into town. Everyone had an errand they needed to run, so it just made sense to all go together. Rod and I applied for our Nevada driver’s licenses. We ate at The Star, an historic Basque restaurant, for lunch. The Basque people are sheepherders that came from the Pyrenees region of Spain and France and settled here, and have a fascinating history. Jeff gave us a tour of Elko’s Red Light District – crazy. We picked up some Papa Murphy’s pizza before heading back home, and all got together at Eric’s Thursday night to eat it. Friday afternoon I spent some time with Niki learning about the refuge’s concession (t-shirts, books, etc.) which I am taking over the sales of.
A big event in Elko is the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and the annual event kicked off last night and lasts all week and into next weekend. There was a free showing by Richard Elloyan at the LDS church down the road, and Eric, Rod and I went yesterday to watch him. Rod then stayed and played basketball, and Eric and I came home. Well, Rod realized at about 8 pm as they were about to leave the church to drive home that I’d taken the car keys with me. So, I got in the little Focus and putted up the road to Rex and Shauna’s house, where he’d left his car parked, to take him the keys. The roads were icy and it was snowing, and I mean I went SLOW... it took me about 30 minutes to travel the 12 miles to their house. I only slid once... when a Great-Horned Owl flew twice back and forth in front of my car.
Now we’re heading into our fourth week in Nevada! Rod says we have more of a social life here in this isolated valley than we've ever had, and is hoping for a quiet week to be able to do some of his own unpacking and settling in!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Westward Ho!
Exactly one month ago we underwent a lifechanging event. We left the comforts of our home in Northwest Arkansas, surrounded by friends and not TOO far from family (in Missouri and Alabama), for the unknown wide open spaces of northeastern Nevada.
On December 23, after spending our last night in Northwest Arkansas with our good friends the Brewsters, with heavy hearts we pulled out of Fayetteville and headed to the south of Kansas City to spend Christmas with Rod's family.
After a very enjoyable week visiting with his family and several of our friends, we left to drive west to our new home on December 30. The first day we drove through the entirety of Kansas to Limon, Colorado, where we spent our first night. On day two we continued on I-70 to Denver, then headed north through Fort Collins and up into Laramie, Wyoming (where I'd visited once before when considering the University of Wyoming for graduate school). From here we hopped on I-80; somewhere along the route the winds really kicked up, and the snow was blowing in such steady streams across the road it looked like fog. After dark, the temperature dropped and the road started getting icy. After my little Focus fishtailed in the middle of the interstate, we decided it was time to call it quits. We made it to Rawlins, which HAS to be the windiest city either of us had ever been in. It was miserable - bitter cold and biting winds made us wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into! After checking into our motel, we ventured to Cappy's, the restaurant nearby, where we celebrated with a New Year's Eve supper before retreating back to our room to watch the festivities on TV. A pretty low key holiday this year!
On day three we drove through Salt Lake City, past the Great Salt Lake, and into Nevada. What a beautiful landscape! Exhausted by the third day and SO ready to be there, we finally made it to Elko, where we'd spend the final night before heading to our new home. After checking into our last night of a motel, we grabbed supper at Pizza Hut then drove around a little bit, exploring "our new city" - after all, it is the closest city to Ruby Valley and where we'd be doing all of our shopping. We were satisfied at the wide selection of merchants in town - any fast food place you could want and then some, 3+ grocery stores, Wal-Mart, K-Mart (my new Target?), CVS, Home Depot, and some local chains we were unfamiliar with. Plus a plethora of casinos, should we get an itch to gamble (doubtful).
The next morning (Sunday), we shopped around before purchasing a pair of boots for Rod to replace the ones he'd forgotten at his Dad's, grabbed lunch at Taco Time (a GREAT fast food Mexican place), loaded up on groceries, then headed south, towards Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, our new home. The way we must go in the winter, without a 4 wheel drive vehicle, is about 80 miles over Secret Pass, which takes us 2 hours - 1 hour on pavement, 1 hour on gravel. Upon arrival at the refuge, we stopped at the visitor's center, where we met the entire staff: Niki, who after living in Ruby Valley most of her life and raising four kids here, unfortunately just took a job in Portland and left yesterday (we sure will miss her, she really welcomed us with open arms), Jeff, the refuge biologist and interim manager, who's been here for 19 years, and Eric, the man who can do/fix anything you ask! That's it! Now that Niki is gone, the entire staff consists of Jeff, Eric and Rod - then there's me. :)
We had the option to choose between two houses, and we LOVE our house!
Right now Ruby Marsh is covered in snow and mostly frozen (except for the spring-fed collection ditch, which remains open, thus attracting lots of wildlife) - here's the view out our front window:
They gave Rod tons of keys - keys to our house, keys to the office, keys to his new Ford F-250...
We unloaded everything we'd managed to pack into our two cars, plus the critters, blew up our air mattress, and called it a day. Sunday we spent exploring a bit of the refuge. We took the truck out on the auto-tour route, and took the dogs on Cave Creek trail, a short trail just down from our house that goes up to the cave where the creek flows out of that provides our water. Mmmmm, good clean fresh pristine water, right out of the mountain! We get it for free and it's as pure as it comes! We walked the road that runs in front of our house and played around with our new Canon Rebel XSi camera while birding the collection ditch (wigeon, scaup, ringneck, mallards, goldeneye and Trumpeter Swans):
Rod went to work Monday for his first day, and I bummed around the house/hiked Cave Creek again. Monday night Niki had everyone over to celebrate Justine (her daughter's) birthday. We had a nice supper and then played Balderdash, one of my fave games.
On Tuesday our ABF truck showed up (even thought it wasn't supposed to come until Friday!) and it was SO amazing - Niki had called around and 7 people showed up within 10 minutes of its arrival to help us unload! Niki, her son Ian, Jeff, Eric, and Lowell, Scott and Craig from the Gallagher Fish Hatchery down the street all showed up to help. What took 4 guys we'd hired 3 hours to load took us all about an hour to unload! It was awesome. So, once finished (and after lunch break), everyone returned to work and I went to work on our house. I spent the first week unpacking and arranging our house. I was VERY happy when on Thursday our phone service was hooked up. I had lots of calls to make!
On Thursday, Eric had Ian, Jeff, Lowell, Rod and I over to watch the Alabama Texas game. On Friday, Ruby Valley had a going-away party for Niki at the community center at the opposite end of the valley. It was incredible. SO MANY people showed up - she's dearly love and will be sorely missed. We met SO many people! Marti, the refuge manager who hired Rod and just retired, came into town and we got to meet her - SO sweet.
On December 23, after spending our last night in Northwest Arkansas with our good friends the Brewsters, with heavy hearts we pulled out of Fayetteville and headed to the south of Kansas City to spend Christmas with Rod's family.
After a very enjoyable week visiting with his family and several of our friends, we left to drive west to our new home on December 30. The first day we drove through the entirety of Kansas to Limon, Colorado, where we spent our first night. On day two we continued on I-70 to Denver, then headed north through Fort Collins and up into Laramie, Wyoming (where I'd visited once before when considering the University of Wyoming for graduate school). From here we hopped on I-80; somewhere along the route the winds really kicked up, and the snow was blowing in such steady streams across the road it looked like fog. After dark, the temperature dropped and the road started getting icy. After my little Focus fishtailed in the middle of the interstate, we decided it was time to call it quits. We made it to Rawlins, which HAS to be the windiest city either of us had ever been in. It was miserable - bitter cold and biting winds made us wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into! After checking into our motel, we ventured to Cappy's, the restaurant nearby, where we celebrated with a New Year's Eve supper before retreating back to our room to watch the festivities on TV. A pretty low key holiday this year!
On day three we drove through Salt Lake City, past the Great Salt Lake, and into Nevada. What a beautiful landscape! Exhausted by the third day and SO ready to be there, we finally made it to Elko, where we'd spend the final night before heading to our new home. After checking into our last night of a motel, we grabbed supper at Pizza Hut then drove around a little bit, exploring "our new city" - after all, it is the closest city to Ruby Valley and where we'd be doing all of our shopping. We were satisfied at the wide selection of merchants in town - any fast food place you could want and then some, 3+ grocery stores, Wal-Mart, K-Mart (my new Target?), CVS, Home Depot, and some local chains we were unfamiliar with. Plus a plethora of casinos, should we get an itch to gamble (doubtful).
The next morning (Sunday), we shopped around before purchasing a pair of boots for Rod to replace the ones he'd forgotten at his Dad's, grabbed lunch at Taco Time (a GREAT fast food Mexican place), loaded up on groceries, then headed south, towards Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, our new home. The way we must go in the winter, without a 4 wheel drive vehicle, is about 80 miles over Secret Pass, which takes us 2 hours - 1 hour on pavement, 1 hour on gravel. Upon arrival at the refuge, we stopped at the visitor's center, where we met the entire staff: Niki, who after living in Ruby Valley most of her life and raising four kids here, unfortunately just took a job in Portland and left yesterday (we sure will miss her, she really welcomed us with open arms), Jeff, the refuge biologist and interim manager, who's been here for 19 years, and Eric, the man who can do/fix anything you ask! That's it! Now that Niki is gone, the entire staff consists of Jeff, Eric and Rod - then there's me. :)
We had the option to choose between two houses, and we LOVE our house!
Right now Ruby Marsh is covered in snow and mostly frozen (except for the spring-fed collection ditch, which remains open, thus attracting lots of wildlife) - here's the view out our front window:
They gave Rod tons of keys - keys to our house, keys to the office, keys to his new Ford F-250...
We unloaded everything we'd managed to pack into our two cars, plus the critters, blew up our air mattress, and called it a day. Sunday we spent exploring a bit of the refuge. We took the truck out on the auto-tour route, and took the dogs on Cave Creek trail, a short trail just down from our house that goes up to the cave where the creek flows out of that provides our water. Mmmmm, good clean fresh pristine water, right out of the mountain! We get it for free and it's as pure as it comes! We walked the road that runs in front of our house and played around with our new Canon Rebel XSi camera while birding the collection ditch (wigeon, scaup, ringneck, mallards, goldeneye and Trumpeter Swans):
Rod went to work Monday for his first day, and I bummed around the house/hiked Cave Creek again. Monday night Niki had everyone over to celebrate Justine (her daughter's) birthday. We had a nice supper and then played Balderdash, one of my fave games.
On Tuesday our ABF truck showed up (even thought it wasn't supposed to come until Friday!) and it was SO amazing - Niki had called around and 7 people showed up within 10 minutes of its arrival to help us unload! Niki, her son Ian, Jeff, Eric, and Lowell, Scott and Craig from the Gallagher Fish Hatchery down the street all showed up to help. What took 4 guys we'd hired 3 hours to load took us all about an hour to unload! It was awesome. So, once finished (and after lunch break), everyone returned to work and I went to work on our house. I spent the first week unpacking and arranging our house. I was VERY happy when on Thursday our phone service was hooked up. I had lots of calls to make!
On Thursday, Eric had Ian, Jeff, Lowell, Rod and I over to watch the Alabama Texas game. On Friday, Ruby Valley had a going-away party for Niki at the community center at the opposite end of the valley. It was incredible. SO MANY people showed up - she's dearly love and will be sorely missed. We met SO many people! Marti, the refuge manager who hired Rod and just retired, came into town and we got to meet her - SO sweet.
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