THE COCKTAIL HOUR: Elko, Nevada Pub Crawl

Idaho Street...or highway 535...is the main thorough fare of Elko, Nevada. You'll find all the main gas stations, hotels, fast food joints, and casinos along this street. A block south is a square, with no name that I can find, that is bordered by 3rd Street on the west, 8th Street on the east (where the centennial railroad water tower is) with storefronts lining Railroad and Commercial Streets on the north and south. In the middle is a large parking lot with room for hundreds of cars.

Since no one else has seemed to name it, I'll call it "Railroad Square" because the parking lot is where the train tracks used to be long ago.

Along the edges of this square, I count eight bars and one casino. Not all are open the afternoon we're here but it looks like we'll be able to hit most of them that are.

Before we start drinking, we check out the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum, located in the former saddelry of G.S. Garcia who fabricated western saddles and gear here from 1894 through 1933. After that, we spend a few minutes two doors down at a still functioning saddle and gear store, JM Capriola.

Now, we can start our crawl. First up is Machi's Saloon. A few patrons are sipping the appropriate Basque libation, picon punch, while we strike up a converstation with them over our whiskey sours.

One of the cowboys at the bar tells us of the syndicate he runs to buy a horse to run in the big horse race that is run during the county fair each September. His buddy tells us about where this desert town's water comes from (underground) and the dozen or so commercial gold mines that still operate in the region.

Next up is another couple of sours at the Stockmen's Casino where, since I'm feeding the video poker machine at the bar, are free. Well, I do spend two bucks on poker but the free drinks are a pretty good trade.

We come across a lovely little dive bar called Goldie's on the other side of the square. They don't have the ingredients necessary for a whiskey sour so it's just shots of Maker's Mark for us while we get to know some more locals and their young, friendly pit bull who gets lonely whenever one of them goes to the bathroom.

Lastly, we head a couple of blocks away to the Toki Ona, a local Basque watering hole and restaurant, to have a couple of picon punches while deciding to stay for dinner.

It's a nice taste of what this small city has in store and we vow to come back and try some of the other closed locations on another trip.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2022 - All Rights Reserved

Winning in Winnemucca

Continuing this Basque themed trip, we end up in Winnemucca, a small city in Northern Nevada, about halfway between Reno and Elko. It was a long and lonely drive through the desert from the north with giant, snow covered peaks lining highway 95. The city looked very welcoming when we arrived.

Our hotel was to be the Quality Inn at the Model T Casino. Unfortunately, the accessible room we reserved was accessible in name only. The roll in shower had a step to get into and a sliding glass door that was impossible to get Tim around.

Not only that but there was only a half inch of clearance for Tim and his chair throughout the room. We looked at a regular room but it was worse so we said the room just wasn't accessible and it would be impossible to spend the night there. The manager agreed and gave us a free cancellation.

Now, we're here without a room and our choices are to wander around to find another room or bite the bullet and drive another five hours and just go home.

Before we steal ourselve for such a long journey when we're frankly too tired for it, we pull into the Candlewood Suites at the east end of town. I check with the front desk and, while they have some rooms, none are what we'd really look forward to so we start phoning around town. The Holiday Inn Express at the other end of town has a standard room with two queen beds plus a sofa bed. 

It's only for one night, Tim already had a bath this morning, so the only question is whether he could get to the room without barriers and if he could fit through the bathroom door. The manager agrees to come let me look and see if the room will do.

Five minutes later, I'm touring the room which is a heckuva lot roomier than the Model T room we'd booked. Everything looks fine so we check in.

As said before, we're only here for one night and we've lost an hour looking for a room so we've got to get cracking.

Our main reason for stopping here was to add another Basque restaurant to our list. Like many old Basque restaurants, this one started as a boarding house near the train station where young, lonely, and hard working shepherds from the old country could spend the night and get a solid meal between bouts of living out in the middle of nowhere with a few hundred sheep. 

This one is called the Hotel Martin, although it hasn't been a hotel or boarding house since the 1970's. It's away from the busy highway and even the secondary business street separated from the dusty desert only by the nearby train tracks.

In the comfortable, cozy, heavily wooded interior, we start off as always with a picon punch. It's a bitter and sweet mixture of amer picon liqeuer and brandy with a lemon twist that is the quintessential Basque cocktail.

If you're familiar with family style Basque dinners, you won't be surprised by what comes next, a parade of food that will expand your ideas of "full." A carafe of house red wine, a tureen of soup (tonight, minestrone), a bowl of salad, bread and butter, a tongue appetizer, a dish of hominy and chorizo, another dish of bacon green beans, then the entree...tonight, a 24 ounce rib eye covered in garlic cloves and mushrooms to be shared by all three of us...and another platter of french fries along with their "prairie dust," a mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic powder to be sprinkled on anything you'd like.

Bread pudding is brought out aftward for dessert. My gosh, we're full!

It's not cheap but worth every penny. We've been to a lot of Basque restaurants over the years and the Martin is one of the best.

After dinner, back at the hotel, Letty and I take advantage of coupons given to us by the front desk that gives us $10 of free play and a free cocktail at the slot machines of the connected Pete's Casino. I stop after I drink my whiskey sour and lose my ten dollars, Letty comes out eight dollars ahead.

It's time to relax in the room for awhile and rest up for tomorrow's long drive.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2022 - All Rights Reserved

Basquing it On The Road: A Pit Stop in Elko

We're exploring more of the area around our new neighborhood in Northern California. This includes crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains and exploring the deserts of Nevada on the other side. This time, we're spending some time in the northeastern area around Elko.

We've got one whole day to spend here so let's get to it. We're starting off with a drive along highway 225 from Duck River Reservation from the Idaho border down to Elko.

From wild mustangs to teepees in the back of almost every home here on the rez, we head south into Wild Horse Canyon for a windy and gorgeous drive along the Owyhee River.

Wild Horse Reservoir greets us at the other end and we make a pit stop at Wild Horse Ranch where some clean restrooms await at the convenience store, bar, and restaurant. You can also camp the night here, if you wish, but it's just a nature break for us while we admire the snow covered scenery nearby.

More high elevation Nevada desert scenery unfolds at we make our way to Elko, a city in northwest Nevada that will be our home for the night.

Our room is a functional, clean but not spectacular room with two queen beds and a roll-in shower at the Hampton Inn, next door to the Gold Dust West Casino that would be a great place for breakfast. The Hampton has a decent and free breakfast but for our second morning, we splurge on the $5.99 special of bacon and eggs at the casino.

We want to do two things while we're here...do a pub crawl and have a nice Basque dinner. The pub crawl will be featured on our Sunday Cocktail Hour post. For the dinner, we head to the Star Hotel, an old Basque boarding house that used to be next to the railroad tracks (the trains moved, not the hotel).

Unfortunately, when we walk in, we find everything covered in plastic sheeting. The restaurant is under renovation and is not open today. We'll have to go to our plan B, the Toki Ona, the city's other Basque restaurant. 

Along the way, as we pull out from the parking lot, we find out that the block down from the Star Hotel is the city's red light district with about a half dozen brothels with names like "Inez's Dancing and Diddling" (prostitution is legal in much of Nevada and operates openly in regulated brothels).

At the Toki Ona, it's more of a diner atmosphere but has the standard Basque setup and entrees...start off with a tureen of soup to be shared with a loaf of bread and red wine. Then a bowl of salad. Then a plate of spaghetti. Then a dish of green beans. Now another load of rice with your potato selection (fries and au gratin for us). Finally the entree with was a plate of beef tongue in gravy and a rib eye covered in garlic and big enough for the three of us.

`

As always, it's a ton of food and we're only able to get through about half of each dish.

We take a drive and see the fairgrounds and the nice, shady neighborhood nearby with great tree-lined streets that reminds us a little of the walking tour we did in Carson City.

It's only a day but the city is nice enough that we decide we'd like to make a return trip...maybe when the rodeo or fair is in town.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2022 - All Rights Reserved 

THE COCKTAIL HOUR: Picon Punch

This week's cocktail is a traditional Basque drink.  While Basque restaurants are renowned for their great food...and equally awesome portions...they are also known for the bars that everybody hangs out in while waiting for meal service to begin.

Watch the Video!

Although most of them offer traditional table service these days, most Basque restaurants also set aside some meals to be served "family style."  That means everybody sits at one long table and passes the dishes of food, just like going to your Aunt Gloria's house on Thanksgiving.  It's a wonderfully social way of dining but you will be sitting with strangers.  

What to do?

That's right...a "Cocktail Hour!"  Most arrive a little early to enjoy a tipple in the bar and get to know the people a little bit before the meal is served and for many, that means the traditional but strong Picon Punch.


Picon Punch uses a liqueur called Amer Picon as a base.  This is an orange based libation that is very hard to find in our area so we substitute triple sec and bitters.  Here's the recipe:


INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 oz. - triple sec
1 oz. - brandy
2-3 oz. soda water
1 oz. lemon juice
dash of bitters
dash of grenadine


In an old fashioned glass half filled with ice, pour in bitters, triple sec, grenadine, and lemon juice.  Fill with soda water.  Float brandy on top.


Cheers! 

-Darryl

Classic Trip: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Taking a break from Denver, I get the hotel to shuttle me over to nearby Littleton where I can pick up an accessible rental van from Wheelers. No problems getting there on time or getting the van out. It’s a Chevy Venture with a powered ramp on the side and a Q-Straint tie down system.

Watch the Video!

The van is a little worn around the edges…it has over 80,000 miles on the odometer, the hood does not like to stay closed, you have to heave your weight against the automatic sliding door to get it to shut, and the “Check Engine Light” came on before we had to turn it back in.

It’s also expensive. At $230 for two days, with a 400 mile limit (plus about $50 in gas), it’s about 3 times as much than a decent rental car.

Still, it didn’t break down and got us where we needed to go and Tim could stay in his chair the entire time.

I take the van back to the hotel to pick up Letty and Tim and we’re off…

About an hour’s drive south of Denver is Colorado Springs, famous as the home of the Air Force Academy and the U.S. Olympic Training Center. It’s also famous for the giant 14,000 foot, snow covered mountain…Pike’s Peak…that hovers over it.

We had originally planned on driving up the toll road to the top of Pike’s Peak but the heavy snowpack has closed the road short of the peak. Instead, we head to the Garden of the Gods.

The Garden of the Gods is a stunning collection of red rocks sticking out of the ground south of town and just east of the peak. It’s also one of the few free or cheap attractions in the area being completely admission free.

We start off at the visitor’s center, across the street from the main entrance, and get a free map from one of the workers. She points out a hidden handicapped parking lot, about a quarter mile past the first big lot, where there’s a trailhead to a paved, accessible trail.

There’s also a deck outside perfectly situated to get views of the park with the massive Pike’s Peak behind it.

We grab a couple of snacks from the café, get back in the van, and head in.

It’s not hard to find our parking lot. There are about a half dozen handicapped spaces…all empty…and we park right next to the trailhead. There is 1.5 miles of this accessible trail winding through the central garden area, home to almost all of the park’s main features.

The first big rock we walk by has a natural arch at the top. Because of its shape, it’s called the “Kissing Camels.” It looks like a couple of dromedaries locked in a smooch.

Just beyond this is a large plaque dedicating the park to free public use forever where there is also a lot of historical graffiti scratched into the rock.

Across the way, several climbers are working their way to the top of another big rock. If you’re an experienced technical climber, with all the proper equipment, you can get a permit to climb at the visitor’s center.

Continuing on, there are points on the path where we can get up close to the rocks and touch them or even get inside some of the nooks and crannies.

We see about a dozen species of birds on the walk, some who stay still for pictures and others who are a bit more fidgety.

After our hike, we get back into the van and go to the other end of the park where there is a huge boulder balancing on top of another rock.

Letty climbs up to get the obligatory pictures but I notice that there are two large deposits of concrete under the rock. Let’s just say that the park staff wants to make sure this rock balances for perpetuity.

It’s one last look at Balancing Rock and then back in the van.

We drive to the high point of the park and see these jets, probably from the nearby Air Force base, practicing over the park.

After a couple of more pictures, we head out.

A few miles away, we drive through an old part of town. There seems to be a medical marijuana outlet on every corner. I’m thinking to myself, it’s already a mile high here…how much higher do you want to be?
(Note: marijuana...medical and recreational...is now legal for all adults in Colorado - Ed)

Beyond that, we get to our next destination, Seven Falls.

This is another park full of natural beauty but unlike the Garden of the Gods it is not free. In fact, it’s $9.95 (now $17 - Ed) per person, which seems a bit steep to look at a waterfall and there is no discount for the disabled. We were able to secure a dollar off coupon on our map of the Garden of the Gods so we at least got that.

There is a gorgeous and very narrow canyon at the entrance. This is also the location of the only restrooms in the park so make sure you stop here first or else it’s a long walk back down.

At the top, there are three handicapped spots and a visitor’s center. A ramp will get you up into that building and to the plaza behind it where you can get up close to the bottom of the falls. There is also a stage here where Native Americans sometimes put on shows.

Next to the visitor’s center is a pool where large trout live. There are vending machines where you can buy fish food for fifty cents.

A toss of the food on the water creates a feeding frenzy.

You’re not supposed to do it, but the local chipmunks will also eat that food right out of your hands. We didn’t do it but many other visitors did.

Across the parking lot from the visitor’s center is a tunnel into the mountain. To the left are some railroad tracks rusting away on the mountainside. These are the remains of an old funicular that took guests up the mountain to a viewing platform.

Today, there’s an elevator at the end of this tunnel.

Visitors can now ride up the lift to the platform and see the complete set of falls.

This is also the accessible way to see the falls.

If you’re strong and able, there is a very long staircase that takes you up to the top of the falls.

We spend a little time up here, soaking in the views, before heading back down, checking out the gift shop, and then heading out of the park.

Originally, we had planned to drive to the top of Pike’s Peak via the toll road there. The toll is just under $40 as of this writing but the snowpack had the road closed short of the peak. I also question whether our little van with the check engine light would have made it up to the 14,100 foot peak.

That plan scratched, we head over to the nearby town of Manitou Springs and visit the Cog Railway. We didn’t take the train, with a cost of over $100 for the three of us, but a special train with a cog to grip the steep slope takes visitors to the top of the mountain.

It looks like a lot of expensive fun. It’s wheelchair accessible but with only two spots on the train, reservations are essential. Call a couple of days ahead to book your space.

The gift shop here is a notch or two above the others in the area so we actually buy a few things here from the very friendly staff.

On the way out of town, we see this big inn and snap a picture. This is Miramont Castle, originally built as a home to the priest who ran the local sanitarium. Quite a residence for someone who’s taken a vow of poverty.

You can now tour the castle and have tea there. We didn’t but there have been lifts installed to help visitors in wheelchairs to see all the levels.

With that, our day trip to Colorado Springs is over and it’s back in the van to return to Denver.

-Darryl

Copyright 2011 – Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Classic Trip: Denver, Colorado - Part 3

In Part 1 of our Denver report, we made it to our 21st Major League Stadium by taking in a Rockies game at Coors Field, tried out Denver’s nice but imperfect light rail system, and had a very..VERY…good dinner at the Wyncoop Brewery. In Part 2, we spend some time exploring downtown and start a pub crawl. We also got to the Denver Zoo which is a zoo, frankly, with all the field trip kids there.

Watch the Video!

Yesterday, we took a day trip to Colorado Springs (report coming soon). The Springs doesn’t have great public transportation so we went ahead and rented an accessible van from Wheelers Van Rentals. The van itself wasn’t cheap…$230 for two days…and looked to be ridden hard and put away wet.

Still, it got the job done and got us where we needed to go.

We get a hot breakfast buffet included in our rate at the Drury Inn and Suites. The choices are scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, sausage, cereal, waffles, bagels, and toast. It’s the exact same selection every day. We’re getting a bit burned out on it.

Skipping the hotel breakfast, we head to Colfax Avenue east of downtown to Pete’s Kitchen. Pete is a bit of a restaurant legend in this town who immigrated from Greece, opened a diner, and parlayed that into a mini restaurant empire here in Denver. There’s Pete’s Kitchen, Pete’s Sapphire Lounge, Pete’s Gyros, Pete’s Greek Diner, and more.

His kitchen is a retro diner masterpiece but there’s no room for a wheelchair in the small, original diner space so we sit at a table in the room that was added on. Today we feast on a green chile breakfast burrito, pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and French toast. It’s very delicious and just a bit more than cheap.

Back on the road, we head east of Denver to Morrison, home to Red Rocks Park. Like the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, this is a public park full of great red rock features. The best known of which is the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

The theater is world renowned for its striking beauty, attracting artists as varied as Willie Nelson, U2, and the Beatles.

There are no big acts playing while we’re in town, so we can just stroll in and wander around. Today, a couple of hundred teenagers are running around the place in between practicing for their graduation ceremonies which will be taking place later in the week.

Tim and I head to the top row where we can get a striking view down to the stage. If you’re in a wheelchair at this 70 year old venue, you can either sit in the top row or the first row. There is nothing accessible in between.

From our perch on the top, it is soon apparent that there is no accessible route down to the stage so we get back in the van and find the handicapped parking area near the park’s trading post.

To get to the stage from here, there’s a long ramp that hugs the side of a red rock cliff.

It’s a steep ramp and luckily Tim has his power chair. If he’d had his manual chair, I don’t know if we’d have made it up. Even so, I’m huffing and puffing a bit when we finally make it up.

A set up crew is moving equipment onto the stage for the graduation ceremonies, but we’re able to go around them and spend some time onstage via a ramp at the end.

It’s quite a thrill to be standing in front of the 10,000 seats…right on the same spot as John & Paul, Willie, and Bono to drop just a few names.

The view from the stage must be quite inspiring to these performers.

Our time here is up and we head back down to visit the trading post. While there, a bit thunderstorm hits and we have to navigate our way back to the van through a downpour of pellet sized hail.

We continue on to Golden but the weather doesn’t cooperate and we’re only able to get a few pictures of the town and the massive Coors brewery.

Heading back into town, glancing to the north of downtown, I see a funnel cloud and ask Letty if that’s what she sees too. In town, there’s just a slight drizzle and we head to the Cheeky Monk for a quick bite. Afterward, back in the car, we turn on the radio just in time to get the Emergency Broadcasting System’s announcement of a tornado warning.

Luckily, it’s a few miles north of us and we’re heading south. Back to our cozy suite at the Drury Inn where we can relax in the warmth, pack up, and catch the taxi back to the airport in the morning.

-Darryl

Copyright 2011 – Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Classic Trip: Denver, Colorado - Part 2

In Part 1 of our Denver report, we made it to our 21st Major League Stadium by taking in a Rockies game at Coors Field, tried out Denver’s nice but imperfect light rail system, and had a very..VERY…good dinner at the Wyncoop Brewery.

Today is dedicated to exploring downtown Denver a little more and to start our Denver Pub Crawl .

Watch the Video!

Again, it’s the E Line from the Dry Creek light rail station a few miles south of downtown and across the street from our hotel, the Drury Inn and Suites in Englewood, Colorado. All the way to the end of the line at Union Station.

From there, it’s just a few steps to hop on the best accessible transit in Denver, the 16th Street Shuttle Bus. These great hybrid buses run up and down the mile long 16th Street Mall every couple of minutes. A ramp opens on the second door back (manually by the driver) and you can park in one of two dedicated spaces very easily. The driver will tie you down if you’d like but the buses are the only vehicles that travel the mall, and they don’t go too fast, so you might not think it’s necessary.

The 16th Street Mall is closed to vehicle traffic, except the buses, and the result is a very nice, mile long pedestrian mall. The shopping selection is a bit bland, mostly corporate chains like Bed, Bath, and Beyond; Corner Bakery; Starbucks and the like but all the good places in downtown are within three blocks or so of this artery.

Alighting from the east end of the mall, it’s one block to the golden domed state capitol building. Another couple of blocks east is the house that the unsinkable Molly Brown lived in.

Our pub crawl got off to an inauspicious start here as we couldn’t find the first pub we wanted to try (I mixed up the address number, we were only half a block away and would get there later in the week) and the second one turned out to be inaccessible to wheelchairs.

Walking back to downtown, we pass the Denver Art Museum, with its giant broom and dustpan out front, and the U.S. Mint, which was closed to tours on the Sunday we walked by.

Across 16th Street, our next stop is the Brown Palace Hotel. In business since 1892, this was the country’s first atrium style hotel. Its wrought iron balustrade and stained glass ceiling hover over the lobby area where afternoon High Tea is being served as we walk in.

The beauty of the lobby and the hotel take your breath away when you walk in. Nook, crannies, and multiple hallways invite you to explore the building. We go in for a drink in the dark wood paneled Ship Tavern.

Afterward, I make sure to get a drink from the old water fountain near the front door that serves up water from the hotel’s own artesian well located 720 feet below the building.

Back on 16th Street, it’s time for a snack and some coffee to take the edge off our pub crawl at the Corner Bakery. Continuing on, we meet one of Denver’s great characters, Denver Robo Mike, as we have drinks at the Paramount Café, adjacent to the Paramount Theater. Robo Mike and I commiserate about how shabby Shaquille O’Neal was treated by the Lakers and other assorted NBA topics. Yes, he was in full robot regalia, including his huge afro. He’s a very nice guy and I suggest keeping an eye out for him when you’re on 16th Street.

The light rail takes us back up to 20th Street. From here, the map says it’s a little over a mile to walk to the Denver Zoo. We can also take the 32 bus…which we just missed…but since the next one won’t be by for another half hour, we start walking. And walking…and walking.

It’s more like two miles and about half way there, the curb cuts at the corners start disappearing. It has turned into a trudge and a couple of hours later, we’re finally at the zoo’s gate.

We’re worn out and a bit moody. Hundreds of kids…who have helpfully been given noisemakers…are swarming the area on field trips. We take a couple of hours to see about half of the zoo before we throw in the towel.

We did get to see most of the birds, my wife’s favorite part, and a few big animals and monkeys before leaving.

At least this time we’re smart enough to take the bus back. Stay tuned for the final Denver chapter where The World on Wheels crew gets to take center stage.

-Darryl

Copyright 2011 – Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved