March 18: Reno to Elko
3:20 p.m. Train arrives. For a moment, the platform is a bustle as scores of folks exit, ready for a Reno weekend.
3:25 p.m. Boarding. Confusion over where to sit. Older couple asks if it’s okay to sit next to me. They’re on their way to Denver.
3:37 p.m. Train leaves on time. Feels like a minor miracle.
4:01 p.m. Cell phones blare loudly in front of me. Loud conversation behind me. Head to the observation car for peace.
4:25 p.m. Purchase bourbon, Sprite, and water bottle from café. $15. Start reading.
4:43 p.m. Not actually reading, just staring out the window. We make our way through the Virginia Range, where the Comstock Lode, a couple of miles to the south, helped secure Nevada’s statehood. Abandoned mines still dot the view, a stark contrast to the warehouses and data centers currently being built on those hills. The Truckee River meanders, and so do I.
6:05 p.m. A family takes the table next to me. They pull out a deck of Uno cards. “I KNOW ALL THE RULES!” the young girl screams. She does not.
6:30 p.m. Just past Winnemucca. On one side of the car, the Humboldt River slowly carves its way through the heart of the Great Basin. On the other side, the sun sets behind the Sonoma Range. Did John Frémont think Nevada was as pretty as I do when he named the river?
7 p.m. Decide to go all in and grab dinner in the diner car.
7:30 p.m. Seated at a table with three others, all traveling separately. Two are lovely, third hammered. Food decent. Conversation lacking.
9:20 p.m. Arrive at the concrete slab that is Elko Station. Taxi and rideshare are available, but unreliable. There is a shuttle, however. $2 round-trip.
9:51 p.m. Check in at the former Stockmen’s Hotel & Casino, now a Ramada. $76 a night. Nicer than expected, but AC appears busted. Still, I’m tired, and the pillows seem okay.
March 19: Elko
7 a.m. Wake up tired. Moving slowly.
8 a.m. Free breakfast at Stockmen’s diner. Bad food, nice server. She’s moving to Reno in the fall to go to UNR.
8:30 a.m. Old men in the corner talk loudly about what’s wrong with the world today (everything, seemingly).
9 a.m. Back to my room. Work.
1 p.m. Explore historic downtown Elko. Venture into J.M. Capriola Co., which has sold Western attire and saddlery for nearly 100 years. The smell of leather both overpowers and comforts me. Cowboying in style must be expensive.
2 p.m. Realize the last time I was in Elko was while covering a Biden 2020 campaign event. I should come here more often.
3 p.m. Venture into a nearby dive bar, Goldie’s. Order beer. Latest gossip: Bar regular is in jail for fighting a cop.
3:30 p.m. Guy walks in, states: “I’ll give you $20 if you can cook this bacon for me.” Bartender — confused as the rest of us — says she only has a microwave. “That’s fine,” the man says as he hands over entire package of bacon and money. He leaves.
3:45 p.m. Much discussion on how best to cook bacon in a microwave.
4:30 p.m. Bacon man returns to get the saddest plate of bacon I’ve ever seen. Immediately leaves again, offering no explanation. Bar collectively shrugs.
5 p.m. Back to room to wash off the smell of cigarette smoke and bacon.
6:30 p.m. Skip Star Hotel & Bar. Done it (it’s fine). Go to Machi’s Saloon & Grill instead. Have truly delectable prime rib. Market price.
8 p.m. Go for a walk. Brandy’s Bar has live music. Band’s not bad, and beer’s cheap.
9:30 p.m. Walk the block and a half back to Stockmen’s for bed.
March 20: Elko to Reno
2 a.m. Wake up.
3:07 a.m. Shuttle arrives.
3:25 a.m. A handful of us slowly shuffle onto the train. It’s quiet, dark. I throw myself into a nearby seat, fall asleep before we’re out of town.
5 a.m. Conductor announces, “Next stop, Winnemucca.” It’s still dark. The train swaying is nice.
6:30 a.m. Tired and ready to be home. Sunrise over the desert. Damn, Nevada is pretty.
7 a.m. Grab coffee from cafe car. $3. It’s bad.
7:30 a.m. Buy another cup.
8 a.m. Woman behind me calls her son. She’s trying to make sure he’s bringing her grandson. It’ll be her first time seeing him. I’m excited for her.
8:30 a.m. Stare out the window, amazed at what you miss when you drive. Wetlands bring pelicans and other waterfowl to the marshes of the Carson and Humboldt Sinks. Cows with their calves and horses with their foals eke out a life. Tiny communities
— places with maybe 5,
10 houses or trailers, dot the landscape. So do countless abandoned places — mines, towns. Nevada is filled with so many views, often only spoiled by our inability to clean up after ourselves.
9:10 a.m. Train arrives in Reno. Scores exit, leaving remainder onboard bound for Truckee, Sacramento, then the Bay.
