Historic Ely, Nevada more than just a stopover

This article was originally posted by Bev Malzard of Travel Gal Travels and was republished with permission.

I couldn’t be further from Las Vegas than from here to the moon. But hey, this hotel is looking very Nevada-ish old-school neon with extra curricular enticement. Before walking through the doors of the historic Hotel Nevada & Gambling Hall, I’m stepping on the stars in the footpath. Wayne Newton, Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper and other Hollywood and Las Vegas notables. This was surprising as Ely, Nevada is a bit off the beaten track and certainly not in the grand five-star food chain.

Built in 1926 – and six storeys too – the Hotel Nevada was the first building in the state to be fireproofed. Rooms were rented for US$1.50 and up – touted as all with private toilet, ’85 per cent with private baths’.

Prohibition was still in effect and the hotel entertained with bootlegged refreshments and gambling all day. It was the heady days of ‘Bathtub Gin’ made from raw alcohol, water and flavourings, and the gentle tipple of ‘White Lightning’ supplied by the locals made for an interesting aperitif or two!

Today, the Hotel Nevada stands almost as she did in the late-20s. Of course there are modern appliances and all that comes with the 21st century, but it hasn’t been tricked up at all – in fact it’s a classic, historic, atmospheric mess.

Many of the rooms have nameplates, such as ‘John Wayne’ and the hotel was known as a stopover for those motoring to Sun Valley and other holiday resorts.

Walk in the door and the slot machines (pokies) are winking and blinking; paraphernalia of the past Wild West and Wild Rocker days adorn the walls and there are lots of wonderful nostalgic black and white images crowding the walls.

I enter a small lift and am deposited on the third floor for my room – damn, I don’t get the Jimmy Stewart room. I get my Wi-Fi mojo happening in the small room (remember, they were built almost 90 years ago), and cosy up on my bed with a few chains hanging over it – more rustic décor than S&M.

I have a great sleep and then it’s down to a full Nevada breakfast – ‘I’ll have the lot’. I’ve got to love American breakfasts – this meal would take me out rustling cattle, fighting a range war, starting a gold rush and back home again for a barn dance – yee har!

Ely has a wide-street, quiet-nights kind of appeal. It is High Desert country and most of the downtown buildings have quaint, painted murals depicting the city’s colourful history of pioneers, miners, the Pony Express and the rich railroad history. If trains are your thing, you can even have a holiday and, for about US$550-$670 (AU$800-$900), work on a classic locomotive.

The Nevada Northern Railway National Historic Landmark is the last of its kind – the sole survivor of the grand era of railroading in the Silver State. Yet, it’s far from being in the throes of death. The landmark is a living, breathing, operating railroad. You won’t find pretty glass cases holding polished remnants of machinery here – but you can get down and dirty with the gritty equipment in the vast complex of buildings.

There are four original steam locomotives, six original diesel locos, and more than 60 pieces of original rolling stock – the oldest piece dates to 1872 when president Ulysses S. Grant sat in the White House (and not on a $50 note). Climb aboard and travel back in time – the train’s waiting for you.

Ely is in White Pine County, in the heart of Nevada’s scenic back-country. Founded in 1970 as a trading post called Murry Station, it eventually grew to be one of the country’s major copper mining regions. If you’re ever in Nevada, I’d recommend stopping in and having a look around Ely.