We went from Nevada to Arizona, to Nevada, Utah, Arizona, then Utah and back to Nevada in about 48 hours. Exhausting trying to remember which time zone we were in. Good thing we had no appointments.
Leaving Beaver Dam on I-15 in Arizona we passed the Virgin River. Passed through St George, Utah in a beautiful red rock setting. Seems St George is the new Moab as far as attracting outdoor enthusiasts. Lots of bikers, hiking trails, sports stores.
We stopped at the site of the Mountain Meadow Massacre. In 1857 a group of Mormon settlers, Indians and Mormon Militia for reasons not understood attacked a wagon train and killed 120 Arkansas emigrants let by two military captains . There was this memorial and the grave sites. In Enterprise, Utah we saw this guy welcoming us to the R-EWE Spinning shop and the White Winds Rock shop with Stone Jewelry.
Great thunderstorm in western Utah. Main street in Caliente, Nevada. We went biking to check it out.
Caliente, NV is an old railroad town. Used to be a big hub for steam engines, but when diesel trains evolved the hub moved to Las Vegas. Lots of historic buildings, like J and J mini mart, a purrrrrrrfect stop and Carl’s Burgers. John wanted to eat at Carl's Burgers, but they have not been open for some time.
The shopping district of Caliente still had mostly historic store fronts. We went into the Spare Tire and met Susan with an eclectic collection of merchandise. She talked a mile a minute, telling us she got free rent here because her friend who owned it wanted a shop in there and she provided a kind of bike shop, barter and trade of merchandise and services to the community.
She said a friend of hers had this mine in Lucin, Utah and mined and made these variscite cabochons that she was selling . Variscite is a relatively rare semi precious gem, similar to green turquoise. I envisioned a beautiful necklace and earrings for myself , so I got them. The one in the middle is 3 inches by one inch. The centerpiece of the town is this railroad depot. It is now used as city offices and a library and maybe meeting rooms.
The train still passes through here, but this is no longer a depot. Line men come through town working on the tracks.
It still has much of the original furniture. Love the dining tables with the red roses in vases and the waiting room.
The Caliente Box Car museum. It was not open, says it is only open on Weds, but we will check it out tomorrow. The fruit trees are blooming along the bike path.
We had dinner at the Knotty Pine restaurant and casino. This place takes me back a lot of years. Our waitress Michelle is a Knotty Girl! Besides the waitress, cook and bartender I was the only woman in the place. Lots of friendly (drunk) linemen were there.
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