This was the only day of my trip that the weather wasn’t perfect. Fortunately, none of my planned activities were outdoors.

I woke up to the health app on my phone telling me I had some outlier readings during the night. My respiratory rate had gone up to 15 something instead of its usual 13 and my blood oxygen level had dropped to 92. The app then proceeded to inform me that this sometimes occurs when you are at higher altitudes. Ely is at around 6400 feet, so the app was correct about the reason for the changes (I was back to normal by the 2nd night).

Many people don’t realize just how high in elevation most of Nevada is. Its average elevation is the 5th highest among the states at 5500 feet. It is also the 2nd most mountainous state after Alaska. Basically, the whole state is in the Basin and Range Province (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basin_and_Range_Province) and most of it is also part of The Great Basin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Basin).

I pulled this map off https://geology.com/topographic-physical-map/nevada.shtml. It gives a nice sense of just how mountainous Nevada is.

The train ride I went on in the morning was just up the Steptoe Valley a bit. This valley is one of the many “basins” to be found in basin and range country. At about 100 miles long, it’s not setting any records, but it’s no little thing either. We went about 12 or 13 miles up the valley and then the locomotive decoupled and came around to the other end of the train and we went back to Ely.

It was an enjoyable trip and if you’re ever in Ely, you should check out what kind of excursions are available. Although this trip was not stunningly scenic (in part due to the rain), a guide provided plenty of history about the area. You can check out some of the other trips they make here: https://nnry.com/

At the end of the train ride, we were offered a tour of the locomotive shed. There were a dozen or so of us on the train, but only three of us went on the tour. Wow, did those other people miss out!

An original sign on the outside of the shed:

The first thing our guide did was to warn us to step over not on the rails as they were slippery, especially in the rain. Once inside, she cautioned, do not touch anything, be careful not to step on anything, and don’t fall into anything. I think you can see from these pictures why the warnings were necessary.

Here’s a series of pictures showing our locomotive coming back into the shed:

During the whole tour, out guide kept us entertained with lots of stories about the various engines and also about the shop cats. Make sure you take this tour if you can.

I spent the afternoon roaming through the White Pine Public Museum (White Pine is the county that Ely is in). It was refreshing to be in a museum small enough that I could take a good look at everything and just enjoy the cornucopia of items from local history.

Learn all about the area’s first inhabitants with a seriously impressive American Indian display comprised of baskets, arrowheads, intricate beadwork, and more. The Pony Express route ran through northern Nevada, and the White Pine Public Museum does a masterful job at showcasing those stories alongside ranching and buckaroo history. The museum is also home to an impressive mineral collection with more than 300 samples from the region, including gold, silver, and copper ore mined from the hills surrounding Ely. Outdoor exhibits feature mining equipment, a caboose, a historic jail cell, and a complete historic pioneer cabin. https://travelnevada.com/museums/white-pine-public-museum/

And let’s not forget the cave bear:

One of the main attractions at the White Pine Public Museum is the storied Cave Bear. This prehistoric giant bear roamed North America during the Pleistocene era and was the most common bear in this region of Nevada. Sometimes called the Short-Faced Bear, these ancient creatures had a disproportionately short snout compared to other bears. In 1982, Cave Bear bones were discovered in White Pine County, and a replica model is always on display.

Next stop Caliente and surrounds.