Day 11: Ely, NV to Baker, NV
- kaskieandrew
- Jun 22, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 23, 2019
I had only ever visited Nevada once before Journey of Hope and that was to Las Vegas with my uncle and two older brothers. By the end of the three days, I was ready to get out of Las Vegas and head back home. I think most of the team is about ready to get to Utah. Because the towns we pass through in Nevada are so small and desolate, there are no people to have friendship visits with. I had a chance to look at the master schedule for the upcoming weeks, and it appears that most days in Utah and beyond incorporate friendship visits, thankfully. In the 60 miles from Ely to Baker, we passed by a gift shop and gas station, which were the only signs of civilization. In a descent around mile 50, we could see in the distance an oasis of green trees in the middle of the desert, surrounded by mountains. We rolled into Baker in the early afternoon and if we had ridden another 2 minutes, we probably would have left town already. Baker has a population of 68 people, which is the smallest town we visit all summer. It is situated right by the Grand Basin National Park and our group took our vans on a scenic tour in the mountains. We drove up near the summit, where we saw snow covering the peaks. I never thought I would be making a snow ball in June in the middle of Nevada. We went to the visitor center to buy a few gift cards and showered at the local truck stop. For dinner, we had a sponsored Thanksgiving style meal provided by the local residents. It felt like the entire town came together for this potluck to come and see us. Some residents have lived in Baker their whole lives and that is all the know while others moved to Baker to get away from the lives they lived in bigger cities. One older lady told me about how she used to live with a host family in the city of Ely 70 miles away during the week for high school and then go back to Baker on weekends because they are so far apart. It really puts things into perspective when you envision the simple lives they live and the level of appreciation they have for the little things in life. They were some of the kindest people we have met on the entire trip.
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