July 15-20, 2017: A Trip To Elko, NV

July 15-20, 2017:  A Trip To Elko, NV

Over the years, Las Vegas and Reno have been my 2 favorite vacation destinations.  Although within the past couple of years or so, I started venturing out to some of the smaller towns in Nevada including Elko.  I guess I was in search for something different from the glitz and glimmer of the big city.  Also, the way that Las Vegas has continued to change (and not for the better), I'm finding some of these smaller towns to be quite refreshing in comparison.  In fact, Elko was reported to be one of the best small towns to visit in Nevada by Thrillist Travel...  "Best Small Town In America"  Elko is located about 290 miles northeast of RNO (Reno/Tahoe Airport) or about 226 miles west of SLC (Salt Lake City, UT Airport).  

I flew via Southwest Airlines out of MDW in Chicago to SLC in Salt Lake City.  There was a 30 min delay at MDW, but they made up the time in the air, so we landed close to the original schedule.  Hertz had my rental car preassigned, so I could skip the counter and go directly to my car.  They had a special AAA Motor Club rate of about $75/week for a mid-size which I reserved in advance.  I ended up with a 2017 Nissan Sentra.  It's a nice looking car and very easy on gas, but that small 4-cylinder engine sucks when it comes to horsepower.

I-80 is also easy to catch when leaving SLC and the speed limit ranges from 75-80 mph, so the 3 hr drive to Elko goes by pretty quickly.  I also made a stop in Wendover which is about the half way point.  There are some hotel/casinos in the area too including the Wendover Peppermill Hotel & Casino which I stop by for a short visit.  The scenery along the way is also very impressive with all of the mountains, but I didn't stop along the way to shoot photos.  I have to do that on a future trip!

I had reservations at the Red Lion Hotel & Casino which I stayed at before on a previous trip.  I also started receiving comps, after joining their players club and giving them some play.  They've been sending out offers for 2-3 free nights, so I was comped for 2 of my 5 nights on this trip.  The other nights were about $105/night for a premium King room using my AAA Motor Club discount.  Oh, and NO RESORT FEES!  The rooms all have free WiFi, a refrigerator, microwave oven, coffee maker, but not every room has a safe.  From what I've been told, the crime rate is low, unlike the big cities.  So, I just kept my valuables locked in my suitcase and I haven't had any problems.

The Red Lion is one of the nicest properties in Elko which is why their prices are higher.  They also own the High Desert Inn and the Gold Country Inn & Casino which have more modest rates.  There are a variety of other hotels in town including some popular chains like the Hampton Inn, Ramada, Travelodge, etc. So if one is on a tight budget, there are plenty of options available.  The Ramada also has a casino and they recently remodeled their rooms from what I've been told.

In addition to places to stay, there are quite a few dining options in the Elko area too.  The Star Hotel is famous for their Basque cuisine and I've been told that they serve the best steaks in town.  Their portions are HUGE and all of the side dishes are including with dinner.  I haven't dined there yet, but it's on the my "To Do" list.  The Aspen Bar & Grill at the Red Lion also serves some outstanding food.  Their Kodiac Style Atlantic Salmon is incredible and I've had it on a couple of occasions, as well as their Coconut Shrimp.  My friends tried their steaks (ribeye and filet mignon) and they said it was some of the best that they've had.  Their cafe serves some pretty good food too and I had breakfast and lunch on a few occasions.  I heard that their seafood buffet is very good, but I forgot what night they were having it and missed out.  They also have a Starbucks inside the casino.

As for gambling, the VP pay tables at the Red Lion aren't the best in town, but I've had some pretty good luck playing Deuces Wild.  I hit a Royal on my recent trip for $1000 and I also had several smaller wins at the Gold Dust West Casino (more on that later).  They also have most of the popular slots including Buffalo Stampede.

Recently, the Red Lion made changes to their players club program and didn't inform us members.  We found out when we arrived.  So, I have to wait and see if my future offers are the same or worse.

Anyways, my friend and I checked out the Gold Dust West Casino.  They also have presence in Reno and Carson City, but their Elko location does not have a hotel.  Although, they have an agreement with the Hampton Inn which is located right across from their parking lot.  Depending on your tier level, you can receive either discounted or comped rooms at the Hampton Inn.  Although, the lower tier level doesn't receive room discounts.  I'm at the lowest level, but my friend is a big gambler and actually made it to the highest tier level this trip.  He also hit a Royal for $4000 playing 9/6 JOB.  Yup, they have $1 9/6 JOB at the Gold Dust West!

I played mostly $0.25 Deuces Wild, since I know that game the best and I usually come out ahead.  I didn't hit any Royals at the Gold Dust West, but I hit several Royals with Deuces and 4OKs.  My winnings paid for this trip with some extra funds left over! 

The Gold Dust West has a nice casual restaurant in their casino with a good variety of items on their menu, as well as specials.  If you order $7 or more from their menu, you also get a free slice of pie.  Their Prime Rib dinner is $11 which is a good deal and I found their prime rib to be very good.  It includes soup or salad, veggies, bake or mashed potato, and a dinner roll (plus, the free pie).  Since I was a new players club member, I received a voucher for a free Prime Rib dinner after earning 50 points which only took a few minutes of play.  We had breakfast there one morning and I ordered pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. The portion sizes are good, as well as quality of food.  I kept forgetting to take some food porn pics, so I only have this one photo of their Honey Hoisin Shrimp special that I had one night for dinner.

There are other things to do in the area too besides gambling.  The scenery in the area is impressive with the Ruby Mountains in the background.  I haven't had time to explore all of the areas outside of Elko, but there are a few scenic drives through the Ruby Mountains that I would like to take.  There are also a few ghost towns in the area too.  Elko is a mining town, so you often see miners hanging out at the casinos during their off-times.  I've found the folk in Elko to be pretty friendly too.

Are You Musically Inclined?

Are You Musically Inclined?

I'm not a professional musician by any means, but the first instrument that I sorta learned how to play was a Ukulele that my mom gave me for Christmas one year (I think I was 7 yrs. old at the time).  My mom knew how to play a little, so she taught me how to tune the Uke and play a few simple tunes.  Although, I lost interest in learning to play the Uke within a few months ...just a typical kid who was more interested in playing baseball and whatnot with his friends ...LOL.

Here's one of my favorite Uke artists, Jake Shimabukuru, with his cover of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow".
(I don't own a Uke today, but I can play this on the guitar)

Fast forwarding to my high school days, ca. the early 1970s, I first started learning to play the guitar on a cheap classical guitar that was given to me by my older brother.  My older brother was in the USAF at the time and he was given that guitar by his roommate who was being shipped overseas to Vietnam.  Unfortunately, my bro was tone deaf and uncoordinated ...LOL ...and gave up trying to play, even though his buddy gave him a few lessons.

Anywho, I pretty much taught myself the basics, i.e. how to tune the guitar, how to fret open chords, and some basic strumming patterns.  Needless to say, there was no internet and YouTube back in those days like there is today where you could go online and find all sorts of free guitar lessons.  I pretty much leaned from books, then later while in college from a friend, but more on that later.  I could have taken guitar lessons from a real instructor, but I was a soon-to-be starving college student with little time and money to devote to weekly lessons.

I was in my sophomore year in college when I met a gal in one of my classes.  We became friends and use to hang out together studying, amongst other things ...LOL.  She happened to be a very good fingerstyle guitarist and I learned a lot from her on proper guitar technique, some music theory, as well as fingerstyle guitar.  My old guitar sucked, so with her help and advice, I bought a used Martin acoustic 6-string from a local music shop for a very reasonable price.  Wow, what a difference a good guitar makes ...not only in sound quality, but also with the ease in playing!

My old Martin is long gone, but this is similar to the one I had back then...

My friend also gave me one of her old 12-string acoustic guitars as a gift which was similar to this one.  Unfortunately, it got damage during a recent move and it wasn't worth the cost to repair it...

Well, grad school and then that dirty 4-letter word W-O-R-K started taking up so much of my time that my guitar spent the next few years sitting in my closet collecting dust.  Unfortunately, my Martin 6-string developed a few cracks in the body, since it really needed to be stored under humidified conditions (typically 35-45% RH) which I didn't do.  So when I decided to start playing again in the mid-1990s, I had to shop around for a new guitar.

Now that I had a good paying job, I could afford to splurge a bit and buy something really nice.  I was always a fan of Glen Campbell who played Ovation guitars and I really like the tone of those guitar.  So when I was shopping around at my local music shops, I check out all of the popular brands and decided on an Ovation Elite L718 acoustic/electric.  It set me back close to $2K, but it was well worth the price.  I still have it and it's in mint condition.  It still sounds great too!

Today, I have 3 guitars in my collection including the Ovation Elite L718 acoustic/electric (left), Fender Stratocaster (right), and my latest addition is the Taylor 314CE acoustic/electric (center)...

I will never be nearly as good at playing guitar as some of my favorites artists like Tommy Emmanuel, Lindsey Buckingham, Glen Campbell, Chet Atkins, just to name a few ...but at least I can dream ...LOL.

Here's Tommy playing his version of "Classical Gas".  Awhile back, I went to one of his concerts and he's a phenomenal guitarist...

Playing the guitar is still one of my favorite hobbies, but I mainly play for my own amusement.  I play mostly fingerstyle and it's a continuous learning process.  If you don't play often, you sorta lose your edge and start forgetting stuff ...LOL.  Also when playing and/or learning any musical instrument, that old saying, "Practice Makes Perfect", is absolutely true.

So what style of music do I like to learn/play?  Basically, any good tunes that I like to listen too.  I'm into a variety of music including rock n' roll, country, pop, blues, folk, reggae, and pretty much everything in between.  Although, I'm really not into rap/hip hop.  

Links to some of my favorite guitar products, learning resources, etc...

Guitars:

Taylor Guitars
Ovation Guitars
Fender Guitars

Guitar Equipment & Supplies:

Elixir Guitar Strings
Ernie Ball Electric Guitar Strings
G7th Capos
Line 6: Relay G10-Wireless Guitar System
Fender Guitar Amps
Acoustic (Guitar Amps) Company


Learning Resources:

Justin Guitar  
Justin Sandercoe's online guitar lessons are in my opinion, the best resource on the internet today ...And best of all, most of his lessons are free.  Whether you're a beginner, intermediate or an accomplished guitarist, his site is worth checking out.

JamPlay
JamPlay is a paid online resource for learning acoustic, electric, and bass guitar.  They use state of the art, multi-angle video recording equipment for their online lessons which are both broadcasted live and also recorded for viewing at any time.

They have some very good online instructors and I've used their services in the past.  I've always wanted to learn Travis style picking and Jim Deeming is one of the best instructors on JamPlay for learning this style.  Want to learn how to play the 12-bar blues?  Check out Hawkeye Herman's lessons.  He makes learning the the Blues a very easy process.