Goin’ To Winnemucca
…but not with an achin’ in my heart.
My friend Janet and I are headed for Winnemucca, Nevada on December 10! I am very excited. Winnemucca is somewhere that I have never been. I LOVE going to places I have never been. I know, I know…’You hate the cold, Katie. Why would you intentionally travel to somewhere COLDER than Moab in the winter?’ some of you are asking. The answer is this: Our friend Julie lives there. I never get to see Julie. Janet seldom sees Julie.
I have been doing a little research on what there is to do and see there. Winnemucca is just a little larger than Moab with a few more than 7,000 residents. There are several casinos (whoopee), and there is a visitor center, a museum (which the Winnemucca Chamber of Commerce website tells me houses 13,000-year-old mammoths, antique autos, and the Edna Purviance exhibit) and an art gallery.
I looked up Edna Purviance, and apparently she was a silent movie-era actress who starred in many films with Charlie Chaplin (and was also romantically involved with him), and was from that area of Nevada. Interesting.
In addition to the excitement of visiting somewhere new, we are taking the AmTrak. The train is one of my favorite things, and I wish that AmTrak would make it easier to get where you want to go easily. To get the AmTrak here in southeastern Utah, you have to get to Green River, UT (which is 50 miles from Moab). You can only ride the train from Green River east to Denver, or north through Salt Lake City then west through Elko, NV, Winnemucca, and Reno and Sacramento to San Francisco. This means that it is difficult if not impossible to get to any of the places I travel to on a regular basis (L.A., Phoenix, Tucson, etc.).
All the westbound trains from Green River run over night. This is a MAJOR disappointment for me, as I like to look out and SEE THINGS, and it will be dark when we get on the train (5:50P), and we arrive in Winnemucca at the ungodly hour of 5:30A, which means it will be dark the whole distance, and the return trip is the same. I love the train, and I would love to be able to take it to the places that I want to go.
I am very excited to make this trip, and see Julie. It’s always nice to get out of Moab, and I can’t wait to spend time with my girlfriends!
P.S. Winnemucca has a Jack In The Box. YEA!!!
‘All the westbound trains from Green River run over night. … and the return trip is the same.’
How come the eastbound trains to GR only run at night also?
Though most likely it will be snowing when you arrive there enjoy the trip and seeing your friend.
Jürgen
YAY! I’m very excited for our visit too. I’ve been making lists of stuff to bring and doing some weather research. oH happy day…or night as the case may be. See you soon for our train adventure!
Have fun! Enjoy your visit. Can’t wait to hear about the trip when you get home. It may be warmer in Winnemucca than it is here in Moab at the moment. Fourteen! Brrrrr.
Enjoy your trip Katie. Too bad our train system is so far behind other countries “concerned” with public transit.
Winnemukka is also a “truckers delight”. Quite famous for its houses of ill-repute. ICK!!!!
14 F times 3 at 7:30 am here. You would not believe the number of parkas worn around town once it goes below 60 F!!!!! I have lived places where 60 F is bikini weather!!! Not me—-Linda!
Travel safely and report upon your return please.
Have a great time Katie! I never heard of Winnemucca. The train should be fun even if it is in the dark. I haven’t been on a train since I was a kid. How long are you there for? Are you going to be back in time for the bird count here?
Jürgen – I don’t understand it either, but that’s what all the AmTrak schedules say. It’s a disappointment, to be sure.
Janet – I am very excited. I can’t wait to be somewhere ELSE cold. heh heh heh.
Sonja (AKA ‘mom’) – Yes, it probably is, but I choose to see this freezing cold misery as a fluke…hopefully never to be repeated.
Ed – It was like that in southern California, too…80 degrees over the winter holidays, and people in big coats everywhere.
Dana – If it weren’t for Julie, Winnemucca wouldn’t be a place I would CHOOSE to go…but it’s somewhere new, and you never know until you go.
I really enjoyed the time I went to Winnemucca. It is an explorer/rock hunter/animal watchers dream in my opinion. I just love to say the word Winnemucca! Ha, Ha1 Have fun and take lots of photos.
Hi Katie, when we were driving to Moab from Grand Junction we saw a train going down the tracks near the Green river.
I told Doug I would love to take that train wherever it was going, the scenery was SO spectacular…..and it was going to areas where we could not drive to…..
We always took trains when I was growing up in England.
When I was in France, near Brittany, I took the trains, I loved it.
It’s too bad that your train travels during the night.
Have a fun time.
Love Lesley XXXXXXXXXXXXXX