Lovelock, NV
Since I wasn’t able to cover as much distance as I wanted yesterday (due to the weather) I went as far as I could today. After 500+ miles, the next lodging was in Lovelock, NV.
This is a very strange place. Being Nevada, just about every store has a casino inside (I even saw a sign for “Arby’s + slots” along the way). But this place is stranger than most. The local industry is a prison, and I get the impression that everyone in the town is either going in, just got out, or is related to one of the above.
There were a bunch of old-style “motor court” motels along what passes for their main street. Many of these looked abandoned and the remaining ones were pretty scary-looking. The “big” casino in town is a combination casino / restaurant / motel. When I asked at the front desk if they had rooms and if they discounted for AAA, the clerk said they did and it was $57 plus taxes. I said “What about all the billboards on the highway that say $37?” and she replied “Well, I can give you that rate since you asked for it”.
After getting unpacked, I wandered over to the restaurant part. After looking at the menu, the waitress came over and we had a conversation like this:
Me: How is the hot turkey sandwich?
Waitress: Yes
Me: Are the mashed potatos homemade?
Waitress: Ok
The turkey arrived, and once I moved some gravy off of it, it was an odd orange-brown color. I’ve seen light meat and dark meat, but never orange meat.
I took out my cell phone to take a picture of it for this blog, but someone came running over and said “You can’t take pictures in here, this is a casino!” so I gave up and ate what I could.
Back in the room, I discovered it had an “extra firm” mattress. Or it was made from a pile of lumber – I’m not sure which.
Here’s a picture of one of the scary motels, taken as I was leaving town:
September 17th, 2011 02:31
[…] rank Ontario just above Lovelock, Nevada as one of the least-appealing places I’ve been. Driving down the side street to the […]