Baker, Nevada - An 'Eclectic' Getaway

I had some reservations about the proposed overnight stop in Baker, Nevada  so I asked my better half where she
got the idea from.  She said one of her co-workers recommended it and had described the place as 'eclectic', which
I presumed was a code word for something.  Taking a stab in the dark, I asked how old this co-worker was.  

Ummm........well.......quite a bit younger than us.  Like a generation or so.  

Hmmmm..........



The drive to Baker was quite scenic.



Several miles north of Baker was a historic Indian site and not even worth the effort  or the gas.  Some time back
someone found old Indian ruins, excavated it and removed the artifacts, filled it back in and marked the area with
what looked like bricks covered with adobe.  A total waste of time.



Several minutes later we were at the Silver Jack Motel and Lectrolux Café.  It didn't look too bad from the outside.
Maybe my feelings of trepidation were misguided.



I walked inside and asked the first (and only) guy I ran into if he was the manager of the place.
He said, "Why?  Do you want to buy it?"

Uh Oh

Anyway, looking around the restaurant (which is what you walk into),  it was clean and somewhat cooler than the
90 degree plus temps outside.  They restaurant stocked a surprising number of micro brews, wine and other
adult beverages.  A far superior selection to the local fare in Ely.



The walls were covered with movie posters and other parephanelia.  The vacuum cleaner immediately caught my
eye and I immediately surmised the original owner must have been a fan of the movie 'Our Man in Havana'.
I must be the only person to have seen the movie, drawing blank stares from all.

Update:  Jeesh!  I am not that fricking old and no, this is not my imagination.  As proof I offer up the following
scenes from 'Our Man in Havana', with Alec Guinness, Burl Ives and Maureen O'Hara:













Now don't you think that the original owner quite possibly could have been inspired by 'Our Man in Havana' when
naming the 'Lectrolux Cafe'?

Back to dinner:

We decided to order a pizza for dinner with modifications.  They were out of mushrooms, tomatoes, anchovies and
a couple types of cheeses.  That aside, the pizza was very good.



Across the street was the 'Happy Burro Trading Post',  also up for sale.  They did have some nice jewelry, the
usual tourist trap items and a lot of dried food.  I picked up two necklaces with large chunks of turquoise and
malachite which I could use for inlays.  Twelve bucks apiece.  That was a steal.

In case you haven't noticed, I am saving commentary on the accommodations for later.......



'Eclectic'  in my opinion refers to what I would call Junkyard Art, which is probably not  politically correct
terminology anymore.  It was unusual.













I liked this one










Moving on, the outside of the establishment didn't look too bad.

I am still studiously avoiding commentary on the accommodations.......



The garden out back sported vegetables, cacti and roses - all of which were doing well.



Another view of the gardens.



Hotel Rooms out Back



There were way too many Barn Swallow nests around the establishment.  These should have at least been knocked
down in front of the rooms for sanitation reasons.  Out back, ok.....but not over the doors.

Instead of looking at the accommodations, let's see what's down the road.



This house is still in pretty good shape and it is about 1/4 mile south of town.



This horned lizard was wandering around the house.



To the east, Utah is only 5 or ten miles away.  We decided to drive across the border and see if there was
anything interesting in the town.

There wasn't.



Snakes like to go out on the asphalt and warm themselves up around sundown.  I decided to stop and help
this guy off the road to somewhere safer.



Gopher snakes are quite tame,  eat lots of rodents and are also one of the few snakes that will actually eat
rattlesnakes. Something to consider before turning one into road meat.  Case in Point

Unfortunately it is getting dark and it is still in the 90's.  

Time to go Check Out the Room



 The bed is either a double or a queen.  The bedspread is well,  eclectic.

The sink is located out the bathroom.	We do have  custom toilet paper holders though!

The heater has seen better days.



The fire detector is, well,  out for repairs?



The room is cooled with a swamp cooler located and controlled from somewhere other than the room.
It is about 6" in diameter and it one time I thought  I felt a slight breeze for a few seconds.



This is how Debbie slept the night.  She didn't even bother taking a shower in the morning.
I was braver .  I took a shower and it wasn't that bad.

So how would I rate the Silver Jack Motel and Lectrolux Café ?

The Silver Jack Motel I would rate  2 Stars.   The room was clean and it had the necessary furnishings.
It was also shabby and needed maintenance.  The price was right - I think it was $62.00.  

The missing smoke detector was probably a clear violation of local fire codes.

If you want to stay the night in the summer,  I would suggest going to Walmart first and buy one of those little
turbo fans for the room.  The swamp cooling system is worthless.  It was one hot night.


The Lectroux Café  I would rate 4.5 Stars and would not hesitate to dine there again.  The only thing
 I could ding them on was ordering something and then being out of ingredients for the order.  Can't really
blame them for that though - it appeared the only reliable food stocks came in on a Schwans Truck.

You can also order custom sandwiches to go.  There are home made pastries as well, not to mention the
outstanding MicroBrew selections.





The sunsets were worth staying up for.