In last month’s Travelgram I mentioned Canadians and tipping, which inspired a sharp rebuke from Winnemucca: “For your information not all of us Canadians are lousy tippers!”
Naturally I was appalled at the idea I’d somehow contributed to unfair national stereotyping, so I hurried up to Canada to find out the truth. For three days I interviewed barmaids and waitresses in the pleasing city of Victoria BC. “Oh no,” they assured me, “Canadians are good tippers, just like you guys. The poor tippers are the Australians and the English. They’re awful. But it’s not because they are cheap, it’s because in Australia and England they pay servers a living wage, and tips aren’t expected there.”
Oh.
While I was conducting this important research I came across this Canadian take on national stereotypes. And it occurred to me that in the USA there are probably half a million Mexican restaurants and not a single Canadian restaurant. It turns out there aren’t any in Canada either. In a small city like Victoria you can find food from everywhere around the world — even Tibet — but if you want blubber and beans you’re out of luck.
Back to Nevada: Goldfield’s 4th Annual Land Rush Auction will take place August 23. Dozens of parcels,
in town and out will be auctioned off (but with no guarantee of clear title). The magnificent Goldfield Hotel is the most spectacular property on the list, but the Coaldale Junction truck stop is also for sale (with some EPA clean up requirements attached) and there’s Fish Lake Valley acreage too. I’m planning to be there, hoping for a stake in Goldfield. If you’d like to be a modern-day Tex Rickard, e-mail for information or call 800-884-4072.
An E-Mail from Ely, Cambridgeshire, England brought greetings from John Sime. “It’d be kind of fun to be in touch with fellow Ely people particularly as my wife and I are planning a trip to California next year. Also, we may visit Ely so it’d be nice to get some more info about the place — meet some folks. Hope you can help.”
| GHOST SIGN MURAL 740 Aultman St., Ely [ More Ely murals]  Different businesses have advertised on this Ely wall of time by painting over the previous advertisements with white wash. The years eroded the white wash and left a collage of ads. This interesting mural of time was recently enhanced by Muralist Paul Ygartua. Masonic Lodge Bldg.
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We forwarded John’s note to our friends in Ely (Nevada, that is), and we can only wonder how White Pine County compares with Cambridgeshire. Perhaps we will find out.
We also sent John some Ely links of interest:
Ely Area Tourism
White Pine Chamber of Commerce
Ely Daily News
Ely Description & History
Ely’s Famous Murals
On the topic of interesting Nevada websites, here are three of Dave’s Faves:
The Hiking the Ruby Mountains site provides the prospective visitor/hiker/fisherman with all the information for locating the trailheads and hiking to the lakes, with fishing info too. “Most hikes would be considered moderate in difficulty, requiring only average hiking ability, and the main consideration might be just how far do you want to go.”
The Great Basin. Journalist Jon Christensen’s multi-faceted site provides many glimpses of our unique part of America.
State Archivist Guy Rocha debunks some of our most sacred and reliable Nevada Myths at this informative website. I’ve worn out a dozen erasers trying to bring The Complete Nevada Traveler into compliance.
| Don’t forget the Old Spice Festival in the Pit, Battle Mountain August 15th, 16th, & 17th, 2003 |
Overheard at The Delta Saloon in Virginia City: “Social Security can be fixed with just one simple change: jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under U.S. senators and congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us and then watch how fast they fix it.”
