Greg "Keep Calm & Carry On" Q.'s Profile

Oh. My. Gawd. This bookstore ROCKS. A cultural oasis in the middle of a literal and metaphorical desert.

Let me back up: I was nearing the climax of a book I'd been reading, and looking forward to finishing it on a big trip we were taking. I then left the book at home in San Francisco when I packed up the car. Totally bummed, I tried to find a bookstore our first night on the road in Winnemucca - and got pointed to the WalMart.

The next morning in Elko we just happened to see "Bookstore" on the main drag. I passed by it the first time, figuring it couldn't be "all that" but on the second pass opted to go inside. I left the family in the car and promised I'd be out in 4 minutes or less.

I am so glad I did. The owner of the store found my book in her *massive* used section of books in under 2 minutes. I also found 2 more books used I'd been looking forward to reading. Picked up all 3 books used for $13.

I got to finish my book on my trip, and then made a point of stopping on the return home so my family could see just how awesome Bookstore is. Oh, and I traded in my used book for the next book in the series.

Thank goodness that Amazon and Borders didn't put this little gem out of business. Next time you're on Interstate 80 through the Nevada desert, stop here to see what bookstores used to be like. And BUY SOMETHING to support it!

Winnemucca is in that in-between no-man's-land of the Nevada desert; midway between Reno & Elko. Travelers coming across Winnemucca in the late afternoon or evening are forced to make a choice between driving, bleary-eyed, another 2 hours or trying to find a place to stay the night.

Opt to stop in Winnemucca, and you have the choice of supporting a big chain like Holiday Inn Express, or trying to support the local economy. We opted to support the local economy, and stayed at Scott Shady Court Motel. The price is cheap ($65), and so are the amenities. The motel was filled with road workers whose companies had found the cheapest place they could put them for the night.

All of these fellows started all of their trucks, semis, big rigs, and loud-noise makers at 5am - and woke us up right along with 'em.

Our bathroom came with a plunger. We needed it.

The wi-fi worked fine, and the pool was a welcome break from the Nevada heat. Scott Shady Court is "retro" and by that I mean run-down. It needs a face lift and some serious work. I can't imagine that running a motel in Winnemucca is easy, and I don't envy the folks who are carving out their life in that neck of the world.

But for an extra $40, next year I think I'll simply support the chain.

Arrived in Elko late, hungry, and not in the mood for Basque food. Already had enough pizza on our trip, so we opted for Chef Cheng's. The "Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in America" rating on the window convinced us to take the gamble and go for it.

The portions are ridiculously large. As if the Cheesecake Factory suddenly decided to start a Chinese chain. The food is average. Good, but not great. Passable, but not memorable. It'll do in a pinch, and is a safe bet if you like Chinese food. Good for road food, but not good for a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco.

The staff are friendly, the service quick, altogether a good experience. It's also led to my theory that the "Top 100 Restaurants in America" ratings are given only to restaurants who apply - and possibly pay a fee. I have yet to see any of my favorite Chinese restaurants in San Francisco's Chinatown making such claims (and yet, if all of them applied they'd take up the top 100).

Stayed here on our return trip from Idaho to California. The hotel was clean, the staff was nice, and the room was...fine. The place looks new, but is small. The "workout room" is about the size of a bathroom. There is no pool or anything.

It really is the top hotel of last resort if you haven't already booked something in Elko on your way through. Clean, the free breakfast is what you'd expect for a free breakfast. Altogether unremarkable, but passable.

Had lunch here for a business meeting. Best Kobe beef burger in San Francisco. I'm a bit of a burger aficionado, and I absolutely love the Oak Room's burger.

The meat was seared and well-grilled on the exterior, but the inside was medium rare as asked. Juicy. Delicious. Worth the bill? On a client or on an irregular whim.

Can't speak to dinner in the joint, but if you life in SF it's worth bypassing the silly lines at the new burger place in Macy's to get a damn better burger here.

Fast. Open late. On the way from the train station to my hotel. I got my pizza to go both times I ate there, and was totally satisfied with it. It was a nice, thin crust, but the sauce was pretty middle of the road.

The slices are huge, and inexpensive ($1.85 for cheese, plus toppings). Again, they're open late, which would have made it the ideal cheap mid-drinking-binge meal when I was in college. As it was, it did in a pinch, but didn't rise to the top of pizzas I've had.

The Heldrich sacrifices form for function: most everything about the place looks very pretty, but fails to deliver as one would expect. The place is obviously either new or newly-renovated, and my room had 3 or 4 issues with it.

The railing for the top drawer in the chest-of-drawers had come loose from the cabinet. This made the top drawer unusable, and every other drawer below it hard to open.

There was a desk in the corner of the room, but with no light anywhere near it. When I wanted to work I either had to drag a lamp over to the desk, or set up shop on the bed.

The blackout shades didn't close all of the way, or stay shut on their own. I had to drag the side-table over and pin the shades against the window to keep ambient light from coming in AT NIGHT.

The shower is dark. There is one light in the bathroom, and it's not over the shower. The shower itself is nice, but I don't like showering in near-darkness.

The Heldrich is nice enough, and the staff were all pleasant. But don't let it's website fool you: this is a 3-star hotel trying to dress itself up in 4-star clothing.

There are many outfitters to choose from in the Sun Valley area, but none with the flexibility and experience of Sun Valley Outfitters. Kyle and his family have been in the valley for over 35 years, and they are the only outfitters with license to every trail in Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue and beyond.

If you go to one of the outfitters near the resort in Ketchum, you'll get to ride up and down the same trail every time. Kyle and his family will cater your experience to your desires. Want to ride 2 hours, have lunch at a waterfall, and then ride home? Consider it done.

Want to take your child out for their first ride in the Idaho outback, on a trail that is exciting for them but also completely experience-appropriate? Done.

Kyle and his family even do dinner rides: you ride 2 hours into the outback, and when you get there you'll find a campfire going with dinner ready. Enjoy a meal, then ride home before dark.

Our son turned 5 on the Saturday that we met Kyle. No other outfitter in the area would give our son a chance to get out on a horse, but Kyle was willing to let me try and see if LittleQ could ride on the same saddle as me. We met Kyle at his family's corral, did a proof of concept ride around the corral, then went out for an incredible ride in the outback.

The horse we had (Shadow) was completely appropriate for the ride, in terms of age and temperament. By the end of the ride I was letting LittleQ handle the reins, and Shadow was totally cool with the little one having control.

Next year, when LittleQ turns six, he'll be old enough to take one of Kyle's horses out on his own. Every time we're in the Sun Valley area, we're going to call Kyle up. His experience was unsurpassed, and his willingness to work with us to create an incredible family experience was greatly appreciated.

Weary travelers worn down by the drudgery and complete lack of decent food that is Interstate 80 between Reno and Salt Lake City can rejoice: there is quality Mexican in Winnemucca! And not just quality, damn fine, good, glad we stopped, will stop there again Mexican food.

Allow me to back up a step or two: I'm from San Francisco: I can walk blind-folded to the Mission and find more great Mexican restaurants with my eyes closed than *exist* on I-80 East of the Bay Bridge. I'm spoiled by the myriad excellent Mexican restaurants in SF and I like it that way.

Chihauhua's would hold it's own in the Mission, hell it would thrive. It's that good. If you are driving through Winnemucca, time your trip so that you can stop here for a meal, or stop here and get food to take with you wherever you are doomed to stay that evening. The new restaurant is extremely inviting, with separate bar and dining areas, and a great outdoor patio that would be the perfect place for a mid-summer's feast.

Again: stop at Chihauhua's. They even have a kid's menu, and vegetarian options. Though why you'd get vegetarian when the shredded beef is that damn good is beyond me.

Took LittleQ (who is now 4.75 years old) to see Peter Pan, and it was great age-appropriate fun. There were a couple of moments of violence/sexiness that were a surprise, but were not over the top that we wish we hadn't gone.

I should note that our whole family is intimately familiar with JM Barrie's story, even though the original book is horrifically inappropriate for kids. We've been reading the "Classic Starts" version to him for about a year now, and he totally loves it. In that version, all of JM's original "Let's fly down there and kill that pirate" and "Silly ASS" comments from Tinkerbell have been modified to be more age-appropriate.

This version of Peter Pan lands somewhere in the middle, which was a surprise for us. Hook opens up by killing one of his men for insubordination, Tinkerbell constantly says, "Silly Ass!" (but the actresses' Spanish accent makes it hard to tell what she's saying) and Tiger Lily's dance of seduction was a bit much.

That said, the production was a hoot. The surround-video was amazing, and used well for more than just the flying scenes. The circular stage provided good seats for most sections, but even in section "B" I felt like the production was geared more towards 1 part of the room. I would not go and sit in section "A" or "E".

The play is well-timed, especially for younger viewers. Our son loved it, and it was his first introduction to live theater. This is not a play for 20-somethings, and so I'm not surprised that all of the other 20-somethings who are reviewing it are disappointed.

This is a production of a children's play for children. Take one (preferably related to you) and enjoy re-living some of your own childhood while you are at it.