Elko, Nevada:
Basque Country, Oil Changes & Thrift Shop
I have loved the Basques ever since my high school Spanish teacher told us the story of San Manuel Bueno, Martir by the Spanish author Miguel de Unamuno, whose native land and language was Basque. I've read most of his work and visited the statue of him in Salamanca where he taught and where he stood up to the Fascists, and died soon after. The history of the Basques in the U.S. is a fascinating story going back to the 16th century and sheepherding and feeding mutton to miners during the Gold Rush, and of an ongoing Basque July 4th festival in Elko and Winnemucca, Nevada.
So after driving most of the night in terror from bedbugs, we needed a big lunch and went to the Basque Star Hotel. We were seated at one of the long communal tables,
ordered sandwiches and were stunned when the waitress sat down big serving bowls of marrow bone onion soup, garlicky salad, and bread. My long-suffering vegetarian spouse sat by while I ate a monstrous beef tongue sandwich. He had a veggie burger and we both were served huge mounds of french fries. We were so happy. Paul, as you can see, was also tired. Happy as we paid our bill, we asked the waitress where to get an oil change, and soon from around the restaurant, and in the bar on our way out, everyone recommended the Star Oil Change, just a block down the road. While we waited, I found the Cerebral Palsy Thrift Shop across the road, with all proceeds going to Cerebral Palsy. I found a gorgeous navy blue dress jacked for $4 and a skort (remember skorts?) for $2.50, then found a top to match it for $2. (That's me wearing it alongside a couple we met later on in Mizpah.)
Our car was ready, and that was quite enough activity for a day preceded by a night with 4 hours sleep. We went back to our Comfort Inn to get more. It was comfortable and bugless, as were all the rest of our nights.
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