6/2/2009 Our Short Time in Elbe

We noticed all the railway cars on the way to Mt. Ranier and said that we would stop on the way back and check out this little town.

Little is right. I checked out the 2000 census and it listed a whopping population of twenty one. Ten households make up this little town but I have a feeling at the height of the summer of population swells considerably.

One of the hotels/motels is called the Hobo Inn and you guessed it, its made up of railway cars.

Want pizza? You would have to go to the Pizza Station for it and you'd be right again if you guessed it was situated in none other than a railway car.

You may have plans for a more substantial meal than just pizza so of course you would go to the Mt. Ranier Railroad Dining Co. for that lunch or dinner.

Ok, so you've worked hard all week at the pizza shop, or the restaurant, or handing out keys to the rooms at the Hobo Inn. Its Saturday night, where do you go? How about the local bar, the Side Track Room?

We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner and opted for the Side Track Room.

Above is only one end of it. The other half is home to the bar, dance floor, more seating, the juke box and electronic dart game.

While waiting for our dinner to arrive I went to check out the rest of the dining cars. This room is empty now but had three or four couple eating when we first arrived.

The second dining room and the all the paintings on the wall are for sale.

The gift shop with railroad related type things.

If you have a special occasion you want a private room for, arrangements can be made for this.

Our dinner arrived and it was delicious! Of course we both had burgers but they were good burgers! We had hand cut french fries and they were cooked to perfection.

This is the small church here in Elbe. Small being relative as the building measures 18 x 24. The steeple does rise to 55 feet and is topped with a iron cross. The church was added to The National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Well this certainly has been a fun day! Seeing Mt. Ranier and visiting yet another National Park, a tour of a sculpture garden and a visit to a quaint little town. Yep, a fun day. And its not over yet!

Oh no, the fun never stops with the Quinn's. We went grocery shopping when we returned to the base. We stocked up even more things. I split this grocery shopping into two visits because I wanted to take advantage of the sales there were in place until the 31st of May and then have a shot at the new ones that started as of the 1st of June. All in all, we made out really good and should only have to buy milk, bread and fresh veggies/fruit in the next several weeks.

You should see our cabinets! Canned goods and packages stuffed everywhere! I really don't even have a clue of what all we have on hand.

We're headin' out tomorrow! Hooray, Alaska here we come!