Cathedral garage Nevada, May 21, 2026 

I cut across some long empty back roads to Cathedral Gorge. There was never any sign saying “Welcome to Nevada,” but at some point I knew I was there because a sign came up pointing to Cathedral Gorge. It was similar to taking backroads from Colorado to Utah, no welcome sign there either. The backroads were pretty empty. Very pleasant to ride. I kept noticing a lot of dirt side roads. I finally said, the next one I see I’m gonna jump on and just take a look. That’s where the pics of the trains came from. I made a little video clip so you could see how I found them. The big national parks have become so commercialized. They’re still beautiful, but they’re way overcrowded. I thought I might avoid some of that by going in May before schools let out. I can just imagine what June is like in these places. Going to national parks as a kid, I remember they seemed very remote, and the surrounding towns didn’t have much going for them. I also remember being taught in school that there was a population explosion happening. For whatever reason, they stopped talking about that, but it definitely happened. In 1970, the U.S. population was 203 million, and today it’s over 340 million! So it makes sense that these public parks are that much more crowded. Happily, there is a difference in some of the lesser-traveled national and state parks. Today, Cathedral Gorge was a great example. Remember, I said you had to park and go inside to pay your entrance fee for Kolob Canyon? Well Cathedral Gorge doesn’t even do that. They have a sign that says to pay your fee. It’s kind of on the honor system. There’s one credit card machine where you swipe and get a ticket. No gate, no people involved. When I got to the end of the park road i parked in the lot. Aside from me, there was just one other car here. I couldn’t see any people, they were probably out hiking somewhere. As I started out onto the trails, I saw two people headed back toward their car from another direction. They pulled out, and now I was alone. Although not as spectacular as Antelope Canyon, with its wind-swept carved walls, the formations here in Cathedral Gorge are still quite impressive. It’s basically a giant natural mudcastle carved by time and flash floods. From a distance, these look almost like solid mounds and as you get closer, you see the strange extrusions, then as you get closer still you see the fishers and passages. To be completely alone inside this amazing geography, It felt remote, the way the parks felt when I was a kid. I took a lot of iPhone pics, and there was no one there to tell me I couldn’t walk around with my 360 camera! The video is long. I had over an hour of footage, which I cut down to nine minutes. Towards the end somewhere about 6:42, I talk about how it feels being in there. Feel free to fast forward! Another notable difference at Cathedral Gorge is the local hotel prices! today I’m back at $100 a night. And this town, Caliente NV, is definitely not a tourist trap. In fact I was a little leery of it based on appearance, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. There are only a couple of restaurants in town, and both look like little bar joints from the outside. But I went to the one called Sidetracks because it’s right next to the tracks, and wow, was it good! Best mozzarella sticks I may have ever had, a perfect salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and salmon that rivals any of the big local chains in Cleveland; Outback, Bonefish, Applebee’s, etc. Price was reasonable, service was great. Then I stopped at the local town grocery store, which also didn’t look like much from the outside, but it had everything and more. Now I’m back at the Shady Motel—a basic joint with old-style metal keys—but the rooms are clean, have TV, fridge, and microwave, and they even offer coffee and a basic breakfast in the morning. So far, I’m finding Caliente very nice. I just hope a train doesn’t go by at 2 AM, because we’re right next to the tracks. I will now begin uploading vids, this may take a while. Tomorrow: Vegas! Stay tuned