January 2009 will be my FIRST trip to the Elko Cowboy Gathering. Also, I've never been to the Elko area (and I chose to drive 2,000 miles to get there in the dead of winter! Yikes!) Is there any advice people can offer regarding things to do, places to see etc? I bought tickets for shows on Wednesday - Saturday, but I don't know much about what else is going on. I assume there's art/crafts etc. for sale? Is parking available at the different venues? Any recommendations for restaurants? Any information anyone can provide would be helpful. Thanks.

Hi, Marki - there'll be a lot of stuff to do in Elko the week of the Gathering: we'll be publishing the gear shows, art galleries and other exhibits online in the EVENTS-National Cowboy Poetry Gathering-Information section as we receive it...and yep, plenty of parking is available: other years, we've had shuttle service between the Convention Center and the Western Folklife Center, but this being our 25th, shuttle rides may be limited - lots of poets, etc. to get from show to show!...we have a lot of good restaurants in town, too - not many "chain" but we can guarantee you'll be well fed. Anyone else want to chime in with their favorites? --Krys (Web Content Coordinator, Western Folklife Center)

Hi there..Welcome to Elko. 2009 will be my first visit in a few years but I used to go every year, and love the town, its residents, the Basque food, the museum, the WFC, the cowboy poets, just everything!! There is a vibrant yet peaceful atmosphere that is in Elko, that I have never experienced anywhere else! I used to drive from Winnipeg Manitoba Canada to Elko each January for 10 yrs in a row, and camp along the way - once a person gets south of Fargo North Dakota, you cross a snow line, and being used to long winters, I would think we had gone back to Springtime!! I wanted to give you some specific restaurant names I remember from my previous visits, but they have all changed, so I am hoping to walk down Idaho St and find them. You can email me at home - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .