Although we started traveling on Hwy 50 in Utah the main stretch we'll be driving is across Nevada. It's this stretch of the cross country highway that's been called the "
loneliest road in America" for it's wide vistas of sage covered deserts and mountains. The towns are few and far between.
The Pony Express Trail roughly follows Hwy 50. Despite its reputation for little traffic, we do regularly spot other vehicles on the road.
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| Crossing into Nevada on Hwy 50 from Utah |
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| Approaching Great Basin National Park |
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Our plan is to stay a few days visiting
Great Basin National Park. To get more information on the park and campgrounds, we stop at the first Visitor Center (there are two in this park). Much to our surprise the Ranger on duty recommends we try Upper Lehman Creek campground. Since our camping guide book lists this campground as only good for tent camping, I ask if he's sure it's OK for a 24' motor home. Oh yes, he says, we should be fine, besides it has the nicest campsites.
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| Entrance to Great Basin National Park |
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| Looks like a fun place |
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Turns out we should have taken the guidebook's advice
instead of the Ranger's. The road through Upper Lehman campground is very narrow with tight
curves. Just was we decide to get out, a large rock catches the end of our tail pipe as we try to negotiate a sharp turn. The tail pipe gets ripped off and in the process tears open the inner back tire. To make a long story short, we end up coasting slowly back down the mountain to a truck stop right on the Nevada/Utah state line (Utah side gas prices, Nevada side casino). Fortunately, they have a small RV park behind the truck stop. In the morning a ranch hand from a neighboring ranch knocks on our door to help us get the flat tire changed. Thank you Tom for getting us back on the road.
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| Traveler takes a photo of his jeep in front of the truck stop |
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| Our campsite for the night at the state line truck stop |
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| Connor's pass on the way to Ely |
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Both Yelp and all the locals agree the best place to get tires serviced in Ely NV is
Gale Oil & Tire. They were right. The guys there are fast and efficient and charge a reasonable price.
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| Sign marking Gale & Oil in Ely NV |
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Humm...
I think I'll have a Dr Pepper |
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| Looks like they're well stocked with tires |
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While the guys are switching tires, I take a walk around the old part of Ely. It's an interesting town.
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| 8 Ball Casino |
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| Pony Express trail marker |
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| Mural on side of building |
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Within a hour or two we're back on the road with a full complement of tires.
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| Bye-bye Ely - thanks for your help |
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| Back to the wide open spaces |
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| Over Robinson Summit |
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The next town we come to is
Eureka NV, one of the silver mining towns mentioned by Mark Twain in "
Roughing It." Before settling down for lunch, we stretch our legs by exploring the town. Many of the old buildings have been restored or are in the process of being restored. Perhaps the most impressive is the
Jackson House Hotel, built in 1877.
We decide to try the
Owl Club Saloon Restaurant. The food is surprisingly good and the bar in the saloon is classic western style.
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| Owl Club Saloon Restaurant |
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| door to Ladies Room |
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| Lone customer at the bar during lunch time |
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After a good lunch, we're back on Hwy 50 headed west towards Austin (that's Nevada, not Texas).
Shortly after the summit, we pass mine tailings then come to the town itself, clinging to the steep mountainside. The silver rush in
Austin is said to have started when a Pony Express horse kicked over a rock bearing silver ore. Even though it looks like a fun town to explore, we've got our sites set on home and plan to spend the night in Fallon NV.
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| Mine tailings approaching Austin NV |
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| Downtown Austin NV |
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| Classic Hwy 50 |
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From Austin to Fallon NV, the road closely follows the Pony Express route.
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| Climbing New Pass |
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| Large playa ahead |
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We reach
Fallon NV just before dinner and are lucky to score one of the last spaces available at the
Fallon RV Park. Although the spaces are closer together than we would like, it's out-of-town and fairly quiet, besides it has full hook-ups for a reasonable price. We get an early start the next morning as we are anxious to be home again after our misadventure. We take the fastest route home which is I-80 following the
Truckee River, passing the infamous
Mustang Ranch (sorry gang, the photo is not the correct exit - it's 28 not 23) outside of
Reno NV then over the treacherous
Donner Pass.
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| Back on I-80 outside Reno NV |
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| following the Truckee River |
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| Not THE Mustang Ranch exit |
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The sky starts to darken as we approach Reno. We may have a wet drive over the pass. We notice the same kind of large signs pushing casinos and religion around Reno as around Las Vegas. Guess sin and salvation do tend to go together.
Speaking of sin and salvation, we spot a possible candidate at a rest area as we start up the pass. We had pulled off for lunch and while eating sandwiches we notice a man in his mid thirties intently pacing back and forth chain smoking cigarettes in the pouring rain. We wonder what would cause that level of worry as he seems to have smoked half a pack just during our lunch stop. Perhaps he lost everything in a casino and is worried about what he's going to tell the wife and family back home...?
Just as we're reaching Donner Summit, we get caught in a long line of cars. As we inch forward we speculate what kind of accident is causing the hold up. With the first rain, the roads are especially slick. It turns out be a jack-knifed truck and trailer.
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| Welcome to California |
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| Some kind of accident ahead |
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| The orange truck is jack-knifed |
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Since it's before rush hour mid-week and raining, the traffic through the Bay Area isn't too bad. Most drivers are taking extra care with the first rain and we don't see any more major accidents. By San Jose, bits of sunshine start breaking through the clouds.
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| Climbing the grade by Sunol |
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| Sunshine breaking through the rain clouds |
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We are really glad to make it home. David and the puppies give us a real "happy you're home" welcome. That evening we watch a DVD David checked out of the local library -
Ken Burn: Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip. It's an amazing story of the first cross country trip by auto. Our little misadventure with a tire blow out is nothing compared with all the break-downs Horatio and his driver encountered. Watching this DVD is the perfect ending for our trip.
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