The Lonliest Road - Day 89

In 1986, Life Magazine described Nevada's Highway 50 as, "It's totally empty. There are no points of interest. We don't recommend it. We warn all motorists not to drive there unless they're confident of their survival skills." I learned this from a website extolling the virtues of the drive.


There are just 5 "real" towns along the 350 mile span. If you get a "Highway 50 Survival Guide", and I did, and if you stop at the museum or courthouse in each of these cities, and I did, you can get the book stamped proving you were there. Now all I have to do is mail it in and the Nevada Governor will sign it and mail it back to me.


I've driven six and a half hours on Highway 50, and I don't know whether I love it or not. The time, distance and expanse play tricks with your mind. For example, out of nowhere I came across the Sand Mountain. It's a huge accumulation of beach quality sand, used by enthusiasts for motor biking and sandboarding (same as snowboarding except, well, its sand.) I would have played in the sand, but it was really, really hot today.


Beautiful sandy beaches are created by eons of washing by lapping waters. I assume this mountain of sand was created long ago when this Great Basin area was actually a basin. Between mountain ridges, much of what I drove across were previously the basins of huge seas. These expansive flat basins gave me plenty of time to think about how the sand got there.

Did I mention it's hot. Africa hot. All over Nevada they are setting all-time record highs. Not just record highs for the day, but All-time highs. People are dying from this. My car thermometer registered a high of 116 degrees. It was somewhat unbearable to be outside for more than 15 minutes or so, and I went through 7 bottled waters.


The Loneliest Road was aptly named. Sure there are a few other survivalists you come across, but there were plenty of times when I thought I was the only one on the road. In the middle of some of these basins, I drove for about 70 miles without so much as even a slight bend in the road. In the middle, I could see about 20 miles ahead and 20 miles behind (hindered only by the horizon) and not see another vehicle. I stopped my car in the middle of a 70 MPH lane, parked, got out, took a few pictures and continued on, still not a car in sight.


Lonely, perhaps. But there is a lot to see. Just some of what I skipped seeing includes the Ward Charcoal Ovens, the Eureka Opera House, Fort Churchill and the Hidden Cave. What I did see were Sand Mountain, Grimes Point's petroglyphs, Stokes Castle and Old Shoe Tree where people toss their old shoes (see picture).

Overall, I would say that if I have to cross Nevada again, I am glad that I crossed the Great Salt Lake once and rode I80 through Nevada, but I would probably take this route every time from now on. Just a peaceful, well maintained road, with somewhat entertaining little side trips aplenty.