Las Vegas

We left Death Valley and drove through Pahrump to Las Vegas.      

Approaching Las Vegas from Pahrump.

The Las Vegas Strip

Not the most picturesque Thousand Trails we have been to.

We had a fantastic lunch at Gordon Ramsey's restaurant, Hell's Kitchen.  We were trying for dinner but could not get a reservation on short notice.

Outside Hell's Kitchen

Lunch at Hell's Kitchen

Rebecca with Hello Kitty

We were all set up for trick or treaters on Halloween, but only two kids showed up.

Happy Halloween!

As we were leaving Las Vegas we took a detour to see Hoover Dam.  With the trailer in tow the only available parking was on the Arizona side.  We decided to forgo the walk down to the dam in favor of getting back on the road.

Driving across Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam from the parking lot on the Arizona side.

If you are looking for a heavy duty gate, now you know where to go.

Death Valley

This was another unplanned trip.  Since we bee lined it to Beatty we had an extra day so we took the opportunity to visit Death Valley.  It is impossible to see all of Death Valley in a day, or even a week, so we took the drive to the north end of the park to see the Ubehebe crater.  It is a volcanic crater from an eruption somewhere between 2,000 and 7,000 years ago.

Badwater Basin from Hells Gate

As we were arriving, this guy was leaving.

We arrived early in the day since Beatty is so close.  We dropped the trailer at the campsite and drove north toward Ubehebe.

Little Hebe crater from the rim of Ubehebe.

Looking west across Ubehebe.  You can see our truck in the parking lot on the west rim if you zoom in.

We scratched off our third National Park since we started our travels.

US-95

Our original plan was to return to US-395 and stop at Topaz Lake on the way south.  Once again weather intervened and forecast lows in the teens changed our plans.  To escape the cold we headed straight for Beatty.  It ended up being our longest travel day so far at almost 300 miles. 

Heading south on US-95.  Storm clouds looming on the horizon.

It was raining as we approached Walker Lake

Low clouds and some sun poking through at Walker Lake

Between Walker Lake and Tonopah on US-95

Clouds touching the top of the moutains.

Would you check in here?  Tonopah.

Rain again as we were leaving Tonopah

More rain in the distance

Only an hour to go

We finally arrived at our destination.  We set up and started cooking dinner outside because we had left all the bad weather behind us.  It was not to be.  The wind picked up just as we put the food on the grill and between the wind blowing our our stove and the sand getting blown in our food we moved inside.

Beatty RV Park

The Loneliest Road

The loneliest road is the name given to the stretch of US-50 that crosses Nevada.  It follows the old Pony Express route.  Since most traffic takes Interstate 80 to the north, US-50 is seldom travelled.

We picked up our survival guide in Ely

The Pony Express was a short lived delivery system that was replaced by the telegraph and train travel.

The named portion starts at Baker, goes to Ely, Eureka, Austin, Fallon and ends in Fernley.  The reality is that when you get to Fallon it stops being so lonely.

From Baker to Fallon you cross many mountain ranges.  This is the heart of the Basin and Range Province. The result is that for 320 miles you are either going up a mountain pass, going down a mountain pass or driving across a valley with a mountain not too far away.

We left Delta and crossed the bed of Lake Bonneville for the second time. By the time we got to Nevada we had left the ancient lake behind.

Entering Nevada just outside Baker

Our first stop was Great Basin National Park.  Some of the highlights here are the Lehman Caves, views of the surrounding area, especially from Wheeler Peak, and Bristlecone Pine trees.  We did not get out to see Wheeler Peak or the 3000 year old trees due to road closures.  Maybe next time.

Hiking in Great Basin National Park

The view from our hike

Notch Peak in Utah from Great Basin NP

The Lehman Caves

Next we were on to Ely.  The road there was a sign of things to come.  Up and down mountains and across broad flat valleys.

Between Baker and Ely

Windmills between Baker and Ely

Ely is a mining town that secured its place on the map when the owner of the Nevada Northern railroad convinced the owner of the Southern Pacific railroad to join tracks.  Without this Ely would likely be another ghost town in central Nevada.

Welcome to Ely

The Nevada Northern Railway Station

The belt drive for a lathe at the railroad workshop

A belt driven lathe

A big lathe

The Ghost Train of Ely

Many murals adorn the walls of Ely

Leaving Ely we set out once again across the desert to Eureka.

From Ely to Eureka

Almost to Eureka

Almost there

Eureka is a well preserved mining town.  We were there on Nevada day, the last Friday in October.  The main attraction is the main street the opera building.

Welcome to Eureka!

Eureka Opera House

Eureka Museum was closed due to the Nevada Day holiday.

Back on the road and on our way to Austin.

Crossing a broad flat valley

Descending one of the many mountain passes

It turned out there was not a lot to see in Austin except for Stokes Castle.

Stokes Castle

Looking west from Stokes Castle

When we were in Elko we stopped in the visitor center and were told about the Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park.  It was a ways off of the highway but sounded interesting so we made the journey.  It was well worth the effort to get there. 

The road to the ghost town of Berlin

A life size depiction of an Ichthyosaur.

Leaving Berlin we stopped for lunch at Middlegate Station.  Formerly a Pony Express stop, today it is a quirky restaurant in the middle of nowhere.  It is frequented by folks who bring there off road toys to the area to explore the desert. 

Still waiting for a tow truck

Middlegate Station

History of Middlegate Station from the restaurant menu.

The last truly lonely stretch of US-50 took us to Fallon.

Camping at Sand Mountain Recreation Area to ride the dunes.

US-50 passes through a dry lake that is labeled simply "Salt Bed" on the USGS Topo map.

Fallon is a much bigger town that the others we had seen on US-50

West of Fallon the two lane highway gives way to a divided highway.

Arriving in Fernley we were back in familiar territory.  We had passed this way on our way east on I-80.  We stayed the night in Dayton before leaving US-50 and heading south.

Fernley Nevada