Homeward bound, Mon, 5/10/21

 

Google Maps says it's 371 miles, and that was more than enough for us this day.  Driving all day, every day, gets kind of tiring (but doable with a prize at the end -- home!).  We looked at several boondocking spots along Hwy 50, but elected to give $25 to the Pony Express RV Park in Austin for FHU and nice long showers!

Yup, we were on Hwy 50 again, "the Loneliest Road in America," a major secondary road through middle Nevada where a driver can say, "no one in front and no one behind," the road being clear forever.  The Town of Austin bills itself as the "Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road."  Although multiple high elevation passes present a challenge to an RV (chug-chug-chugging up the hill), we prefer this highway over the freeway.  It's a humble road, basically devoid of scenery, but, still, there's something appealing in its very emptiness.  Maybe it's a feeling of freedom.

Sure, there's plenty of long stretches of desert grass and sage, but you'll also see some significant rock formations on Hwy 50.

The road goes on forever.

Through the years, we've camped along Hwy 50 from Delta in the East to Sparks in the West, including Lehman Caves, Ely, Cold Spring, Austin and Big Creek.

This is open range territory, meaning no fencing, and cows (all bovines are cows to me) can roam freely.  Also at their peril.  We saw way too many bodies roadside, cows and calfs.  We had to slow down to a crawl several times 'cause cows were too close to the road, as above.  We stopped for this one, opened the window, and suggested she move away from the vehicle!  She didn't move a muscle.

Central Nevada has north-south mountain ranges, so if you're heading east or west, you have to climb up to and over six or seven or eight passes.  I think the highest one was over 7700', and Tergel was a-wheezing on that one.  The mountains are beautiful, ranging from the deep blue you see above to an arid, seemingly barren chocolaty-brown.

A couple of old log cabins sunk in a sea of old Cottonwood trees.

Downtown Ely, Nevada boasts this famous hotel.  We went inside once a few years ago, choked on the cigarette smoke haze, and walked out.  My Mom lived in neighboring McGill for a few years, so we've spent time in the area.

Jimmy and I met fellow bloggers (at the time) Laurie and Odel for the first time at the Ely KOA campground.  They were headed east and we were on our way west.  Or maybe it was the other way around; can't remember what year.  We followed each other's blogs, but hadn't met yet.  I love how this works!

The road less traveled.

We quit for the night in Austin, unhooked Smartie and went exploring.  One of the things we found was Stokes Castle, which you see below.  It's actually quite tall, and the explanation that the Stokes family used it for two months is nuts.

Austin is a dinky town, but after a mighty silver boom got going in the 1860s Austin was the second largest city in Nevada with more than 5,000 residents. Today, there are less than 200 that have worked to keep the little town alive, though the town seemed sorta deserted to us.

Tomorrow we'll grind out one more day (let's hope it's only one).  After that, we'll be home.  But tomorrow holds a wonderful surprise!  Oh boy!