Now, if you look at the map above, you'll note that there aren't may towns along this route. Hence, the name. What our drive lacked in population it excelled in beauty and enjoyment (for us). 'The Loneliest Road' was inspired by the July 1987 story in Life magazine that dubbed US-50 “The Loneliest Road". The state-run Nevada Commission on Tourism latched onto the idea suggested in the report and sponsored a tongue-in-cheek promotion in which trans-Nevada travelers can earn themselves a certificate saying “I Survived the Loneliest Road in America.” You can get your official US-50 travel passport stamped at visitors centers along the highway and instructions on how to receive a certificate from the Governor of the State verifying your achievement.
We did stop along the way and our first stop was at Dayton just outside Carson City. Dayton claims to be Nevada's oldest settlement. (Hummmm, I think Genoa, NV, might be disputing this claim.) There are a few old buildings to look at, a mining town theme and a nice gas station on the main road which sells coffee. When we tried to find out more about the 'passport', no luck. No worries, we pursued.
The drive is entertaining. You will learn about the Pony Express along the way and see a lot of open space. For example. To the East of Fallon, NV, you will most probably hear and see the occasional plane or two. The Navy has a training facility here reported to have the Navy's longest runway, 14,000 ft. Just beyond that you will see an enormous mountain of sand, known as Sand Mountain. How appropriate. Here is a picture of Ace at Sand Mountain. We had a little drive off the main road to what looks like a popular dune buggy spot. Lots of campers about.
Our trip took us through passes, over mountains and ever so occasionally there was a nice spot to stop for a cup of coffee or something to eat. We stopped at a place call, Cold Springs, at a rather new bar/restaurant. I think (like many places in Nevada), the original building was destroyed in a fire. We had a coffee here. (You'll see me in the video. We goofed and call this spot, Salt Springs.) Here is a little film showing this Pony Express stop.
Next we drove on to Austin, Nevada, for a longer stop and lunch. Let me tell you that that views are spectacular. You are at high altitude, going even higher over mountains and in between you have fantastic views as you cross high plains. We were lucky in that there was snow on the mountains. Beautiful. Take time to look back, every now and again.
Will write more tomorrow it is on to Austin, Nevada. Cheers for now
