The 286 mile stretch of highway U.S. 50 between Fernley and Ely, Nevada, was described as "The Loneliest Road in America" by Life Magazine, which also said travelers needed survival skills to make the journey. After reading that description we left Carson City and picked up the "Loneliest Road" in Fernley, not knowing what lie ahead of us. Would we see any other vehicles? Would we be lost forever? Where would we spend the night? Would the road be paved or just a dirt trail across the desert?

This is what fulltiming is all about - new adventures with no plans other than to enjoy the ride and we sure did enjoy it. The road was smooth and there was so little traffic we set the cruise control on 52 mph so we could enjoy the scenery. During one segment we drove 38 miles without seeing another vehicle. The old Pony Express route followed parts of present-day U.S. 50 and we wondered how a rider could speedily cross the desert covered with sage brush and prickly pear cactus and endure the 100 plus degrees in the summer and the freezing temperatures and deep snow in the winter. In many areas we saw the old road, the first paved road across the desert and it appeared to be about twelve feet wide.

Northern Nevada has many basins - valleys with mountain ranges running north and south. The basins vary in width from a few miles to about twenty miles and they are hundreds of miles in length. Water flows through the basins, but it is trapped and never flows to an ocean. Many of the valleys are flat and fertile and then the road rises from about 4,000 feet in elevation to thousands of feet and then drops into the next basin. From the basin floors we climbed over New Pass Summit (6348 ft), Austin Summit (7484 ft), Bob Scotts Summit (7195 ft), Hickison Summit (6546 ft), Pinto Summit (7350 ft), Pancake Summit (6492 ft), Little Antelope Summit (7438 ft) and Robinson Summit (7539 ft). The Dutch Star performed flawless climbing the mountains as it should with 370 horsepower and 1200 lb. ft. of torque pushed over 34,000 pounds right along.

Old mining towns dot the road and three are still occupied, Austin, Eureka and Ely. Silver ore was discovered at Austin in 1862 andwithin two years the town boasted a population of 7,500 people. The mines produced $50 million in silver before closing and the present population is 250 hardy souls. Many of the old original buildings still grace the town and we wanted to stop and even spend the night, but the town is built on steep hills and there was no where to stop in a large motorhome. Seventy miles west we stopped at Eureka for the night. The town has a park with overnight camping located in front of a "pay" campground. The choice was easy and we camped free. The gem of the town is the Opera House that was recently reconstructed. Mining is still continuing on a mountain south of town and we drove up a road lined with deer to the mine, but due to security we could not drive in. Back in town we ate at the only restaurant we could find and the young workers were talking about being a teenager in the middle of no-where, on the Loneliest Road in America, with a population of only 600.

Between Austin and Eureka we stopped in a pull-off area for a potty break and to stretch our legs. I noticed the rear fender on the passenger side had come loose in the front and was flapping in the wind. During assembly a screw missed its target and had ripped loose. No problem, in the rest area I drilled a new hole in the proper place and installed a new screw and washer - problem solved.

Our next stop was in Ely, Nevada, a more progressive town than Austin and Eureka. The cornerstone of the town is the Hotel Nevada & Gambling Hall. When it was completed in 1929, it was not only the tallest building in Nevada at six stores high, but it was also the first fire-proof building in the state. A list of the rich and famous have stayed in the Hotel Nevada including Lyndon B. Johnson, Mickey Rooney, Jimmy Stewart, Ingrid Bergman, Evil Knievel, Stephen King and Wayne Newton. We ate dinner at the hotel and enjoyed the historic photographs and museum quality displays. The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is not a customary museum, it encompasses 40-acres of outdoor displays of steam engines, electric and diesel locomotives, historic passenger cars and forty-nine buildings. Daily train rides go in two directions, one retraces the route of the ore trains and one follows the ore train route to the mill and smelter at McGill. We did not take a train ride because we plan to ride the Durango - Silverton train later, the grand-daddy of all historic train rides. Since I lived my first eighteen years one block from railroad tracks I enjoyed walking around the train yard. They had a coal tipple and water tank just like I remember from my youth.

From Ely we drove twenty-five miles, including the last seven miles on a dirt road, to Ward Charcoal Ovens. The ovens operated from 1876 through 1879 to provide charcoal to silver ore smelters. Each oven is 30 feet high, 27 feet in diameter at the base and the walls are 20 inches thick with three rows of vents. Each oven held approximately 35 cords of wood and produced about 1,750 bushels of charcoal. In later years the beehive shaped ovens sheltered stockmen and prospectors and had a reputation as a hideout for stagecoach bandits.
 

Great Basin National Park

Still traveling on highway U.S. 50, but off of the Loneliest Road, our next stop was Great Basin National Park, established in 1986 as one of our newest national parks. Very few people visit the beautiful park and there is no admission charge. (Every two days more people visit Yosemite National Park than visit Great Basin in a year.) The 77,000 acre park is the home of several groves of ancient bristlecone pine trees, the oldest living plants, as well as the remnants of a glacier. Reaching 13,065 feet high, well above tree-line, Wheeler Peak is the tallest mountain in Nevada and it harbors an ice field that has not melted since the age of glaciers. From the visitor center we drove a 12 mile scenic road to the 10,000 foot elevation and then walked a trail covered with snow.
 

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Delta, Utah

We again traveled on highway U.S. 50 leaving Nevada and into Utah. The road was still lonely with very little traffic and smooth pavement. We spotted Seiver Lake and drove along the west shore for many miles, but it was not a typical lake since it was dry. Smooth salt covered the lake and it sparkled in sunlight imitating water such as a mirage in the desert. I'm sure many cowboys and wagon trains spotted the lake and hurried towards it only to be disappointed to find salt. We had been traveling hard and heavy and once we reached Delta, Utah we stopped to rest five days. Our home Coast to Coast membership park, Antelope Valley RV Park, is located in Delta so there was no charge for staying there. We enjoyed having full hookups, relaxing and getting the laundry caught up.
 

Salt Lake City

We enjoyed driving highway U.S. 50 because the drive was scenic, the highway was smooth and it was so lonely no one bothered us. But it was time to leave old 50 and head north. We don't like to drive boring interstate highways and compete with semi-trucks so we took U.S. 6 and Utah highway 68 which was a good choice. Again, the road was good and Utah Lake, with mountains in the background, provided a scenic view.

Our sole purpose for going to Salt Lake City was for the Mormon experience and we stayed at a KOA Kampground just blocks from Temple Square. We normally don't stop at KOA's because they are expensive and family oriented, but several RVers had told us to stay there and they were correct. The park is very nice and only a 3-5 minute drive to downtown Salt Lake City and the Mormon complex.

Wow, the Mormons are such friendly people to the point it becomes harassment. On the corner of every block, at the entrance of every building and in every hallway, Mormon volunteers greeted us and their first questions always was "where are you from?" When we replied we travel fulltime they had many questions for us and we had to explain our lifestyle about three dozen times. But we must admit they were the nicest of people and answered all of our questions.

The first permanent white settlers in Utah were Mormons. These members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints faced persecution in the east and led by Brigham Young in 1847, they traveled in wagons and on foot pulling their possessions in handcarts from Missouri to the Great Salt Lake and later to other valleys in central Utah. Today the city's population is comprised of 40% Mormons.

At Temple Square we visited the Family History (genealogy) Library, Museum of Church History and Art, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, the Beehive House (home of Brigham Young) and walked around the Temple. Brigham Young was not only the church leader, he was a political leader being the Governor of the Utah Territory. Across the street we toured the large and beautiful Conference Center's interior and roof. Yes, the roof tour was interesting as it covers three acres with forests, waterfalls and prairie grasses. At noontime we listened to a concert played on the large and beautiful pipe organ. We returned on a Wednesday night to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice, but were disappointed they had taken the week off and the orchestra was practicing. We listened a few minutes but it was boring so we left.

After spending three full days in and around Temple Square we left with a better understanding of the Mormon's religion and of the history of Utah. We did make one other stop in Salt Lake City and that was to tour the State Capitol, but it was closed while it is being "earthquake proofed."