We wake up around 8am after a difficult night challenged by a heavy digestion. We take a shower, pack and leave the room. A long day driving awaits us.
Back to the RV, Red notices,
disbelieving, that the gas cap is missing. Again. The problem is that
it is probably missing since last time we got gas, which was in
Susanville, CA. There is no way we can get that gas cap back. Not
knowing exactly what to do, we call Joe the Mechanic. It seems that
it shouldn’t be any problem to get a new gas cap. And it’s true.
We get one at O’Reilly’s, on our way out of town.
We stop at a nearby McDonald’s so Red
can have her caffeine intake for the day. Meanwhile, Yellow is
exploring the parking lot, and looking at a pick-up truck and a
trailer tuned up with a bunch of recycled items, transformed into
very artistic pieces. A old woman with a ton of make-up stops by the
trailer and starts talking to Yellow about the artist, a homeless guy
that might be dead, as nobody heard from him for a couple of days.
The police left him a notification telling to move his vehicle. May
be he is in the trailer actually, the door is open, and it is a total
mess inside. We’re not really motivated to look inside. Red has her
coffee, so we got out of there.
And pretty fast, we’re back in a
desolate area. We make sure to get some gas each time we see a gas
station, because today, after reaching Fallon, we’re driving east
on US-50 – “The Loneliest Road in America”.
The route crosses mostly desolate
terrain in the journey across Nevada: a succession of mountain ranges
and large desert valleys or basins. To crest some of the passes
requires navigating steep and winding roads through pine forests to
reach altitudes of over 7,000 feet. In the stretch of interest
between Fallon and Delta, Utah, a span of 409 miles (658 km), there
are only three small towns, Austin, Eureka and Ely. And a couple of
ghost towns here and there. The route was constructed over a historic
corridor, first used for the Pony Express.
The first experience we have on US-50
is being passes by a car filled with guys that flipped us off once in
front of us, throwing some cans out of the window. No wonder there is
so much litter on the side of the road. Something else that is on the
side of that road, at least at the beginning, is a bunch of names and
other things written with rocks and they go on for miles. In the sky,
being in the midst of a U.S. Navy target range, supersonic fighters
play electronic war games across the alkali flats. We encounter a
sand dune on the left side, called Sand Mountain. But soon there is
nothing more than some historical plaques marking Pony Express
stations. And the arid wilderness, cut in two by long stretches of
straight road.
Austin lies 110 miles (180 km) east of
Fallon. The city, founded by Pony Express riders that discovered
silver, was a mining boomtown that now describes itself as a living
ghost town. In 1862, at the peak of the silver boom, Austin had a
population of 10,000 people. Today, about 300 residents remain. We
stop there for gas, and move on.
Passing Austin, we encounter hairpin
turns and steep grades in the ascent up Austin Summit in the Toiyabe
Range. We’re going to be at an elevation higher than 6,000 ft for
the next 24 hours. Which is not surprising, as Nevada’s average
elevation is 5,500 ft.
The next town is Eureka, which bills
itself as the "Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road in
America". Eureka was similarly founded as a mining boomtown. The
population boomed, reaching also a high of 10,000 by 1878, but shrank
as decreasing mine production and changing market conditions led to
the closing of mines. Mining still remains a large component of the
community – 610 residents – and its economy. The centerpiece of
the historical district of downtown Eureka is the Eureka Opera House,
built in 1880.
We stop for gas again, and take a
couple of pictures. We try to get some internet, but it’s not
successful. So we get back on the road again. Mountain ranges covered
with forests, due to the high elevation, alternate again with large
basins. Sunset is beautiful behind us, but we have to be careful
about elk running around. The rest of the drive is under the moon,
almost full. And nothing else around as the darkness takes over what
the moonlight can’t.
It is in the middle of this nothingness
that we arrive at Illipah Reservoir, somewhere between Eureka and
Ely, Nevada. We first miss the access dirt road before driving to the
free campground managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Several RVs
are around, and somebody from Las Vegas spending the week fishing
crawfish at the Reservoir helps us with the campground.
We settle down at a somewhat leveled
site, nicely furnished with a protected picnic table and a grill.
Fortunately, the wind is not very strong. The night is chilly though,
and we warm ourselves with some yellow split pea soup for dinner.
We go to bed around 10pm to the sound
of howling coyotes.
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