Loneliest Road

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On our drive across the USA to California our day begins in Green River, Utah where our trusty 1984 Hyundai Pony fails as we start our day. It just sputters and quits as we try to get back onto the interstate. Not a good start to our day.

Fortunately our CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) membership is honored by the AAA (American version of the same club) and we are towed to a nearby garage. They've never seen a car like this before and, if parts are required, we could be here for a while. Fortunately the car is pretty simple and the mechanic MacGyver fixes some problem with the fuel filter and we're on our way. The rusted ruins of vehicles that could not be repaired litter the yard at "S&S Garage and Towing". It's a lonely town and we'd not want to be stuck here.

At this point there's a decision to be made. Should we follow the Interstate Highway System (heading north towards Salt Lake City or south towards Las Vegas) or should we take US Route 50, the "Loneliest Road in America", across Nevada to Reno? Brave souls, we take the road less travelled. In spite of our recent car problems!

On this loneliest road, and it truly is a very lonely road, we have a couple of adventures. Lehman Caves and Wheeler Peak are a little ways off the road in the Great Basin National Park (1986). The caves are fun to explore on a guided tour with a ranger — it's cool underground and there's lots of stalactites, stalagmites and other underground features. Wheeler Peak is a long steep road up to 10,000' where there's still snow on the mountain tops. 

Our little car struggles on the steep incline and we decide to not push on to the top. Our little car is like the "Little Engine that Could" in the childhood story: "I think I can, I think I can, ...". It's been a struggle to get up some of the steep peaks on this trip. Sometimes the little Pony's appropriate response is: "No I can't, No I can't! Stop pushing me!".

The road through Nevada is indeed very pretty lonely with not much traffic. There's very few cars on the road and a very few small towns: Ely, Eureka and Austin are gas/rest stops along the way before Reno. We see free range cattle wandering the road side as we drive and one bloated corpse of a poor beast that met it's maker. But the air is clean with the fragrant smell of spring flowers and small juniper trees. We enjoy the vistas and are happy to explore this part of the world. We fall in love with the desert country and promise to return to see more in years to come.

As evening settles the road side glistens with reflections from broken glass — beer and soda bottles tossed by others on this road less travelled.

Photos scanned and blog created April 2022 during the BadAss.II Covid wave and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.