Today we left Fillmore, Utah to begin our journey along Highway 50 through Nevada. Before we get into the Route 50 experience, we have to tell you about Fillmore. As we were getting closer to town I saw a sign that welcomed us to Millard County. So of course when we got to our hotel in Fillmore I asked if the Millard Fillmore thing was planned. It turns out the the county and the town were named in honor of President Fillmore. The library in town is the Millard Fillmore Library.
So then it was time to get moving. We were about to travel on "The Loneliest Road in America". We actually weren't going the whole way today because it's quite a ride. We only did the section from Holden to Ely. The main part of this trip will be from Ely to Fernley, Nevada.
We hit some sections of the road that went for well over 8 to 10 miles without a curve or even another vehicle. So I had time to take the camera and get a shot of us as we were cruising along.
You can see here that the road is more than deserving of it's name. We only rode about 180 miles from Holden to Ely but we saw no more than a dozen cars and a few trucks during the ride.
The weather was absolutely perfect. Although we were riding through the desert we got lucky and had some cloud cover for most of the ride. It got a little windy when we hit the wide open spaces and that can make things a little loud and has a big effect on our speed but we were in no hurry and we really enjoyed the ride.
Finally got to Ely, Nevada early afternoon and after checking in, we took a walk up the street to the largest casino in town. Came back to room and washed the trike before going back for some dinner and gambling and a few beers. Then we spent the rest of the evening walking around the casinos and sitting in front of a machine here and there.
195 miles today and we're really looking forward to tomorrow. That's when we do the major part of Route 50. It's a long ride and we have to plan our gas stops. The towns are about 90 miles apart and between them you are on "The Loneliest Road in America".
In 1986, LIFE magazine named Highway 50 from Ely to Fernley and "The Loneliest Road in America".It's a 287 mile stretch with no points of interest and they recommended that drivers have "survival skills" to travel the entire route. They warned motorists to avoid this road unless they had these skills. But it has become more popular thanks to the warnings and you can even get an award for traveling the route.
There are five towns along the way that will stamp a card for you to prove you did the ride. So we will start with the stamp from Ely. Tomorrow we hope to get stamped in Eureka, Austin, Fallon and Fernley. Then we send in our completed card and we'll get our certificate and a souvenir.
So check back and we'll be posting a few pics of this classic road trip.
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