Week 710 - The Loneliest Road in America- 03-22-2020

The Loneliest Road in America

Lonely it is and we love it! The Loneliest Road in America is the Nevada portion of the 3,000 mile Hwy 50. By the mid 30's it extended coast-to-coast from San Francisco to Ocean City, Maryland. We have been at both ends and hundreds of miles in between.

This week we highlight the section shown in red, from Sparks, Nevada to Salina, Utah. For those familiar with the deserts of Nevada, you might be surprised and pleased as we were finding a nice variety of terrain.

Map courtesy of Nick Nolte

We started from Sparks on the Interstate 80 to Fallon on the Hwy 50. Fallon is home to 9,248 people (3-2020) and Fallon Naval Air Base.

Leaving the very populated Fallon you begin your lonely 479 mile trip to Salina, Utah where the 50 merges with US Hwy 70.

While you won't see many people, you can tell who was here by their lava rock graffiti.

The terrain just keeps changing.

This road looks like the one above! Oops, rain comes and goes quickly on this road and obscures the welcome sign to Austin.

We took this road twice, in 2010 and 2012. Some cities only allow you to park a car on the street for 72 hours. Apparently, the limit in Austin, a city of 192, is a little longer! We just happen to take the same photo at the same angle of the same car with same license plate in 2010 and 2012!

Exit from Austin and you are back to the lonely road.

Well maintained road with storm clouds approaching.

A few more miles and the road is goes from stormy looking to lots of rain.

And in just few minutes back to clear and dry clouds.

Approaching Eureka the topology is a long way from the typical Nevada desert.

1) October 2010 and 2) July 2012.

At 4,255 population, Eureka is a big community on this road. But, relax, you're back to your peaceful trip.

Through a few foothills and then . . .

. . . you head into Ely. We have been to the Elks Lodge twice and still no one was there. That's right, its a lonely road.

Ely is famous for its art and murals.

Here we go again, alone and loving it.

The rewards of taking this path just keep on coming.

After more than 450 miles of serenity, we arrive at Scipio, the junction of Hwy 50 and Interstate 15.

At Salina, population 2,489, Hwy 50 disappears under Interstate 70. It reappears 202 miles to the East where Hwy 70 heads to Denver and Hwy 50 breaks off to Canon City, the home of Royal Gorge Bridge.

As you sit there enjoying your social distancing we hope The Loneliest Road in America has brought a little joy into your life.

With love, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from Oct 2010 and July 2012