Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: July 13, 14 & 15, 2022
This Roadside Attraction is a “Road”. I have had the opportunity to drive some of the most famous and scenic highways in the United States. I once drove the Pacific Coast Highway State Route 1 in California north to Washington. In California, the road hugs along the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean with stops in Big Sur and Monterey in the south to Crescent City in the north; in Oregon the beautiful sea stacks just offshore were fantastic.
I have driven historic Route 66 in five states viewing hilarious roadside attractions including the infamous Uranus, Missouri. I have driven the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Smokey Mountains north to Shenandoah NP in Virginia. Lastly, there is nothing like driving US 1 from the southernmost point in America at Key West, Florida northward through several states.
But now I add to this distinguished list of America’s highways the “Loneliest Road in America”, US HWY 50. The word “desolate” comes to mind to describe this 737-mile road from Carson City, Nevada to Fruita, Colorado. Crossing Nevada, we would go 40 to 88 miles, between settlements without seeing a town, farm, or anything. Of course, I made sure we had enough gasoline, but it was still a nerve-wracking drive because we couldn’t get cellphone reception, would go miles before seeing another car and I worried what would happen if you broke down in 95-degree weather. On the other hand, scenery of the high desert and mountains were terrific. We saw wild horses, open range cattle, dust devils, sagebrush and 25 miles east of Fallon, Nevada, we passed a giant sand dune called Sand Mountain which rose out of nowhere. Later we saw a shoe tree – just a tree where motorists stopped and hung old pairs of shoes. Through the center of Nevada on HWY 50, we followed the route of the old Pony Express and passed the remains of several 1861 stations. I fought strong cross winds the entire time which tried to blow my pick-up truck and travel trailer off the road. We even saw fault lines from a past earthquake. We passed through small towns named Eureka, Austin and Stagecoach. This definitely was one unforgettable driving experience.
