Pioche, NV once had over 10,000 residents and was the largest mining town in southern Nevada. It was well-known as a lawless town of hired gunmen where supposedly 75 men were killed before anyone died of natural causes. We stopped at Tillie's Mini Mart (selling gasoline to vaseline) for gas in this quiet town of 1000 people.
Route 50 in Nevada, the loneliest road in America where we rode over 100 miles from one small town to the next.
After 36 miles of pavement and seeing only one other vehicle, Nevada Route 892 turned into a hard-packed, rutted dirt road. We turned around and retraced our route, seeing only one other vehicle. That was a total of 2 vehicles in 72 miles.
The speed limit on remote 2-lane highways in Nevada is 70 mph. Mike routinely piloted the BMW between 85 and 95mph.
More animals - rabbits, deer, cows - than people as we traveled in the middle of the Silver State.
The Hotel Nevada in Ely opened in 1929 (at 6 stories the tallest building in the state at that time) and hosted celebrities including Mickey Rooney and Clark Cable in the hotel/casino/restaurant that served bootlegged alcohol 24 hours/day throughout Prohibition. We ate lunch in the restaurant with motorcyle-theme upholstery on the chairs.
Snow-capped mountain peaks reaching over 10,000' and long valleys, one with a 14-mile long dry, sandy lake bed. During lunch in Ely, the waitress told us it snowed in town last week, and that we're lucky to experience 70-degree temperatures and sunshine today.
Tomorrow we ride into Boise, Idaho for the marathon Saturday. I wonder what we'll discover?
A lonely road indeed. Much better to be seeing wildlife than traffic. Good luck with the marathon tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWe really enjoy the less-traveled roads and seek them out - although we try to avoid dirt roads when possible.
ReplyDelete