I spent the first night of my sojourn in Las Vegas, where I didn't take a single photo. I stayed with the idea that I could split the incredibly hot miles into two roughly equal sections. It worked!
So, the first photo of the trip is in Alamo, NV. I ALWAYS stop in Alamo for the delightful store and service station and good coffee.
About 80 miles north of Las Vegas
At Ely, NV I turned left on US 50. The Loneliest Highway In America as proclaimed by signs and billboards. I rode it all the way to Reno, NV and can attest that it isn't very heavily travelled. My kind of road.
If you look really closely you can see a car in that photo. Really closely :)
US 50 roughly follows the Pony Express route through Nevada. Most of the towns sprung up around rest stops for the Pony Express. Just think about riding a horse through this country. It's a long ways between stops.
Downtown Eureka, NV. I planned to go to Raines Market as my last chance for fresh supplies and ice for the day. On the door was a sign that they had moved to the west end of town. A combination Hardware and Grocery (with gas) in a wonderful modern building. Need nails and bologna? You are in the right place!
One more stop before I can call it a day. Hickison Petroglyph site conveniently located at Hickison Summit a 7600 ft (2300m) pass, one of several on the first day of Highway 50.
It's a pretty good but poorly protected petroglyph site. I guess the primary protection comes from the 2 mile dirt road off US 50. Most people that would otherwise despoil a place won't take their cars on 2 miles of dirt, I guess. Poorly maintained dirt at that :)
I've decided to do a completely separate post on the Hickison site on the off chance that everyone isn't as fascinated by these sites as I am.
I spent the night at Bob Scott National Forest Campground. Cost me $4.00 for the site. Turns out I would stay in lots of NFS campgrounds. My old people (Access) National Park pass lets me stay in the NFS for half the price. A really good deal for me.
It was warm not hot at 7200' (2200m) and I had a wonderful shady spot. Not that I needed it in the morning, sunup temperature was 42f (5.5C) the coldest I would see on the whole trip. I was the only person that spent the night in the campground. It was the Friday of the 4th of July weekend and I was surprised to be alone.
Next I'll head to the Lake Tahoe area, but that's another post.
Lest you may have forgotten, I just love following the front wheel of a motorcycle.
All the words and photos in this post are mine. For better or worse. All photos taken with a moto edge phone. I love my new phone camera.
