Route 50 from Lake Tahoe to Ely, NV

We said goodbye to our bnb hosts and headed east on route 50.

Route 50 across Nevada is called the Loneliest Road in America.

However it was not lonely as we drove around Lake Tahoe to Carson City. You go through a tunnel beside the lake at one stage.

We stopped at a view point just before heading east away from the lake.

This lizard came out to pose. It was only a few inches long.

It really is a beautiful lake and the temperatures are mild compared to the surrounding area.

We were really impressed by the bark on the pine trees.

I love taking photos of other people taking photos. This one worked well.

Soon we were headed east from Carson City. It was still a dual carriage highway but soon we were on a two lane road.

We wondered what was on the top of a distant mountain and after looking at this photo I am still not sure.

The two lane road. It was quite smooth and with little traffic, very easy to drive.

We stopped to take photos of this reservoir at Silver Springs and possibly go to the bathroom. A ranger told Marianne we would have to buy a $5 day permit to use the bathroom so we declined and drove on.

Marianne had discovered another quilt shop in Fallon so she went in and got her pattern. I kept the car engine going so that the air-conditioning would keep the car cool.

We stopped in Fallon to get gas / petrol so that we could reach Ely which was 257 miles away. 

The Fallon Naval Air Station is just outside Fallon. This is where they do the Topgun training.

The Route 50 sign.

You can just see the radar dome at the air station. 

A couple of jets flew over but we were too slow to get a photo of them.

We passed a large sandy area.

The locals come out here and spell out names, initials and words with stones that litter the area.

It's all quite deserted.

A solitary huge sand dune. 

An area of pink.

We stopped for lunch. 

A motel was attached to the restaurant and bar.

It's out in the middle of nowhere but the scenery is spectacular.

The menu. I had the Pony Express burger and it was quite good. I rarely eat burgers these days but I still enjoy one every now and then.

And yes, the Pony Express used to travel this route.

Sign at the entrance to the restaurant.

Although there are long stretches of flat road on a valley floor there are still plenty of hills to climb.

With no traffic and a good surface it is very easy to just waft along at 70 mph. There were quite a few bikers.

We were puzzled by the grey colour at the bottom of the mountain. It turned out to be the same sage-bush as what is in the foreground but viewed from a different angle.

In Australia we call this a willy-willy.

Here it is known as a dust devil.

Two of them. There were a couple of others off in the distance. The temperatures were in the low 90's.

But there was still snow on the mountains.

We arrived at Austin which seems to be right in the middle of the state..

It's a quaint old place.

View back to Austin. 

A long straight road. Some were about 10 miles long.

Occasionally there are hills and we managed to get stuck behind this tractor for a while as it slowly proceeded uphill.

We noticed he shadow of a cloud.

An open cut mine near Eureka where silver and lead were found.

It has an old opera house. It was so hot outside that we did not want to leave the cool of the car.

On and on and on you go.

It needs some work.

We finally reached Ely late in the afternoon. Outside the town is a huge copper mine.

It had been a great drive but we were both tired from the heat, sun and high elevation. Ely's elevation is over 6,300 feet.