Part II: Traveling the Loneliest Roads

After our journey across the desert we took a short diversion off of the Lincoln Highway for a few days to check out some of the sights east of Ely. The Ward Charcoal Kilns are located east of Ely and date back to 1876. These 30 foot tall stone structures were used to turn chords of wood into charcoal to be used in the roasting ovens in Ward that processed the raw ore from nearby mines. Each kiln would convert 35 chords of wood into over 1000 bushels of charcoal. By 1879 the railroad was bringing coke into the area and the need for charcoal in the smelters was eliminated.

Ward Charcoal Ovens

Another stop was Great Basin National Park. Great Basin is one of the great unknown treasures of the National Park System. This lightly visited park lies 70 miles east of Ely and has a number of interesting geological features. After pitching our tent in a camp site next the Lehman Creek we took the guided tour of Lehman Caves. Our second day in the park was spent hiking among the Bristlecone Pines out to what remains of the glacier that lies below Wheeler Peek. We also drove out of the park for a few miles to the trailhead for Lexington Arch. The climb out to the arch is a 650 foot rise over 1 1/2 miles with an impressive 75 foot tall limestone arch at the end of the trail. As I discovered, the best time for viewing the arch is during the morning hours when the sun would be shining on its face, not the late afternoon when it is backlit.

Parachute Formation in Lehman Caves

Bristlecone Pine in Great Basin National Park

Our temporary backyard while in Great Basin National Park, Lehman Creek.

The clouds that had brought us rain while driving through Tippets and Schellbourne the previous day stayed with us during our visit to the park. Although it provide some frustration from a photographic perspective by eliminating all the shadows it did create a memorable experience for the three of us. It's always an adventure cooking over a campstove in the rain.

We were treated on the last night of our stay in Great Basin to a Thunderstorm rain throughout the night. The next morning we packed up our wet tent, folded the mud covered tarps and headed westward on US 50 and to rejoin the Lincoln Highway. We once again stopped in Ely to stock up on ice and other essential supplies, spent an hour at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum (Thursday is a quiet day at the railyard) and then continued west out of town.

Our next destination was the ghost town of Hamilton, Nevada. At one time this city was the County Seat for White Pine County and had a population of over 10,000. Once the mines dried there was not reason to stay so the town was abandoned. Not much remains of the town now but a few visible foundations, lots of rusted tin, and a couple of brick walls still standing. There was some sign of recent activity, perhaps within the last 30 to 40 years, but no sign that anybody has lived there in quite a while. With the exception of the dirt road that is well maintained the area is covered by sagebrush. It is always amazing to me how nature reclaims what's hers. The dirt road had a Lincoln marker at the beginning of FR 401 but none of the maps or guides that I have reference Hamilton. I am still wondering what path the Lincoln actually took through this area.

Hamilton, Nevada

Hamilton, Nevada

Smelter Chimney - Hamilton Nevada

After exploring what was left of Hamilton we headed back to US 50 towards Eureka and Austin. We had decided early in the day that Austin would be our stopping point for the evening and looked forward to a meal that wasn't cooked over a Coleman stove. We stopped in Eureka at the Eureka Sentinel Museum where I was able to pick up a copy of the first and fifth editions of the Lincoln Highway Guide, first published in 1915 and 1924 respectively, before continuing on to Austin. The museum is well worth the stop.

West to Austin on US 50

The final night of our adventure was spent at the Lincoln Motel in Austin, Nevada. The motel, like the town, had a nostalgic feel to it. The mattresses on the beds could not have been any more recent than the 1960's, same with the carpets. In short, the motel could have used a bit of sprucing up.

We entered into town the evening before with the tired look of the travelers who had just journeyed across the desert. Gone were the snappy conversations and the desire to explore new things. Replacing them were tired eyes, low energy levels, and for me a pounding headache. Very little was said as we ate our meal at the International Café, a stop noted in the 1924 Lincoln Guide. My son and I had burgers while my father had the prime rib dinner. All agreed that the food was good.

Afterwards we walked the length of the town at sunset and then settled into our motel room to catch up on reading, writing, and to watch the 2 channels on the TV. The PBS documentary on a mansion in Carson City was not interesting enough to keep my sons attention so he turned to harassing me and his grandfather by throwing towels at us.

International Café, Austin, Nevada

The Lincoln Motel on Main Street\US 50 in Austin, Nevada

Austin Garage, Austin, Nevada. The Austin Garage, in addition to the International Café, are both noted in the early guidebooks for the Lincoln Highway.

Moonrise Austin

As we left town we made a side trip to Stokes Castle. The 3 story tall hand-hewn granite castle was built as a summer home by Anson Phelps Stokes, a mine developer, in 1897. The Stokes only used the castle as a summer retreat for a short time before selling it off in 1898 with the rest of their mining assets.

Stokes Castle

Continuing on we headed west on US 50 for a short distance before turning south on Nevada 722. If US 50 is the "Loneliest Road" then Nevada 722 should be called the "Really, Really, Really Lonely Road." I've driven Sitgreaves Pass on Route 66 twice now and as much as I enjoy it Nevada 722 exceeds it by far in my mind. This stretch of road is about 60 miles long, travels down a long and well irrigated valley, winds through a magnificent canyon, and ends with the road winding down the canyon wall before it reaches historic Eastgate. During the entire stretch not another vehicle was to be seen with the exception of the rancher tending to his horse herd on an ATV. This is my new favorite stretch of road and I hope nobody else hears about it.

Nevada 722 winding its way towards Eastgate

Nevada 722 was built as an upgrade to the original route of the Lincoln which ran approximately where US 50 is today. It became US 50 when all the roads where given US Route numbers and sometime later US 50 was moved to where the Lincoln originally was, leaving this perfectly paved stretch of road to the locals, and me.

Near the western end of our excursion on Nevada 722 we stopped at Eastgate and looked around noting the dates and names that were carved in the wall. Upon reaching US 50 we turned east for a short detour to the Cold Springs Pony Express Station. A few days earlier there would have been no question about hiking out to the location of the station ruins but on this day the interest in hiking for an hour to see another pile of rocks lying on the ground just didn't sound all that appealing. We continued westward on US 50, stopping and exploring the Sand Springs Pony Express Station. The temperature was getting much warmer the further west we traveled and walking on the sand surrounding the ruins didn't make things any cooler.

Ranch House at Eastgate

Graffiti on the Eastgate bunkhouse wall

US 50 near Westgate, Nevada

Sand Springs Pony Express Station walls and Sand Mountain

As is the case with most road trips that I have taken I always discover places that I have missed after I have returned home. This trip was no different. The journey was a memorable one from many different aspects. The fact that it was three generations, my father and son as well as myself, made it extremely special and I am sure it will be one that my son remembers later in life. Also, it was the first time that I had been camping with my father in the last 30 years, or since I was 12 or 13 years old. So many people have told me that they wish that had done something similar with their father when they had the chance.

The country that we crossed only whetted my appetite to explore it more and see the things that I missed on the first pass through. Much of the Lincoln that we traveled is much as it was when it was the road to drive westward. Forgotten by time it still exists to be rediscovered and traveled once again.