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I would like to start a thread that captures those buildings along the roadside whose days of glory are in the past and now wait for time to take it's ultimate toll. During my road trip travels I am always on the lookout for those buildings that were once part of the road trip experience but are now likely relegated to a distant memories of road trips past. Whenever I pass through a small town, or along what was once the major thoroughfare through an area that is now bypassed by the Interstate, I always keep an eye out for that former gas station, diner, or motel. Sometimes they have been repurposed to fulfill another roll, others are in a state of suspended animation, but many times they are abandoned likely to never be a stop along the highway again. In the 15 or so years that I have taken an active interest in the history of the American road I have had the opportunity to visit sites multiple times seperated by a few years and have witnessed the accelerated decay of some of these buildings, some are even gone completely. The "Kamp"ground office at Two Guns is an example that comes to mind. Each time I pass through that area east of Flagstaff I pull off the Interstate and take a look. Each time there is more grafitti, less of the buildings siding intact, and more of the interior exposed to the elements. I'm sure there are many more examples out there and I hope you will share some of what you've seen. https://fineartamerica.com/featured/painted-desert-trading-post-at-sunset-rick-pisio.html I'll start with an iconic building that I have attempted to reach 3 times, once successfully, but don't expect to see the next time I pass through Arizona. The Painted Desert Trading Post stands in the middle of nowhere, east of Painted Desert National Park, and nearly inaccessible. The section of Route 66 that this building sits on was bypassed sometime in the 50's and like many Route 66 buildings that lost traffic to the Interstate it eventually was abandoned. It has survived the 70 or so years since it last saw customers only because of its remoteness. Time and the elements have taken their toll however. When I was last there the east side of the building has started to slip, the stucco was flaking off, parts of the walls are gone, massive cracks are present in the foundation, and you can see the sky through the roof. There may be hope for the old gal yet. As I was writing the draft for this post I was looking online for some information and came across this article. It would appear that a group has purchased the land and the building with an eye to preserving the structure. I wish them the best of luck! http://www.route66news.com/2018/04/08/group-buys-painted-desert-trading-post/ Roadhound

Hamilton, Nevada For a few short years Hamilton was the prominent mining town in Nevada's White Pine County until the ore ran out. Founded in 1868 the town was already in a state of decline when most of it was destroyed in 1873 by a fire that was intentionally set to collect the insurance money. Hamilton hung on after the fire as its population declined and for first couple of years of the Lincoln Highway it was a place to stop before a bypass was cut over Antelope Summit 10 miles to the north. The Hamilton Post Office finally closed in 1931. Today, piles of brick, scraps of tin scattered in the sage brush, and a few remnants of brick walls are all that remains of the original boomtown. The State of Nevada promotes the path from US 50 at Ilipah to Hamilton as a scenic drive and is well worth it if you don't mind a little bit of dust on your tires. The road is easily passable by a passenger vehicle during good weather but a high clearance vehicle is recommended during rainy season when the dirt & gravel road is wet. The road is closed during the winter months. Since my previous visit to Hamilton in 2007 there has been a noticeable decline in the number of free standing rock and brick walls. Back then there were a few archways plus some almost complete walls still standing. Today most of those structures have all collapsed. There is a 1950's era, maybe 1960's, mining operation set up at the southern end of town with a steel shed that is still standing but it too has been vandalized with doors ripped open and bullet holes in the steel walls. Photo from Ghost Towns: How They Were Born, How They Lived, and How They Died by Tom Robotham (Running Press, 1993) gives an idea of what the main street in Hamilton once looked like. This photo of the remains Whitington Hotel was taken in July of 2007 during my first visit. 2018 view of the Whitington Hotel from approximately the same position as 2007. One of the few remaining walls along the main street that is still standing. Piles of bricks where a building once stood. Roadhound htttp://rick-pisio.pixels.com

Carrol Station On my first, and only previous, drive on Nevada Highway 722, eleven years ago, I passed by Carrol Station without even seeing it. I was looking for a spot on the actual summit when in fact the building at Carrol Station lies east of the summit by about 3 miles. I'm not sure if it was the foliage surrounding it or I was distracted by the road itself but I totally missed it. This time around I made sure to have the GPS coordinates locked in and my eyes open. There's not a lot of history to be found regarding Carrol Summit other than it was once a Texaco station and also the local watering hole for the nearby mines, which were not very successful. One report speculated that in the early days of auto travel it would have been a good place to stop after the long climb over Carrol Summit when heading east and also a good place to stop and let the engine cool before the final 600 foot climb to the summit when heading west. The station itself likely didn't last much past the re-alignment of US 50 that took place in 1962. It's difficult to imagine a gas station staying profitable when the highway traffic has be rerouted 23 miles to the north. Today the Texaco colors have faded and, all the window glass and doors are missing. Many of the floorboards are missing and interior walls have been stripped away. I always like to check the condition of the roof as once that protection is gone the degradation of the building itself seems to accelerate. In this case the shingles on the roof are mostly still present but extremely worn and crumbling. Undated photo of the Texaco Station at Carrol Station (photo from http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/highway-50-carroll-station) Approaching Carrol Station from the west. Carrol Station Texaco with concrete sign foundation. No sign of the gas island. Roadhound http:\\rick-pisio.pixels.com http:\\www.rwphotos.com

Dave, I'm very sorry to hear about your wife's health and hope that it improves soon so that The Rose can get back on the road. The house at Eastgate is still standing and it looks to be in good repair. I'm not sure if it is occupied but it does look like there has been recent work done inside, although I couldn't tell how recently. Roadhound

Eastgate Station Today Eastgate Station sits on Nevada Highway 722 and between about 1924 and 1962 was the route of the Lincoln Highway and US 50 through the area. In 1962 US 50 was re-routed to the north through New Pass and Cold Springs, bypassing Eastgate. Keep the Show on the Road! had previously posted some excellent historic photos of this site in the Lincoln Highway forum. https://www.americanroadmagazine.com/forum/topic/1116-rediscovered-lincoln-highway-gas-station-in-nevada/?tab=comments#comment-12491 I have been to this site twice now with an 11 year span between visits. On my most recent visit in Sept 2018 the building looked about the same as it had on my previous visit with the exception of the roof. However, on my previous visit the shingles were, for the most part, intact. This picture by Russel Rein was scanned from Brian Butko's "Greetings From the Lincoln Highway" and looks to be from the late 50's. Today the form of the building is recognizable, the slope of the terrain has been altered, the gas pumps are long gone, and the shingles have departed the roof but the flagpole still remains. Roadhound http://rick-pisio.pixels.com

Hazen Market along US 50A in Nevada I was traveling east on the Reno Highway, US 50-A, having just passed through Fernley headed towards Fallon and points east when my eye caught the Hazen Market sitting on the north side of the highway. The building looked to be no longer in use but in good shape overall with the exception of some weathering on the facade. After taking a few pictures I moved on, postponing any research on the building until after returning home. The information found on Wikepedia is fairly basic: "The Hazen Store is a small complex of buildings in Hazen, Nevada, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The store provided a stopping point in a remote portion of U.S. Route 50 and served as a focal point in the small town of Hazen. The store was built in 1944 to replace an earlier store that was demolished to make way for a realignment of Route 50.[2] The property comprises the main store, a garage, and a bunkhouse formerly used by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The central portion of the structure dates to about 1904, operating at a different location as a saloon called Shorty's Bar until it was relocated in 1944.[2] The Hazen Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 28, 2002, as an illustration of a commercial property on the Reno Highway" I also found this article from the Lincoln Highway News from 2008 that shows the building all shined up and looking for new occupants. https://lincolnhighwaynews.com/2008/07/15/road-changes-close-classic-hazen-market-in-nv/ Hazen Market along US-50A in Hazen, Nevada Building that I assume to be the garage mentioned in the Wikipedia article Gas pump in front of the Hazen Market It's a shame that after 70 years of business the Hazen Market has sat idle for the last 10 watching watching the traffic pass it by. Roadhound http://rick-pisio.pixels.com