Jump to content
American Road Magazine
Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

Part 6: The Road Home


Recommended Posts

Part 6; The Road Home

 

In July my father, son, and I embarked on a journey across the deserts of Utah and Nevada following old trails, railroads, and highways.This is the final installment of that journey and covers the 7th day of that trip. All the photos posted so far, plus some that weren't included in the road reports, can be found at http://www.rwphotos.com/Scenics/scenicmain.htm

 

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 Cafe. 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 while we tried to catch up on some reading and writing.

 

International Cafe

SC10_86_01.jpg

 

Main Street Austin\US 50

SC10_86_02.jpg

 

Austin Nevada

SC10_86_04.jpg

 

Austin Garage, Austin, Nevada

SC10_86_05.jpg

 

Moonrise Austin

SC10_86_10.jpg

 

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

SC10_86_16.jpg

 

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 SC10_82_16.jpg

 

Nevada 722

SC10_82_18.jpg

 

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

SC10_82_20.jpg

 

Graffiti on the Eastgate bunkhouse wall

SC10_82_21.jpg

 

US 50

SC10_82_27.jpg

 

Sand Springs Pony Express Station walls and Sand Mountain

SC10_82_31.jpg

 

When your traveling alone its easy to see what you want and to set your own pace. When traveling with somebody else you run the risk of either yourself or one of your traveling companions turning grumpy. We reached that point when we stopped at Grimes Point and my son flat out refused to hike around the petroglyphs. Without regret the decision was made to expedite our return home and make it that evening instead of the following day. We did make a stop along the way at Fort Churchill and got one last bit of dirt road driving along the Pony Express Trail between Fort Churchill and Dayton.

 

Reaching Carson City we turned south on 395 towards Minden, took CA 88 over the Sierra Nevada Range to Jackson, and then south on CA 49 to San Andreas and my parents home just south of there.

 

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 with my father and son 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.

 

SC10_82_28.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope that someday I can take a trip with my dad and my sons, something we'd all enjoy together.

 

Your photos have shown me some places I never knew about, being someone who's rooted east of the Mississippi. Hopefully someday I'll make a trip down NV 722, and get to see the old LH locked up behind the chain-link fence.

 

Peace,

jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bravo! Bravo! A wonderful set of postings from every angle. The superb photos and superb descriptions did justice to the superb subject matter. My desire to drive that road existed before your first post but you've certainly heightened it. The number of road trips involving two generations isn't all that large so to do it with three and to do it along that route make it a real treasure. Tell your son and your dad that there are some very envious folks out there in cyberspace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, Roadhound, you did it again! As always the photos were outstanding.

 

I think the Austin Garage is a “certified” Lincoln Highway site, and I know the International is. By certified I just mean that it was cited in one or more guides and associated with the Lincoln.

 

I didn’t stay at the Lincoln, and I note a new LH post in front.

 

The bunkhouse at Eastgate is fascinating but it was moved there from Middlegate also on the Lincoln. The cavings on it are great.. The ranchhouse is original on the site and is in the UofM photo collection. It is one of my favorites.

 

Do you recall Burton’s 1860's description of the Pony Express station at Sand Springs? I was expecting that fireplace where the fellow laid dying, and the sand dunes, to be a treat for your son, but it sounds like the travel bug was dying by them. Too bad, but he will enjoy the recollection in years to come, even if he was tired of it then.

 

I started to put together a Lincoln Highway post months ago, but got side tracked before it was all up. I won’t go head to head with you on the photos because I know the result, but maybe I will fill in a few places that didn’t get into your shots.

 

BTW elsewhere on this forum I have suggested that this gang might do a fly and drive. The Midwest gang has given me a hankering to see some of the area and maybe the gang east of the Mississippi would like to see the west. I see folks driving or flying to a central place and then connecting up for a tour. Mobilene and Roadmaven were suggesting similar ideas. Just a thought.

 

Again, the only complaint is I want to see more of your stuff.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks again everyone for the positive feedback. If I have been able to inspire anybody out there in cyberspace to take this journey then I will consider these postings successful. This truly was a special trip for me and hopefully not a once in a lifetime adventure. I'm ready to head out again.

 

In regards to a mass road trip through the area it would be an interesting thing to coordinate. I could see challenges through the Utah desert just because of the distance you would need to travel with no facilities readily available. You may have to break the trip into two groups with those that want to journey across the desert, and those that don't, and they could meet up again on the other side. Speaking of the Salt Lake Desert I happened across this yesterday... It's not in the exact same area as the Lincoln but it does give an idea of some of the dangers.

 

 

I have many more pictures from the trip that I will be posting up on my website and I still have the first 2 days of the journey to cover.

 

BTW Keep, please share your photos. Nobody, especially me, will do a side by side comparison and judge a winner. The photos, and insight, you shared when I started asking questions last spring where extremely valuable to me both in helping to plan the trip and giving me an idea of what to expect. I constantly use the photos of others to inspire me, everything from Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Galen Rowell, to the casual photographer showing pictures from one his vacations. Its all good.

 

Roadhound

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got a morbid chuckle at the sinking in the mud photos you linked to. I guess I should add that to the ways I almost lost my Toyoda Land Cruiser in the old days. We were traveling in two rigs across the outback of Eastern Oregon and the track seemed to cross a large dry lake bed. It was flat, dry, and dusty, and the day was a scorcher.

 

We had gone about a mile straight across the dry lake, and I was in the lead. My two friends were in the rig behind me. I was throwing up a huge cloud of dust, so they were staying quite a ways back. I’m doing maybe 55 or 60 across the perfectly flat surface, and I note that very gradually I am slowing down, despite adding more gas. I pulled out the 4 wheel drive knob and gave it more throttle. More dust, and more slowing.

 

Something is wrong. Have I plugged up the air cleaner with dust and the engine isn’t getting enough air? I stop and get out to open the hood, and when my foot hits the ground, the ground shimmies, like a very large and thick bowl of Jello. I note the Land Cruiser is nearly down to the rims in two inches of dust, and under the dust is gray mud. I am sinking into the “dry” lake bed. I put her into reverse and she spins all four wheels because I have already sunk another inch into the mud.

 

The rest of the story is a rush to get two boards we had along under the wheels and back the Land Cruiser out as fast as possible. I backed most of a mile without slowing down, and enjoyed the Land Cruiser through other adventures.

 

I hasten to add, there is nothing anywhere on the Lincoln that includes a dry lake bed, or I think anything that would challenge a mini van. Of course I wouldn’t drive a Corvette over it, but that is only because I wouldn’t want to shake the dickens out of it on washboard. Did you encounter anyplace with rocks or washouts that would be a problem? Of course I always prefer two vehicles just for common sense... if something breaks.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got a morbid chuckle at the sinking in the mud photos you linked to. I guess I should add that to the ways I almost lost my Toyoda Land Cruiser in the old days. We were traveling in two rigs across the outback of Eastern Oregon and the track seemed to cross a large dry lake bed. It was flat, dry, and dusty, and the day was a scorcher.

 

We had gone about a mile straight across the dry lake, and I was in the lead. My two friends were in the rig behind me. I was throwing up a huge cloud of dust, so they were staying quite a ways back. I’m doing maybe 55 or 60 across the perfectly flat surface, and I note that very gradually I am slowing down, despite adding more gas. I pulled out the 4 wheel drive knob and gave it more throttle. More dust, and more slowing.

 

Something is wrong. Have I plugged up the air cleaner with dust and the engine isn’t getting enough air? I stop and get out to open the hood, and when my foot hits the ground, the ground shimmies, like a very large and thick bowl of Jello. I note the Land Cruiser is nearly down to the rims in two inches of dust, and under the dust is gray mud. I am sinking into the “dry” lake bed. I put her into reverse and she spins all four wheels because I have already sunk another inch into the mud.

 

The rest of the story is a rush to get two boards we had along under the wheels and back the Land Cruiser out as fast as possible. I backed most of a mile without slowing down, and enjoyed the Land Cruiser through other adventures.

 

I hasten to add, there is nothing anywhere on the Lincoln that includes a dry lake bed, or I think anything that would challenge a mini van. Of course I wouldn’t drive a Corvette over it, but that is only because I wouldn’t want to shake the dickens out of it on washboard. Did you encounter anyplace with rocks or washouts that would be a problem? Of course I always prefer two vehicles just for common sense... if something breaks.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

That's a scary story! I did bring some boards along on our trip too.

 

I too got a bit of a chuckle out of the link, especially considering who it was that got stuck. They probably thought that all there expensive vehicles would have no problem making it out just because they cost a lot of money.

 

The reason the original route is the way that it is was because they wanted to avoid the salt flats as much as possible. The whole route skirts around the south end of the lakebed and although getting off the road in the wintertime might be treachorous the summer has minimal danger.

 

There was nothing that we encountered during the desert section that couldn't be driven in a sedan. The road itself was in good condition and well maintained, all things considered. There were some sections that had a lot of washboarding that might shake a Vette up a bit. but it didn't slow us down much. It was dusty though. I used the four wheel drive some but it was usually in sections where the dirt was soft, not because we were climbing across rocks. Considering that we were traveling alone I didn't want to take to many unnecessary risks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...