West through Utah to the Jordanelle Dam

After shopping at Super-Walmart (open and busy on Sunday morning, despite being in the Mormon State), we checked out Vernal's Natural History Museum ($5 each). We gave it a miss after seeing the 'Jurassic Park' type plaster models in the garden and left it for the children. See www.utahstateparks.gov for more.

Continuing west on US.40 we crossed red sandstone semi-desert at about 5,000 ft. After 30 miles, at the city of Roosevelt, we turned south briefly, then west again across greener farmland and over the Duchesne River into Myton, 9 miles on.

After Duchesne, a small town 19 miles further on at 5,508 ft, we passed Starvation Reservoir and continued through Starvation State Park. The road began to climb through a rocky dusty landscape, with a nodding donkey oil-pump. At 6,680 ft (28 miles later) a sign demanded that snow chains be carried from 1st November to the end of March, and warned of deer for the next 37 miles (we did see a couple of animals which had not heeded the advice). This was the Unitah State Forest, with tent camping at Soldier Creek before the long Strawberry Reservoir.

At 104 miles from Vernal, we had a break at the Strawberry Reservoir Visitor Centre at 7,620 ft (closed Sundays). A board walk led to an electric fish trap and egg collecting unit, which claimed to have taken 1.5 million salmon and trout eggs this season (for hatching and restocking the Strawberry River).

Another 7 miles to the top of Daniel's Pass at 7,988 ft (with high-class lodge and restaurant), then steeply down for 17 miles to Heber City at 5,640 ft, a modern town strung along US.40. The only RV Park was a car park at the rear of High Country Inn, where we were offered an oblong of gravel for $29 (over half the price of a room!)

Instead, we drove 6 miles north (towards Salt Lake City) and found a much pleasanter park, at a similar price but including free WiFi internet. It lay a couple of miles along the old highway 40 which is now blocked by the high wall of the Jordanelle Dam, holding back the Provo River. (At least, we hope it holds – the sight was rather threatening, camping right below the dam.) We are at 5,870 ft, with snow still visible on surrounding peaks. The evening was unseasonably warm – 71 degrees inside, 64 outside, with a full harvest moon resting on the crest of a hill, lighting up the clouds. The park is quiet, apart from a few semi-permanents, here for the fishing or for work.

October 17      44 miles     PROVO KOA     ($21.14)

Business in Heber City, then through the Provo Canyon

Having fractured a large filling yesterday (the revenge of the choc-chip-cookies!),  Margaret visited Heber City's dental surgery (as recommended by the RV Park receptionist, a kind Korean girl) and received prompt and efficient treatment, at our health insurer's expense. A shiny white filling too – the dentist was amazed that we still use amalgam in the UK.

After enquiries at the Visitor Centre, we printed insurance documents at the Library free of charge (and bought 3 ex-stock books for $2) and then drove to the other end of town to send faxes from the UPS Office. UPS = United Parcels Service and is found in most towns, with fax, photocopy, postal and packing services, including parcels of any size to anywhere – useful.

We left Heber (more impressed with it than yesterday) after lunch, now heading south on US.189, downhill for most of the 25 miles to Provo. Past the Deer Creek State Park (large lake/reservoir) at 5,460 ft, then through a stretch of roadworks on an avalanche-prone section of canyon. After a short tunnel (5,222 ft), the road turned into a 4-lane dual carriageway, making its scenic way through the Provo Canyon, past a couple of small waterfalls in the Wasatch Mountains and a side-road to Robert Redford's Sundance retreat (mountain resort and independent film studio). A bicycle sign said 'Share the Road', though there were none to be seen.

Reaching the expansive city of Provo, we turned west, passing underneath I-15, and found the KOA camp among golden trees alongside the River Provo in full flow. It was very busy with dozens of ducks and geese, gathered for their 4 pm feed! The paved Provo River Trail (14 miles linking Utah Lake to the city centre) passes the campground and we walked a couple of miles along before dinner, sharing the path with the odd jogger or bike.

At 4,545 ft, situated on the railway and Interstate 15, Provo is home to the Brigham Young University and a small airport – a busy city in a fine setting. More at www.utahvalley.org.

October 18      150 miles     DELTA, Antelope Valley RV Park     ($20.00)

Researching a cycle route from Provo to Nephi (avoiding I-15), then south-west to Delta

We left Provo on US.89, going south. A much simpler route would have been the I-15 (about 45 easy miles to Nephi), but as bicycles are prohibited on the Interstate, we wanted to check a possible cycle route east (as we have been doing since Fort Collins back in Colorado).

The sprawl of Provo's urbanisation continued along US.51 through Spanish Fork, then highway 198 (or US.6) to Salem and Spring Lake – roads running south, parallel with the Interstate, but not signposted and sometimes frustrating. We were finally forced to take I-15 at Santaquin, a small fruit-growing settlement, as the alternative road was unfinished and blocked by roadworks.

We left at the next exit, 10 miles down, for Mona (a tiny place at the foot of the Mona Reservoir) and lunched by the park. We continued south down the valley, shared with Interstate and railway, in the shadow of snow-flecked Mt Nebo (11,928 ft) to the east. In Nephi city we turned south-west on US.132, leaving I-15 to make its way to Las Vegas. There was literally nothing in the way of settlement for the next 50 miles to Delta, along a rolling road (max 5,627 ft), except the Ash Grove Cement Co, Leamington (settled in 1871 with a fine stone church and little else) and Lynndyl, a junction where we met US.6 for the final 20 miles to Delta.

Delta is a small city with a Library (afternoons only), motels and a Museum of History (Utah's newest), covering the pioneering, farming and mining in Utah's Great Basin (or western desert) area. We stayed on the only RV Park, on Main Street, run by a kind old chap linked to an oxygen bottle. For more information, see www.deltaareachamberofcommerce.com, who run the Visitor Centre  and have good maps of our next state, Nevada, which is about 100 miles west over Skull Rock Pass – tomorrow's destination. Height here is 4,620 ft, with little variation all day.

After a warm overcast day, rain and wind got up in the evening. The nights draw in as Halloween approaches. Shops are stocked with pumpkins, pumpkin carving tools, plastic inflatable pumpkins and all manner of party stuff and ghoulish decorations, which are beginning to adorn house porches and gardens. The theme continues in the children's area in libraries, etc. Weird!

October 19/20      179 miles     ELY KOA, NEVADA     ($25.97)

Across the desert to the Utah-Nevada Border, into Gt Basin NP and  on to Ely

Travelling west from Delta, the US.6 is the only (lonely) way to go. After 6 miles, the fuel station at Hinckley says 'next petrol 83 miles' – at the Nevada border!

We followed the narrow strip of new black-top across the flat saltbrush desert, with just the roadside line of telegraph posts for company. Another vehicle was a rare sight, but no-one waved. The camaraderie of the Australian Outback (or of fellow-motorhomers in Europe) is quite absent here.

After 34 miles, and still at 4,620 ft, we parked to photograph the vast Sevier (dry salt) Lake shimmering to the south, and the cloud-capped House Range of dark mountains to the north, rising to 9,500 ft. All very atmospheric in the pure silence. The road then climbed very gradually to an unnamed pass at 5,222 ft, then dropped to 4,491 ft before a 10-mile pull up through King Canyon to Skull Rock Pass at 6,285 ft. Notch Peak (9,655 ft) loomed bleakly above, attracting dark clouds from the blue sky. A 10-mile descent to the plain followed, with a view of our arrow-straight road leading to infinity.

Entering Nevada (and the Pacific Time Zone – it's now 1.30 pm, not 2.30!), 90 long miles from Delta and at 5,100 ft, we found the Border Inn/Restaurant/RV Park/Fuel Station straddling the state line. A simple place, but how glad a cyclist would be to see it. From here, US.6 is tagged the 'Grand Army of the Republic Highway'.

7 miles on, we turned left for a detour to Baker (5 miles south), a small settlement at the entrance to the Gt Basin National Park and the Lehman Caves, complete with new Visitor Centre. We collected maps and information and drove a few miles into the NP (entry free). The Lehman Caves (with another Visitor Centre and a seasonal café) offered the last one-hour guided tour of the day at 3 pm  ($6 each), but we have seen plenty of limestone caves with stalactites and stalagmites (and we prefer the Bulgarian model: get lost without a guide!)

We continued on the first section of the 10-mile Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, past a simple campground at Lower Lehman Creek, as far as the next camp at Upper Lehman Creek at 7,752 ft ($6 in the Honesty Box if you like wilderness camping). Heeding warnings that the road is too steep and sinuous for long RV's beyond this point (where the snow barrier comes down in winter), we returned to Baker, though Barry was greatly tempted to continue.

From a third campground at the far end of the Drive, at just under 10,000 ft, there are hiking trails to the lakes below Wheeler Peak summit, a tiny glacier and a grove of ancient Bristlecone Pines. (These legendary twisted trees, growing above 9,500 ft, can survive for thousands of years and include the world's oldest living tree at 4,950 years!) This is the South Snake Range, with Wheeler Peak hidden in cloud today at 13,063 ft.

The Gt Basin is really a series of basins - a vast area of sagebrush valleys and narrow mountain ranges, covering most of Nevada and half of Utah. The streams and rivers, finding no outlet to the sea, drain into shallow lakes and mud flats which evaporate in the dry desert air, leaving salt marshes. For more information, see www.nps.gov/grba and www.greatbasinheritage.org.

Between Baker and the US.6 highway, we turned off for a mile to investigate the 'Baker Archaeological Site' – the faint foundations of houses from a 700-year old native settlement – though there was very little evidence to be seen of the Fremont Culture which had briefly flourished here. Any artefacts (pottery, weaving, stone tools) had been excavated and removed.

Back on US.6, back on our route, it was 11 miles to the top of the Sacramento Pass at 7,154 ft, then a steep 5-mile descent  and another 15 miles to Major's Place (a bar and RV Park at the road junction with US.93 south) at 6,420 ft. Here we entered the Humboldt Forest of small pine trees and climbed for 5 miles up Connors Pass to 7,722 ft.

Another 19 miles on (3 miles before the isolated city of Ely), still at 6,600 ft, we were pleased to see the familiar welcoming KOA sign. This camp is set back from highway, under trees busy proving it is the Fall, and nicely decorated for Halloween. There is a pumpkin carving competition for the kids and an excellent WiFi internet link (at $2 per day extra) for the grown-ups.

Next morning's autumn mist turned into a fine, still day – ideal for cycling into and around Ely (9 miles in all) and having lunch out. Sadly, the anticipated Basque Restaurant recommended by Ann Mustoe ('my best meal in America') had closed down - but we enjoyed the alternative (McDonald's!)

Ely (which claims to be the USA's most remote town outside of Alaska – a claim also made by Page, back in Arizona) is a historic copper-mining town. It has an amazing number of motels, a couple of casinos and is home to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, with tourist steam train rides on a preserved shortline railroad. (Saturday evenings through October there are Haunted Ghost Train rides!)

The Nevada Commission on Tourism are promoting US.50 from Ely to Carson City (our onward route) as 'The Loneliest Road in America'. We collected our 'Highway 50 Survival Kit' from the 'Smoke Signals Trading Post' (Indian owned and operated – we're on the edge of the Shoshone Tribal Reservation where their own laws apply) and we look forward to validating our certificate way down the road! More at www.travelnevada.com.   

Along America's Loneliest Road, through Eureka and over 4 passes

The 3 miles into Ely crossed the Shoshone Reservation (a filling station, Laundromat and Smoke Shop). At the crossroads, US.6 turned south, but we continued west on US.50, the 'Loneliest Road', also known as the Lincoln Highway – the first trans-continental highway, from New York to San Francisco, completed in 1930. See www.lincolnhighway.com for its history.

The road climbed out of the town for 5 miles to the turning for Ruth (a working mine) at 6,720 ft, then crossed a scrubby plain which rose to 7,607 ft at Robinson Summit, 18 miles from Ely. We dropped 1,000 ft or so before the next ascent to Little Antelope Summit, 15 miles further on, at 7,433 ft, where we parked for lunch. The scenery was less dramatic than the snowy peaks and autumn colours of the Rockies, though the air was crisp and clear under the cloudless sky.

The road dropped steeply for 2 miles, then more gradually for another 7 miles to a low of 6,120 ft, followed by a 4-mile ascent to Pancake Summit, a low rise at 6,517 ft. Another 18 miles to our fourth pass, Pinto Summit in the Diamond Mountains, at 7,376 ft (crowned with a picnic area). Only 4 more miles down to Eureka (6,594 ft) – the first sign of civilisation since Ely, 78 miles back!

'Eureka' - you can imagine the call, when lead/silver was found here in 1864. By the 1880's it was a boomtown, with the usual catalogue: 16 smelters, 100 saloons, population 10,000, a railroad … By 1891 it had bust, the boomtown rats had deserted. Despite the remaining slag heaps at each end of Main Street, it is a pleasant one-street town today, with cafes, fuel, a library and motels (including a Best Western). We walked round in the afternoon sunshine to survey the restored Victorian Court House and Opera House (see www.co.eureka.nv.us and www.elynevada.net). The town museum is in the 'Eureka Sentinel' newspaper building (1879), which also houses the original equipment and presses. Entry is free and the custodian very friendly.

Our long straight road continued across more miles of shrubby plain, dropping then rising  to Hickison Summit at 6,568 ft, 48 miles later. We entered the Toiyabe National Forest 12 miles further on, down at 6,000 ft, then climbed for 9 miles to the highest point of the day, the Austin Summit at 7,484 ft.

A steep drop over the next 3 miles, leaving the Forest and hairpinning past silver and turquoise mine workings, old and new, brought us down to Austin, at 6,672 ft. As we entered the small town, its history paralleling that of Eureka, we passed a deserted RV Park, apparently abandoned. Enquiring at the splendidly restored Chamber of Commerce/Courthouse, we were directed back to it. It appears to belong to a tiny Baptist Church - the office is locked, the laundry and toilets long-closed, the dump point overgrown, but the electric hook-up works and we settled in for a quiet night. Here in Nevada, we can again buy wine – or even play the slot machines - at any supermarket (unlike Utah or Colorado). So a nice bottle of Chianti accompanied our pork chops (purely medicinal, to fight off colds, of course). See also www.austinnevada.com

Austin's historic buildings include St Augustine's, the oldest Roman Catholic church in Nevada (1866), undergoing restoration. There is also a library, petrol, cafes and 3 small motels (Anne Mustoe stayed at the Mountain Motel when cycling this stretch of her trans-continental route).

The legendary Pony Express riders came through Austin, delivering mail between Missouri and California – 2,000 miles in 10 days or less. The service lasted only 18 months, from 1860 to 1861, when the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line made it redundant. The most famous of the daring riders was 'Buffalo Bill' Cody and recruiting posters asked for 'Young skinny wiry fellows – not over 18 – must be expert riders willing to risk death daily – orphans preferred'! Visit www.ponyexpressnevada.com and www.greatbasinpark.com               

October 22     186 miles     CARSON CITY, Super 8 Motel    ($46.19)

Through Pony Express Territory to the Capital of the Silver State (Nevada)

Not detained by WiFi internet (or any other camp facilities), we had an early start from Austin and left indebted to the Baptists. US.50 continued west in a long straight descent (dropping 1,000 ft in the first 5 miles). We regained height over the next 14 miles, climbing gently to Mt Airy Summit at 6,680 ft.

Then 4 miles down and 2 miles up again to New Pass Summit at 6,348 ft. The road dropped more steeply from here, through a rocky defile. We paused 3 miles down at the fenced stone remains of a Pony Express station, whose new interpretive sign had already been removed.

Across another flat basin with a salt lake, we came to Cold Springs at 5,527 ft, 51 miles from Austin. The tiny station has a homely café, RV Park and petrol. Anne Mustoe describes spending a night on the floor of an empty trailer, but now a brand new lodge with motel rooms awaits the cyclist! The stone ruins of the old Cold Springs Station are 2 miles further on – the Wells Fargo Stagecoach from Salt Lake City halted here (1866-69), opposite the old Pony Express station, and to the north are the ruins of a telegraph repeater station. How much faster and safer is communication today, yet we still complain when there is no mobile phone signal or wireless internet!

Another 12 miles to Old Middlegate Station, at the junction of US.361 (south) at 4,600 ft. This former Pony Express stage now has a café (busy serving pancakes and sausages to motorbikers at 11 am), as well as petrol, RV park and motel cabins. The board announced 'population 18', now crossed out and changed to 17 – someone escaped! The signs of farming round the station – trees, a windmill pump, a crop of hardy wheat, a few horses – soon gave way to sagebrush flats again. The surrounding hills are still white, but with salt rather than snow.

After crossing the Fallon Naval Target Range (part of which, a large salt lake, extends on both sides of the road), down at 4,140 ft, the road climbed up to Sand Springs Pass, 20 miles after Middlegate, at 4,630 ft. A surprise awaited us 4 miles down – a car park with a view of 'Sand Mountain', 2 miles off the main road along a gravel track to the north. This 600-ft high sand dune, looming over the plain and the huge salt lake ahead of us, has become one of Nevada's playgrounds. We paused for lunch and watched in amazement. A 'base camp' of motorhomes and trailers of all sizes was all but lost in the shadow of the dune.

What looked like insects buzzed up and down it – sandbikes, sandbuggies, sandboarders – all at play on this fine Saturday afternoon. The environmentally-challenged (well, mentally challenged) paid a fee to access the Sand Mountain Recreation Area for 'adrenaline-filled sand-churning off-road action' (quote from Nevada Commission on Tourism's 'Pony Express Territory' map). We wondered how long this remnant of a prehistoric inland sea might last? The adjacent Sand Springs Pony Express Station ruins are only accessible by dune-buggy!

For the next 10 miles, the highway crossed Salt Wells Basin (also known as Eight-mile Flat), an enormous salt pan, shimmering bleached white. Then trees and green fields heralded the approach of Fallon, with a petrol station at Harman Junction 4 miles before the busy (and characterless) city. Fallon has all the services we have come to expect, including 2 busy RV parks (which also hire out dune-buggies). See www.fallontourism.com for more – we didn't linger.

After 9 miles, US.50 divides, our left fork leading south-west to Carson City. We passed Lahontan Reservoir – wonderful to see a body of fresh blue water – before coming to the crossroads of Silver Springs, 27 miles from Fallon. The café, petrol station, casino and simple motel serves the sparse Indian community, but the place does have a website at www.silverspringsnevada.com.

For the final 35 miles into Carson City, US.50 loses its 'Loneliest Road' tag and becomes increasingly busy. Its way along the Dayton Valley is dotted with isolated petrol stations, casinos and bars until Dayton itself. The town was the site of Nevada's first gold rush in 1849 but is now a soulless satellite town with a shopping mall.

Reaching Carson City (on the Carson River, named after Kit) – the Silver State's capital, at 4,715 ft and with a population of 55,200 (about the same as Scunthorpe) – we turned south at the junction with US.395. This is South Carson Street, along which lie the Senate buildings, museums and large casinos. After refuelling (at $2.76 a gallon, cheapest yet) we found the haven of a Super 8 motel, just 0.75 miles past the State Capital, costing little more than the packed RV parks linked to casinos. Price included excellent WiFi internet, TV, bath, breakfast, 24-hr coffee, use of microwave, large car park … Visit www.super8.com for a change! And see www.visitcarsoncity.com for tourist info.

October 23  105 miles  LEE VINING, Mono Vista RV Park, CALIFORNIA ($24.69)

Return to California and Mono Lake, at the eastern gateway to Yosemite National Park  

Checked out of the motel at 11 am, by which time it had warmed up to 67 degrees. Going south on US.395, after 1.25 miles we passed the junction with US.50 (which turns right for Lake Tahoe – a possible future cycle route for us). We stayed on the 395 another 11 miles to Minden and Gardnerville at 4,720 ft, which is where Anne Mustoe's cycle route turns off on US.88.

Continuing south-east on the 395, we drove through a pleasant valley of farmland, a fish hatchery on the Carson River and small housing developments. 20 miles from Carson City the traffic was much lighter and the road began to climb, almost reaching 6,000 ft before dropping to the Topaz Lake which crosses the Nevada/California border, 36 miles from Carson City at 5,048 ft. 'Welcome to Antelope Valley' said the Scenic Byways sign, the road lined with stately trees in golden autumn colours.

Tiny Topaz village was 4 miles along, then another 8 miles to Walker, at 5,368 ft, with a population of 700, a few motels, a good place for lunch. We followed the West Walker River which tumbled prettily downhill on our left, as we climbed up through pines into the Toiyabe National Forest, with glimpses of snow on the peaks ahead.

24 miles into California, we turned left at Sonora Junction (7,000 ft) to climb for 8 miles in the Sweetwater Mountains to Devil's Gate at 7,519 ft. Then a 12-mile descent to Bridgport at 6,464 ft, past a (sadly closed) motel/RV park near the entrance to Bodie State History Park where we might have stayed. Climbing again, we crossed Conway Summit at 8,140 ft, 13 miles after Bridgport. Just a mile further is a splendid panorama over the Western Edge of the Great Basin, with a view of the road winding down to Mono Lake, ringed in hills and higher peaks beyond.

After a winding 5-mile drop, down at 6,800 ft, we entered the Mono Basin Scenic Area. The road ran alongside the saline Mono Lake, home to shoals of salt shrimp, insects and birds (though too saline for fish). Called in the new Mono Lake Visitor Centre, watched an interesting video about the area (Of Ice and Fire), and stopped in the next village, Lee Vining – population 398 (3 of  whom run a friendly campground).  

<< Prev - Next >>