U.S. Route 50 America's loneliest route

jmtandem wrote:

I'm not sure what you consider 'original'. I believe there's still one on 50 between Fallon and Austin just don't recall exactly where. Saw it last year in the summer. They have a way of re-appearing, not sure why anyone does that but it seems to happen a lot...

The original shoe tree that was there for decades near Middlegate was destroyed. Another may have taken its place.

According to this is was 'reborn' in a tree just east:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/932

I suspect it's just as 'good' as the original ;-)

I'm not sure what you consider 'original'. I believe there's still one on 50 between Fallon and Austin just don't recall exactly where. Saw it last year in the summer. They have a way of re-appearing, not sure why anyone does that but it seems to happen a lot...

The original shoe tree that was there for decades near Middlegate was destroyed. Another may have taken its place.

jmtandem wrote:

Also the shoe tree is worth the trip.

The original shoe tree is gone.

I'm not sure what you consider 'original'. I believe there's still one on 50 between Fallon and Austin just don't recall exactly where. Saw it last year in the summer. They have a way of re-appearing, not sure why anyone does that but it seems to happen a lot...

Also the shoe tree is worth the trip.

The original shoe tree is gone.

We have been over this route several time and think Great basin NP is a real gem. Few people, great road art on the way up and plenty of hiking, great cave tour and good camp sites. Climb to the upper campgrounds is very steep. Most of the highway is easy driving couple of curvy climbs and high gas prices when you can find a station. Also the shoe tree is worth the trip.

I have driven the road often working in Nevada doing environmental consulting. There really are few destinations and limited facilities. You have to like the quiet. It is very visual. Spring and fall are the best times. It helps if you are interested in mining history. Some people would be disappointed by such a trip. I really like stopping in towns like Austin, Eureka and Ely and spending some time.

The 'Loneliest Road' moniker is just an advertising draw. 50 is not even the loneliest road in Nevada. Hwy 6 Tonopah to Ely has that claim (118 miles of zero services of any kind, no residents, no cell service. In contrast 50 is a city street.). We think it is a good drive. Interesting, scenic, unlimited boondocking along and just off the road if you want.

ppine wrote:
Nevada is nothing but cactus and rocks.

I think you're trying to keep people away so you can enjoy that Loneliest Road yourself!

US 50 is our preferred route across NV. We avoid I-80 at all costs.

Central and northeastern NV has amazing scenery. Easy to get away from other also. One time I got out of our vehicle, walked down to the creek, and the trout didn't know enough to swim away - they just didn't know people might try to catch them!

And as you can see in the above pic, sagebrush is much more prevalent than cactus. And yes, the first pic in the link provided by the OP shows just how long the straightaways are. Just tie the steering wheel in position, set the cruise, and take a nap.

There isn't very much cactus in NV, rocks on the other hand... Pretty much the entire state is full of rock hounding.. some places you can just park off the side of the road and collect rocks.

50 is by no means 'lonely', there's a pretty good amount of traffic on it.. however you're not likely to come across a traffic jam.

There's a lot of boondocking available as well, 86+% of the state is BLM most of which is open. And a lot of out of the way state parks. Be wary though, some state parks were built a long time ago and the campgrounds are more suited to truck campers and small trailers.

This is 361 south of 50, somewhere between Middlegate and Gabbs. Pretty good idea of the terrain, mostly grasses and sage. After all the rain this year, expect tons of jackrabbits on the roads, dead and otherwise.... lots of food and they breed like.. you know...