Wednesday June 15
Up in the morning and on the road without the trailer. No, we did not forget it. We wanted to see the Ruth open pit mine just outside of Ely. We were told to take a nasty dirt road (by a GS rider) so we left the trailer behind. It turns out that there is a paved road all the way to the mine and then a little bit of dirt to an overlook. We are adding a picture of the mine in this post so that Jeff Foster can reminisce about the good old days of employment. The Ruth project, named for a nearby city, is one of 4 operations in Nevada by the Robinson Corporation. Many of the travel trailers in the KOA campground are the homes of the Ruth mine employees.
Leaving town, with the trailer now, we see this reminder of where we are going. It is not a surprise as we have done this road a few times in both directions.
There was a solo Harley rider from Virginia at the sign who is fulfilling a dream of riding all of Highway 50 from Virginia to Sacramento. Eureka is only about 75 miles away and we have gas for an easy 100 miles so I am feeling secure. After there are no signs saying "Next Gas 150 Miles". About 50 miles out, just for laughs, I ask the GPS where is the next gas and it shows Austin which is much farther than we have gas for. I chuckle inside as I know that there WERE 2 gas stations in Eureka the last time I was there. But what if they are out of business?? How will I explain this to Linda? I can already see her "Not Again!" look. But once again the GPS has lied and I pull into the Chevron station just as if there were no concerns. I am sure Linda never even saw the BIG yellow light and the flashing gas pump sign on the bike's display. We proceed on towards Austin, there are also 2 stations in Austin, where we have stopped and eaten before. To me Austin marks the start of the Loneliest Highway as we are still seeing green vegetation and are going over small mountain ranges. Austin is at the bottom of the last range and then we will start across the flatlands to Fallon and Reno. As we are coming down one of the ranges I notice an oncoming truck driver giving me the slow down sign with somewhat urgent gestures so I get on the brakes as we go around a right hand curve. I am glad for the warning as there is a wide load truck going about 10 mph without any warning vehicles behind him or in front of him. Yet again we encounter one of the many safety-conscious truck drivers of America. I am talking about the one who gave the warning, not the idiot with the wide load. Stopping in Austin we have a snack and are ready to go on west.
Of course the west wind we have been riding against has now increased in strength. And up comes our Virginia rider who also has decided to also have lunch here. He is surprised by how difficult riding against the wind was. I haven't the heart to tell him that it is going to be worse as the day goes on. Highway 50 across Nevada tracks part of the old Pony Express route. There is a sign about this on the side of the road. There is also an old way station but it is a couple of miles off of the road and I am not sure if there are any directions for finding it. The Pony Express was a money loser and was only used for a couple of years. The invention of the telegraph put an end to it in a very short time.
Not only are there gas stations in Fallon which we take advantage of but there is also a BBQ restaurant listed on the GPS. Sure enough, there is the BBQ sign but the place is out of business. We take a picture of the sign anyway. BBQ restaurants seem to have a short life span in the west. We are on the way to Old Station, California where my sister and brother-in-law have property that we will camp on for the night. Old Station is in the mountains east of Redding. My brother-in-law is an avid fly fisherman and Old Station is trout country. It is still quite a way to go and in the mountains we are riding directly into the sun much of the time. This is one handed riding as I need my left hand to cover my eyes from the sun so that I can see. Then suddenly the sun is down and it is rapidly getting dark and cooler. I am still warm in a vented jacket but Linda is having chills so we stop and get some warmer clothes out for her. I am wondering if the wind currents from our windshield protect me but curve around and blast the passenger. We will need to do some investigation. Finally we arrive at Old Station and find the property. Trout country naturally has mosquitoes so we set up the tent without removing our helmets. We learned this in Alaska. We are in the tent at 9:30 ready for dinner. We had bought a Subway sandwich in Susanville. We live on Subway sandwiches when travelling. We have our lawn chairs in the tent and drink some red wine with our sandwich. Then it's lights out and some serious Z stacking. After all it is still another 60 miles to Russell and we want to see the bubbling hot springs of Mt. Lassen tomorrow.
Up in the morning and on the road without the trailer. No, we did not forget it. We wanted to see the Ruth open pit mine just outside of Ely. We were told to take a nasty dirt road (by a GS rider) so we left the trailer behind. It turns out that there is a paved road all the way to the mine and then a little bit of dirt to an overlook. We are adding a picture of the mine in this post so that Jeff Foster can reminisce about the good old days of employment. The Ruth project, named for a nearby city, is one of 4 operations in Nevada by the Robinson Corporation. Many of the travel trailers in the KOA campground are the homes of the Ruth mine employees.
Leaving town, with the trailer now, we see this reminder of where we are going. It is not a surprise as we have done this road a few times in both directions.
There was a solo Harley rider from Virginia at the sign who is fulfilling a dream of riding all of Highway 50 from Virginia to Sacramento. Eureka is only about 75 miles away and we have gas for an easy 100 miles so I am feeling secure. After there are no signs saying "Next Gas 150 Miles". About 50 miles out, just for laughs, I ask the GPS where is the next gas and it shows Austin which is much farther than we have gas for. I chuckle inside as I know that there WERE 2 gas stations in Eureka the last time I was there. But what if they are out of business?? How will I explain this to Linda? I can already see her "Not Again!" look. But once again the GPS has lied and I pull into the Chevron station just as if there were no concerns. I am sure Linda never even saw the BIG yellow light and the flashing gas pump sign on the bike's display. We proceed on towards Austin, there are also 2 stations in Austin, where we have stopped and eaten before. To me Austin marks the start of the Loneliest Highway as we are still seeing green vegetation and are going over small mountain ranges. Austin is at the bottom of the last range and then we will start across the flatlands to Fallon and Reno. As we are coming down one of the ranges I notice an oncoming truck driver giving me the slow down sign with somewhat urgent gestures so I get on the brakes as we go around a right hand curve. I am glad for the warning as there is a wide load truck going about 10 mph without any warning vehicles behind him or in front of him. Yet again we encounter one of the many safety-conscious truck drivers of America. I am talking about the one who gave the warning, not the idiot with the wide load. Stopping in Austin we have a snack and are ready to go on west.
Of course the west wind we have been riding against has now increased in strength. And up comes our Virginia rider who also has decided to also have lunch here. He is surprised by how difficult riding against the wind was. I haven't the heart to tell him that it is going to be worse as the day goes on. Highway 50 across Nevada tracks part of the old Pony Express route. There is a sign about this on the side of the road. There is also an old way station but it is a couple of miles off of the road and I am not sure if there are any directions for finding it. The Pony Express was a money loser and was only used for a couple of years. The invention of the telegraph put an end to it in a very short time.
Not only are there gas stations in Fallon which we take advantage of but there is also a BBQ restaurant listed on the GPS. Sure enough, there is the BBQ sign but the place is out of business. We take a picture of the sign anyway. BBQ restaurants seem to have a short life span in the west. We are on the way to Old Station, California where my sister and brother-in-law have property that we will camp on for the night. Old Station is in the mountains east of Redding. My brother-in-law is an avid fly fisherman and Old Station is trout country. It is still quite a way to go and in the mountains we are riding directly into the sun much of the time. This is one handed riding as I need my left hand to cover my eyes from the sun so that I can see. Then suddenly the sun is down and it is rapidly getting dark and cooler. I am still warm in a vented jacket but Linda is having chills so we stop and get some warmer clothes out for her. I am wondering if the wind currents from our windshield protect me but curve around and blast the passenger. We will need to do some investigation. Finally we arrive at Old Station and find the property. Trout country naturally has mosquitoes so we set up the tent without removing our helmets. We learned this in Alaska. We are in the tent at 9:30 ready for dinner. We had bought a Subway sandwich in Susanville. We live on Subway sandwiches when travelling. We have our lawn chairs in the tent and drink some red wine with our sandwich. Then it's lights out and some serious Z stacking. After all it is still another 60 miles to Russell and we want to see the bubbling hot springs of Mt. Lassen tomorrow.
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