Day 12 - Logan, UT to Ely, NV
Following our usual 6, 7 & 8 schedule, up at 6:00 AM, meet for breakfast at 7:00 AM, and on the road by 8:00 AM, we departed downtown Logan, and picked up Interstate 15 south toward Salt Lake City, approximately 85 miles away. After several days of riding two lane meandering highways through some of the most scenic countryside in the West, getting back on an Interstate headed for a major metropolitan area was just the pits. The only redeeming thing is that it was not raining.
Both Mike Lorenzi and Bob Nimtz were riding on thin rear rubber, so we headed for Harley-Davidson of Salt Lake City for a couple of new tires. The folks at the dealership were probably the most friendly and accommodating of any of the dealership experiences along the way. We cannot recommend them enough. And, what a dealership facility it is, two stories with a game room up stairs, and without a doubt, the most complete collection of new and used motorcycles, motor clothes, parts and accessories that we have ever seen in our travels. If you are in the neighborhood, by all means, stop in and see the good folks at Harley-Davidson of Salt lake City--they are the best.
Leaving Salt Lake after lunch we rode another 85 miles south on Interstate 15. We departed the superslab in Nephi, UT,. What kind of a name for a town is Nephi? Anyway, we headed west on "The Loneliest Road in America," Highway 50 across Utah and Nevada toward Carson City, NV. Our original plan was to continue south on Interstate 15 through Las Vegas and on back home to Santa Clarita; but, can you say boring? And, the forecast for the entire length of the return journey home was sunny and 100 degree plus temperatures, no thanks, detour coming up.
Our experience on Highway 50 was inconsistent with what we had been led to believe about The
Loneliest Road in America. It was actually a very rewarding experience riding across long desert valleys on a straight and well-surfaced two-lane road. The billowing white cumulous clouds against a bright blue sky were very dramatic for those of us from Southern California where there is seldom any reportable weather.
We had been dodging the afternoon thunderstorms with consistent regularity. Every time the were headed directly for a black cloud and a downpour, magically the road would turn and we would circumvent the storm back into clear skies. Jack, "I don't need no stinkin rain suit," Murphy was taking credit for the good luck right up until our luck ran out. We ran smack into a solid line of black clouds and rain as far as the eye could see from the north to the south, and we were headed west, directly into it. The black sky opened up and trounced us with heavy rain for miles. We had to slow to approximately 40 MPH just to maintain our course through a winding mountain pass toward Ely, NV, our destination for the night.
We pulled into Ely, NV and checked into our hotel, just as the afternoon sun began to break through the storm clouds. We walked to a local Chinese restaurant and had an excellent dinner. Jack tried his firt Sake. I don't think he was very impressed. He said, "They call it Sake because the word 'shit' was taken." Walking back to the hotel for the night a light rain began to fall once again.
Day 13 - Ely, NV to Hawthorne, NV
Up at our usual time, we grabbed a quick breakfast at the McDonalds across the street from our hotel and headed west on the Loneliest Highway in America. Again, we found the road very satisfactory with long open stretches across the green scrub desert, punctuated with no less than seven cool mountain passes reaching over 7,000 feet. We averaged 75 MPH on Highway 50 making good time.
We stopped for gas twice, once in Eureka and once on Austin, about 70 miles apart. We followed
the advice of others who said when gas is available on Highway 50, get it. Our two gas stops could not have been more different. In Eureka, the clerk at the Chevron station received our collective award as the most grumpy and unfriendly person that we encountered along our entire journey, thus far. She said three words to me during our two brief encounters, "credit or debit," when I handed her my credit card. Contrary to Eureka, in Austin the clerk at the Chevron station could not have been more friendly and helpful. She even recommended a lunch stop at Middle Station, a biker-friendly bar and grill 64 miles west of Austin. We motored on for Middle Station.
Arriving at Middle Station, marked by the intersection of Highways 50 and 361, we pulled into the dirt parking lot surrounded by relics of the desert of a period long forgotten. There, we met Kathy, the high-energy, spirited proprietor of the establishment, serving military personnel, bikers, and thirsty travelers for generations, and Buddy, the local pooch and friend to those who want no friends. Check out out Buddy's beautiful piercing blue eyes. Middle Station bar & grill is the kind of place you immediately feel comfortable in with military, biker, and mining memorabilia throughout.
John had a little trouble distinguishing the correct bathroom at Middle Station, where the restrooms were designated with highway signs of cows and bulls in lieu of the raditional Men and Women signs. John, cows have utters and short horns, bulls have no utters, long horns and long hanging, ah well you get the idea. He came out wondering why there was a sign asking male patrons not to flush their tampons down the toilet.
Eighty seven miles south of Middle Station on Highway 361 we intersected Highway 95 west toward Hawthorne, NV, our destination for the night. We checked into our hotel and walked across the street to a small family-run Mexican restaurant. Chicken enchilada, rice & bean dinner and a Margarita for $12.00, what a deal!
Hawthorne is home to the Navy's Underwater Weapons Center and has hundreds of weapons bunkers dotting the surrounding the desert. We don't know what is in them but we suspect there is a reason them being out in the desert. Afterall, an accidential discharge and the resulting mushroom cloud over Long Beach would not be a good thing. Sorry Hawthorne.
Tomorrow, we're off to Yosemite National Park and then home, at last.
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