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June 27, 2011

Elko to Carson City

Our next target was Carson City, the capital city of Nevada. The most direct way to get there was about 325 miles straight on Interstate 80, but, oh no, we couldn't do that so we tried to find the "scenic route." First, we took Hwy 228, which had a couple of minor hills, until we got to Eureka, a mining town at the junction of 228 and Interstate 50, known as the "loneliest highway in the world."

We gassed up in Eureka, which had one of the largest fire stations we had ever seen, built of brick, and had a Best Western as well. The gas station we stopped at also served as the community laundromat and served pizza and other hot foods. We waited for the second group to catch up as we wanted to warn them that the nearest available gas was in Austin, a long ride away. Then we set off on 50, which certainly lived up to its reputation. We drove through desert landscapes with some hills and the temperatures climbed to about 107. We thought we would stop for gas in Austin, but there was a long line at the 2 manual pump "station" and another motorcyclist told us there was gas 40-60 miles further on. By the time we went the distance, we needed a gas station and there it was, in Middlegate Station, a place with a ramshackle bar, a 10-room "motel", a small "RV park" and 2 ancient pumps – regular and diesel. We didn't ask the price, just filled up and told the man what the total was and then paid. We hung around for a while to offset the long and boring and hot desert ride. Google actually shows the place, even though most maps don't, and the hamburgers get rave reviews. We only had cold drinks, but met a couple who often drive their Harleys from their home about 1 1/2 hours away and stay overnight just so they can sit on the porch and talk with people who stop by. They had been drinking beer since 11:30 and by the time we got there were very friendly. Luckily for people on the road, they always stay in one of the $10 rooms at the "motel."

We got back on the bikes and headed out to Carson City, where no motels in the center of town have pools. So we picked the most reasonable deal of the lot. The hotel was okay but dinner at Red's Old 395 Grill just down the street was terrific. We sat at a long table made of a tree trunk with benches made of more trees and ate huge barbecue meals, sampled some of the 101 beers on the list and/or drank wine. We would go back to Carson City just for the restaurant.