Highway 50, The Loneliest Highway in America

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Several months ago I’d read an online article about Highway 50, the Loneliest Highway in America. Dale and I looked on the atlas and found Great Basin National Park off of that highway. We now found a place we’d never been and needed to go to.

The Great Basin extends from the Nevada/California Border on the west, the SE corner of Oregon on the north, and into Utah to the east. The National Park is just a small portion but includes several different climate zones, from 13,000’ down to maybe 5,000’. We drove over mountain passes where snow was falling and in valleys bathed in bright sunlight.

We started Highway 50 at its beginning, the little town of Fallon. We drove for miles, passing thru a couple of old towns, Austin and Eureka. Eureka has an Opera House that I’d love to stop at someday. But today was cold and snowy in these towns so we kept driving.

One interesting stop is the Hickison Petroglyphs Recreation area. There is a fairly easy loop walk that goes up a hill and then across to other hills. The petroglyphs are really worth a look, not to mention a chance to stretch the legs. Unfortunately, it was beginning to rain and it really started to pelt us. We were concerned about the muddy road we had to drive on back to the main highway, and left quickly after viewing the last of the Petroglyphs.



Luckily, there are many pull outs along the highway and few people stopping for the night. We found a pull out with a grand view, and with little traffic were able to get a decent night’s sleep.

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