Adventure in the NV Outback – Day 4

This was my least favorite day of the trip because it was a lot of driving and back to life, responsibility and reality in Reno. 

We hit the road early.  We were on a mission today to see the Shoe Tree that had been recently cut down.  The Shoe Tree was a giant cottonwood tree that was filled with hanging shoes.  The legend is that the Shoe Tree was born when a couple of newlyweds got in an argument, during the argument one of them tossed the other's shoes into the tree.  When they made up they tossed the other person's shoes in the tree as well and people have been tossing shoes ever since.  We finally found the tree right before we reached Middlegate.  It was sad to see the big tree cut down but there were several nice memorials dedicated to the tree.  The other cottonwoods next to the downed tree have become the new shoe trees so the tradition will live on.  It was still sad to see such a big old beautiful tree was cut down by some jackass, hopefully Karma will give the person, or people, that cut down this beautiful tree what they deserve. 

Pouring some water out in honor of the Shoe Tree.

We had a good breakfast in Middlegate and then got back on the road heading to Fallon.  At this point we had stamped Austin, Eureka and Ely in our Hwy 50 Survival Guide so all we needed that day was Fallon and Fernley to complete our mission.  We arrived in Fallon and got our stamp at the first gas station we saw, then we decided to go find Bridget’s family home and explore her family roots.  Bridget’s family used to own a farm in Fallon.  They sold the farm to Model Dairy and the land has since been subdivided for more houses.  The funny thing about most Nevada towns is that you can find an old farm house in the middle of town and it is surrounded by newer homes, Bridget’s family farm was just like that.  We saw the old farm house and we could see that the neighborhood grew up around the old house.   After we drove by the house we were on our way to Fernley.  We got our last stamp at the Wigwam in Fernley.  We survived the loneliest road in America and we were on our way home to Reno.  

I had a great trip with two of my best friends, it was a fantastic Memorial Day weekend.  I am proud I survived the Hwy 50 challenge and I think I may have met some of the friendliest Nevadans on the loneliest road in America.

 

Thanks Dad for letting me borrow the Ford Explorer! 
50 Miles of Dirt Road + 1 Flat Tire + 1 Blizzard + 4 Days of Driving = Built Ford Tough

Adventure in the NV Outback - Day 1

This is how I got ready for the trip.
Map on the refrigerator

For Memorial Day weekend I decided to skip the cold lake and boating scene this year and instead explore the Nevada outback with my friends Bridget and Andy.  We started our adventure on Friday when Bridget got off work.  We hit the road and headed out on “the Loneliest Road in America” Highway 50 to Austin, Nevada.

On our way we stopped at Middlegate Station for dinner.  We sat at the bar so it wouldn’t take too long and we could get back on the road.  The guy behind the bar was named Russ and he was friendly enough for a bar out in the middle of nowhere.  The interior of the bar and grill was very dark.  The bar smelled of grease and cigarettes because so many people were smoking.  Middlegate Station is one of those places where people sign dollars and staple them to the ceiling.  I quit stapling my money to the ceiling at bars like this when the recession started, now I just use that money wisely and spend it on cocktails.  The walls were decorated with a lot of interesting and eclectic pieces of Nevada art and history.  On one wall they had several branding irons and on another wall there was a sign that was from Tombstone with a warning to loose women.  There were also several hunting pictures and Nevada maps. 

I ordered a burger and fries and Bridget and Andy had garden burgers.  I think I offended Russ when I only ate my hamburger and some of my fries, he was a little irritated I didn’t eat all of my fries.  The food was good but I was full and not about to eat more and get sick.  So after Russ mentioned he didn’t like to see food wasted we agreed that I should take my fries in a to-go box.  After we enjoyed our dinner we then got back in the car and got back on the highway as the sun went down.

We continued our drive to Austin on Highway 50.  As we drove we watched the weather change because a storm was brewing.  Who knew?  Bad weather on Memorial Day weekend in Nevada…never!  Okay if you aren’t from Nevada I am being very sarcastic, the weather is usually awful during Memorial Day, it will be nice the week before and often the week after, but rarely is the weather nice on Memorial Day weekend.

I really enjoyed the first day of our drive.  It was beautiful to watch the wind storm move across the desert at dusk.  Austin is roughly a 3 hour drive from Reno so we saw a lot of sage brush and desert our first day.  When we finally got to Austin we checked in at our motel, the Lincoln Motel.  Then we walked up the street to check out the bars.  The first bar we saw was the Silver State Bar.  There was a fluffy Golden Retriever sleeping in the bar so we thought it must be a good bar if they let dogs hang out and we decided to have a drink. 

The bar has recently been remodeled so it was really nice and modern.  Bridget and Andy ordered Jack and cokes while I ordered a Makers Mark and coke.  We got carded, which made my day!  The older I get the more I like to have my ID checked to see if I am over 21.  We sat at a table at the bar relaxing and chatting with the owner of the dog.  He was a nice guy and it turned out he owned the bar.  

About a half hour after we got our drinks we over heard the bartender asking around about Makers Mark, at first I thought the owner was trying to buy our drinks, then we realized they were trying to figure out how much to charge us because no one drinks Makers Mark there but apparently me.  Finally the bartender caught our attention and asked if $3.50 for the Jack and cokes and $4.50 for the Makers Mark and coke was okay.  We agreed to the price and it cracked us up that everyone in the bar was debating what to charge us and we didn’t quite realize it. You know you are in a small town in the Nevada outback when the whole bar debates what to charge you because no one has ordered a Makers Mark and coke before.  Although I have to say, I was pretty happy with the price they came up with because in Reno most places try to charge you $6 and up, which is robbery in my book.

As the other people in the bar left and called it a night the bartender came over and visited with us.  Her name was also Lisa and she was about my parent’s age.  Her son came in for a soda and we got to meet him, he was 18 or 19, they were all really nice and friendly.  Lisa started visiting with us and telling us stories about the area and about the locals.  She started mentioning a few people from Round Mountain.  I used to have a lot of real estate clients from Round Mountain, in fact I was the Realtor for something like 1 out of every 8 families in Round Mountain at one point.  Everyone I have ever met from Round Mountain has been lovely!  My clients mostly worked in mining and they were the nicest most reasonable and down-to-earth people I have ever met.  I always enjoyed working with my Round Mountain clients.  So I mentioned my clients and “name dropped,” sorry Andy I know you hate when I do that as much as I hate when I do that, and it turned out Lisa at the bar knew all of my clients.  Nevada is such a small state!   

After we finally finished our drinks it was time to call it a night.  We went back to the Lincoln Motel, affectionately called the Stinkin Lincoln by the locals, and hit the hay.  The next day we were starting the highway 50 survival challenge.