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This is the loneliest road in America
nationalgeographic.com ^ | 3/5/2019 | Hannah Lott-Schwartz

Posted on 03/05/2019 12:43:14 PM PST by rktman

Where the state of Nevada folds in half—from the elbow on its western arm at Lake Tahoe across to its Utah border—you’ll find the most direct route across the state. It crosses several communities, a handful of mountain ranges, a national park, and one reservoir, where bobcats, foxes, and wild horses roam free. There’s life, yes, but not a familiar way of life for many. It’s a place where the lines between John Wayne Westerns and everyday life blur, where ghost towns bleed into living ones. This is Route 50, the Loneliest Road in America.

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalgeographic.com ...


TOPICS: Travel
KEYWORDS: highways; lonelee; nevada
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To: Dr. Zzyzx

Just read your piece about what happened to the Shoe Tree. The last time I was there was in April of 2009. My wife and I had gone to Death Valley to take pictures of the annual wild flower bloom and I detoured to the tree so she could see it.

What a shame some jerk had to spoil it for everybody! Whoever did the deed should have a bunch of shoe laces of sufficient strength to hold him tied around his neck and hanged from a branch of the new tree (barefoot, of course).


101 posted on 03/05/2019 2:28:41 PM PST by beelzepug (OCD and proud of it!)
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To: dp0622
Highway, no.

Road, yes.

Especially in winter.

Roads leading to camps or park that are closed or only lightly used in the winter. They have caretakers but they might get out a couple of times a month on a supply run. So you could have a long wait.

102 posted on 03/05/2019 2:29:17 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (If you are going to be baked by a witch you might as well go out with a mouth full of gingerbread!)
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To: MeganC

Came down out of the Big Horns after dark back in mid-80’s...hotel clerk in Dayton told us we were nuts driving that road. I agreed, displaying my white knuckles. If we had gone off the road, it would have been quite a while before we were found.


103 posted on 03/05/2019 2:30:07 PM PST by who knows what evil? (Yehovah saved more animals than people on the ark...siameserescue.com)
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To: JeanLM

I don’t know if they still run it, but there was another all out race from Battle Mountain on I-80 to Austin on US 50. One of my employees ran it years ago in a Corvette. He told me that the cruise control won’t engage when you’re above 115 mph! Gee, I was really glad to know that since at the time, I had the same car.
He also said that the steel cattle guards across the highway were scary at speed.


104 posted on 03/05/2019 2:30:29 PM PST by vette6387 (Fire Mueller)
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To: rktman

I thought this post was about being a true Constitutional loving law abiding..honest American.


105 posted on 03/05/2019 2:31:04 PM PST by Osage Orange (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot)
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To: Inyo-Mono; dp0622
Ditto all Inyo-Mono said....

Even have some places in OK....you don't want to get lost in.

106 posted on 03/05/2019 2:33:36 PM PST by Osage Orange (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot)
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To: dp0622

LOL! Some folks out here carry more than one spare tire.


107 posted on 03/05/2019 2:34:19 PM PST by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: beelzepug

Must be another one on 50 cause we passed one last year with plenty shoes.


108 posted on 03/05/2019 2:36:13 PM PST by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: who knows what evil?

I grew up in LA and Sacramento and when we moved to Wyoming (we’re about 40 miles from Cody) the thing that I had to get used to the most was not just how dark it was at night, but how bright the stars were!

I never knew there were so many stars! Even almost nine years later I’m still absolutely gobsmacked when I go out on a clear night and see God’s creation!

But it’s also crazy dark at night and we try to be off the roads before dark just for safety’s sake.

If you were on a 4x4 trail at night then God was with you.

I’m glad you got through it safe!


109 posted on 03/05/2019 2:36:29 PM PST by MeganC (There is nothing feminine about feminism.)
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To: vette6387

Pretty sure they do.


110 posted on 03/05/2019 2:37:12 PM PST by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: Inyo-Mono
A road near me comes to mind, The Death Valley Road between Big Pine California and Death Valley. ...

I was exploring with my son in his FJ Cruiser and he took me by to meet a guy named Hal in Darwin, CA. Population is about 12 but they do have a post office. Hal lives in an underground home that he and his wife built. Not much traffic on that road.

111 posted on 03/05/2019 2:41:53 PM PST by Ben Hecks
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To: rktman
In the 70’s we did a drive from Vegas to Death Valley. That was a damn lonely road!
112 posted on 03/05/2019 2:45:59 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Mitt Romney: Bringing Massachusetts Values To The Great State Of Utah.)
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To: vette6387
Yeah, Costco Gas in Carson City: $2.09 Costco Gas in the SF Bay area $2.89. Another of those reasons to move to Nevada.

I was just in Greenwich,Connecticut (suburban NYC) last week and Regular was $2.89

In my neck of the woods it's $2.39.

113 posted on 03/05/2019 2:49:23 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Mitt Romney: Bringing Massachusetts Values To The Great State Of Utah.)
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To: beelzepug

“I’ve crossed highway 50 three times - once in my pick-up, once in my car, and once on my Road King. The bike was the most fun. Any of you who have been over it, did you stop to take pictures of the Shoe Tree?”

Sure did, second trip. On our last trip, we had shipped everything to the ranch, except our truck and our Bluebird Wonderlodge coach. The bird had all new Michele’s and the Detroit had just been serviced. Leaving Eureka and hitting the valley floor, got the old girl up to 85-90 it was so flat and FAST... One time, it was enough! 40,000 lbs and 500 Detroit diesel hp.


114 posted on 03/05/2019 2:50:42 PM PST by OregonRancher (Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints)
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To: MeganC

Crazy dark? Oh, yeah...


115 posted on 03/05/2019 2:53:24 PM PST by who knows what evil? (Yehovah saved more animals than people on the ark...siameserescue.com)
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To: Gay State Conservative

There are no refineries in Nevada. All their fuel comes from the Bay Area ( or perhaps Salt Lake City). The price difference is state taxes. I will bet that the fuel comes up via pipeline.


116 posted on 03/05/2019 2:53:48 PM PST by vette6387 (Fire Mueller)
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To: PIF
Boring? No at all.I drove it several times in the 80s - nicely paved the last time - was a very smooth ride - you’d occasionally see a truck convoy, and some times other cars.

Driving the Dalton Highway and visiting the Atacama Desert are on my bucket list!

117 posted on 03/05/2019 2:54:26 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Mitt Romney: Bringing Massachusetts Values To The Great State Of Utah.)
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To: vette6387

“He also said that the steel cattle guards across the highway were scary at speed.”
Now days the road dept. just paints them on the road.


118 posted on 03/05/2019 2:55:00 PM PST by OregonRancher (Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints)
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To: vette6387
The price difference is state taxes.

Yup,that's the situation with Connecticut vs Massachusetts.Their gas tax is about 40 cents a gallon higher than ours.

119 posted on 03/05/2019 2:56:40 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Mitt Romney: Bringing Massachusetts Values To The Great State Of Utah.)
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To: OregonRancher
What do cows know anyway? 🐄💨
120 posted on 03/05/2019 3:02:53 PM PST by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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