Crossing the Emptiness

Last night, we stayed at a very eclectic little motel called the Silver Jack Inn. It was probably the most comfortable bed we have ever slept in, or maybe it was the beating we received from 200+ miles of Utah/Nevada - either way it was a great night. They have an attached restaurant as well, and we had some breakfast there before we headed out.





Picking up the trail where we left off from yesterday.



Snake Farm... Our first live rattlesnake - ewwww....



Nikki road for the next couple of miles with her feet at her elbows - just in case.

Some old structures along the way...





We blew a turn, and Nikki snagged some sage brush on her U-turn.



The emptiness out here is almost overwhelming - you have such a clear view of the empty flat valleys as you clear each range.





Q: What's the shortest distance between two points?





A:



The cycle repeats: mountain range, valley, mountain range, valley, and so on...

Taking a break... Nikki is still smiling cause she doesn't know what we are about to get into.



Tight trees, Ruts, loose rocks...





Sand...



Downed trees...



Single track cow path through all the above.



And Nikki's nemesis: Nevada double rut.



It was tough, but once we cleared that section we were on to some faster roads to, and over Patterson Pass, and to Preston, NV for gas and a late lunch.



The lady at the gas station let us eat our snacks in the closed down diner.



After we left Preston, we headed into the Humboldt N.F.




Nice roads, beautiful terrain.







Wildflowers everywhere.




Progress was halted.



But only momentarily...





And soon we were riding a section of the original Lincoln Highway




Which was only found after a little bit of searching in this valley.



For this very faint two-track road.



By the way, lot's of gates today. I tried to close myself in on the wrong side of this one...



But Nikki stopped me before I looked like a total fool.



Once we got off the old Lincoln Highway, we headed for Hwy 50 which took us into Eureka, NV where we got a motel for the night. When I came out from getting the room, I found Nikki chatting with a local.



That completed the TAT portion of our trip. From here in Eureka, NV the TAT heads North, then Northwest. We need to head due West from this point on to San Francisco. Although we will not be on the TAT, we will try to follow as many unpaved roads as we can find to cross the remaining portion of Nevada, as well as California.


Jordan