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| outside of Winnemucca NV. |
Totally geared up and ready we are back on the trail after a month long hiatus house sitting and getting much needed "mods" done on the rig. We the WeOverlander Team were super excited to head for the desert. But first we needed to leave the Pacific Northwest as the typical cold wet weather was heading our way. Leaving cold, wet and dark Tacoma WA. we rolled south through Oregon on coastal 101 to North Bend, OR. East on SR 42 through Roseburg then onto SR 138 we continued our way east to drop south through the Kalamth Falls area. There we connected to SR 140 on our way into Nevada.
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| Valmy NV. rest stop, sporting new mods. Bumper, Winch and new Bike rack |
From Winnemucca over to Battle Mountain we found SR 305 and headed due south. We crossed Austin Summit, el7484, right at U.S. Route 50 "The Loneliest road in America!" There was no lack of spectacular scenery in Nevada and this road was no exception.
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| The Loneliest Road in America, multiple rainbows |
We drove east through
Eureka NV. to
Ely, a once booming mining town, now a rustic Old West gambling town and hunting utopia. With hotels full ( hunting season just opened) and night temps freezing we scrambled to find a place to camp or to hole up in a hotel room. With no luck finding a hotel room we decided to camp with the big boys!! aka A-class RVs, toy hauling 5th-wheels and truckers parked side by side in the Casino parking lot. Maneuvering in between the group of big rig campers we found a wind break and popped our RTT (Roof Top Tent). Cold as the B-Jesus and restrooms a long walk away we hunkered down for the cold night. Cozy as cozy could be we turned in and hoped the sun would warm us in the morning.
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| Ward Charcoal Ovens south of Ely NV. |
The frosty morning arrived and so did the sun! Grabbing coffee from the cigarette smoke filled casino, we warmed ourselves while huddling over the steaming cups of coffee. Quickly we broke camp and searched for a warm spot to have breaky.
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| Caselthon NV Overland Hotel & Saloon |
We knew south was warmer and that's were we headed. About 25 miles outside of
Ely due south we stopped at
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park. The six historical bee-hived shaped ovens were built by Italian craftsmen in the 19th century. The massive amounts of charcoal produced was used for smelting ore for the nearby mines. Jumping back on the road, US Route 93,
The Great Basin Highway, south is our destination to
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| Cathedral Gorge State Park |
Cathedral Gorge State Park to camp in some much warmer temps.... Thank Gawd!! We arrived at the park after a beautiful drive through the
Great Basin Highway, and yes, the temps were much better, the sun much warmer, and the campsites available, YES!! After making camp we went on a wonderful bike ride through the Slot Canyons that millions of years ago were carved out of the bottom of this dry lake bed. Camping here for a couple of nights with warmer and milder temps we enjoyed our time here biking and hiking.
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| Fire Canyon Rd Valley of Fire State Park NV. |
Pushing on we headed further south to another of
Nevada's spectacular places,
Valley Of Fire State Park. Amazing endless vistas and incredible sandstone formations-the landscape was on fire with the deep red colored rocks reflecting the bright sun. This, for sure, is a colorful not-to-be-missed destination.
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| Valley of Fire Rd trail |
Taking the trails by bike or rig the scenery unfolded at every turn. Camping here was full and as we drove through the campsites the reason was clear. Each site had its own beauty and splendor nestled in between rocks and formations. It was as if you had your own vista at each campsite.
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| Looking East entrance Valley of Fire State Park NV. |
Our first night we camped in a parking spot on the side of the small parking lot for the walk-in campers, (not really a site at all).
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| Legit Campsite, Valley of Fire State Park Campgrounds |
Up super early the next morning and without coffee we collapsed our RTT and went on the prowl for a legit camp site vacated early by an out going camper. Yes, we found an excellent spot not more than a stones throw away and made camp where we stayed for 4 nights in this warm, sunny, quite fabulous state park while busily exploring the landscape.
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| Atlatl Rock formation |
Even though the temps are warm and dry we pushed on south as we entered the desert through the
Muddy Mountains, Henderson, Lake Mead, Boulder City and Hoover Dam.
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| Built in 1930's by CCC shelter for travelers |
Lunch in
Boulder City, NV., this quaint old town was home to the "Pot Spot" a famous local favorite coffee shop, filled with memorabilia of the areas history, how fun!! A quick tour of this lovely town show-cased some very sweet, adobe homes with old plantings of cactus which added to the charm and beauty of what
Boulder City is today.
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| Hoover Dam behind the dam Nevada side |
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| Hoover Dam in front of dam |
Moving on we traveled to
Hoover Dam, where we did the tourist "thang". We toured the dam and walked around this marvel of engineering. First, however, before we entered the Dam site our rig was inspected. Doors, drawers and coolers were opened as well as our RTT for concealed contraband (bomb making material). From here we jumped back on US route 93 and made our way into
Arizona by way of
Kingman and Route 66.
Driving on historic Route 66 we made our way east through
Arizona, hoping the warm, dry weather was following us........
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| Ancient fossilized Beehives |
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| Valley of Fire |
Hope to see you on the Trail!!!
🚙.../\..../\..
