From Tonopah Nevada
To Ely
Nevada – Charcoal Ovens State park
Distance: 188 miles
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| Sunrise over the mountains |
I awoke so early the sky was still dark.
I watched the sun rise over the mountain, it sort of just popped up once
it crested the top of the ridge.
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| View from the Mining Museum |
After
my coffee and breakfast I packed up and drove around Tonopah. I stopped at the Mining Museum & Park. There is a delightful view of the surrounding
mountains and great displays about the history and importance of mining to the
area.
I had a chat with the guy at the entrance to the museum about the
fragility of man in the desert. I can’t
get the thought out of my mind about what would to happen if we had no more
technology. Would large numbers of
people still be able to survive in these desert locations? Is there enough
water to supply the drinking needs and grow the food here without electricity
to run the deep wells? And if not how vulnerable does that make us?
Before leaving town I stopped at the gas station to up for the 165 mile
drive to Ely NV. There are warning signs
on the road that there are no gas stations in between these two towns.
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| Isolated Ranch along route 6 |
The Route 6 drive to Ely was through some amazing scenery. There are vast stretches of lands used only
as grazing for cattle. Along the road I
saw the occasional ranch but most seemed to be at the ends of side roads. A dirt road with a sign saying 11 miles to
Ranch XYZ was an indication of how far from town these remote ranches are. I tried to imagine what it would be like to
live somewhere like that. I think I
would love to experience a short time living at a place like that just to get
the feeling for the reality of it. This
has me thinking of a theme for a future adventure “Experiences in alternate
living spaces”
On the long drive I saw a few cattle in the distance but not many. Got me to wondering just how many cattle can
this desert scrub support? I saw a wild
animal. I don’t know if it was and elk
or a mule deer. Would not know how to
tell the two apart. I did look them up
but to me they look very similar. (Maybe
a hunter can give me some insight on how to spot the differences). This animal looked like it was trying to
cross the road. I slowed down to get a
better look and then it scampered away as I got to close for its comfort.
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| One of the few times I saw another car |
To occupy my time on the drive I decided to counted the number of vehicles I saw between Tonopah and Ely. My end result was 98 vehicles in total. 14 of these were commercial trucks. In all that there were only 5 were going my direction, one that passed me and the rest were in a string behind me like a modern day wagon train staying together for the comfort of company on the long lonely road.
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| the long straight road to the next pass |
The road was not at all what I expected a road through the mountains to
be. I am used to the winding twisting
roads that curl up one side of the mountain into a high pass and then wind down
again on the other side. This road is
nothing like that. The mountain ranges
stretch east west so you have one range to the north and another to the south. In between the two there is this vast
valley. The road has been built right
down the middle. After driving for miles
and miles and miles there appear a range of mountains before you. There are a few winding roads into a pass
then down again on the other side and once again I was in the vast expanse of
valley with a road straight as an arrow down the centre.
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| Pass getting close to Ely |
Only during the final stretch into Ely were there the curving mountain
roads that I had expected.
After 2.5 hours of continuous driving my eyes were fatigued from the
lack of colour! Shades of beige and
gray and dusty grey greens for hours leaves me longing for vivid shades and
vibrant colours. I really needed a rest
stop just to see different colours. It
was great to stop at McD’s for a coffee and catch up on my correspondence. I took
the opportunity to email Mel and let him know I made the long desert drive
safely.
There is a certain anxiety that
builds up as you are driving here, the knowledge to how far away you are from
help, the vulnerability of a solitary person against the hostile environment of
the desert, it is a humbling experience.
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| historic landmark in Ely |
I drove through the centre of Ely to see the historic buildings. Ely is a very pleasant town with lots of
character in the old part of town. I
stopped at a museum that is in a building that used to be a stop on the Pony Express. I picked up some information on the “Loneliest
Road in Nevada – route 50” Is it
possible to get even more isolated than the road I just finished traveling? I will file this for a possible future
adventure
I decided that the nearby Charcoal Ovens State Park would
be a good
place to stop and camp for the night. I
turned south onto this dirt road with an 11 mile drive to the park. The sun was dipping down to the west and
glaring into my eyes. I spotted some
movement in the open fields and stopped to get out my binoculars. There it was; another wild animal, possibly
an elk or a mule deer grazing off in in the distance.
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| grazing lands |
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| Charcoal Ovens State Park Camp ground |
When I arrived at the state park, it is deserted. I am the only one here! I filled out my self-registration and set up
camp. Not a single other camper arrived. It was a rustic camp site where the only
service was water and out houses. It was
really isolated, there were 15 sites at the camp ground but I was the only one
there.
In the vast open expanse of country, I was the only one
there for miles around...what an eerie feeling.
I had
my dinner, watched the sun set, enjoyed watching the rabbits come out in the
fields surrounding the camp grounds I saw several just a few feet away
from where I was sitting doing some knitting and relaxing. This one brave fellow came really close only
a few feet away and sat looking at me with ears twitching before scampering away. What a unique experience.
It is now getting darker and the absence of car noises is very
obvious. And still no other campers.
I hear the buzz of insects and the rustling of the wind through the
evergreens, the occasion bird chirp but no sound of human activity at all. As I finish off my notes, I wonder if anyone
will be arriving in the next few hours or if I will be here all alone all
night. I am settled into my car shelter
and will do some picture editing but it really feels weird to be so
all alone
in the desert wilderness of Nevada. The only
hint of modern times here is the toilets and the water taps and the picnic
tables…otherwise it could just as easily be a scene that the pioneers
experienced 150 or so years ago on their quest to reach western lands.
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| View of the solitude from my camp site |
Renate Dundys Marrello
2014 – 08 – 24
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