Day 1 – Ely? Really?

We were so organized and we were ready to go at 6:40am this morning!

But… Cathy couldn’t ride by her daughter’s workplace without stopping to get a quick hug. As we pulled into Placerville, we made a short stop to see Sarah at Thompson’s Toyota.

Having received hugs, we set out on Highway 50 through the stunning Sierra Nevadas. Beautiful, crisp morning.

It wasn’t long before we were in familiar high desert and entered the state of Nevada. Lots of sage brush which permeates the air with a sweet earthy scent.

The desert has a distinct beauty with the green and gold sage and the Bristlecone trees but after 400 miles of it, you realize why Highway 50 is called the “Loneliest Highway.”

We had a few raindrops but we were really lucky and even cold at times. The rain stayed to the left and right of us. We didn’t need to use our rain gear at all.

We pulled into Ely (pronounced E-lee) at around 4:30pm. It’s a dusty, non-interesting town with smoke-filled casinos and not much else. But, it’s a place to lay our heads after 468 miles and we’re grateful for a clean room and the yummy Mexican food we had for dinner.

Not much farming occurs in the desert so this was the only barn shot we got today.

A&B Fabrication, you’re welcome for the free promotion. Tomorrow we are going to Bryce and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. We will end in Escalante, Utah. Total mileage will be around 330 miles.