Hwy 95 Las Vegas to Reno

One of our friends had been to the town of Beatty and she commented that it was a sad, sad town. Well, that’s where we were heading but not because it was Beatty. We were heading that way because it was on the route we were going to take if we wanted to visit the Rhyolite Ghost Town. We weren’t really sure whether we would be staying there but we still had to drive through it. Other than being close to Rhyolite and Death Valley, Beatty is well known for their hot mineral baths. That was an option. There is a little RV park a few miles north of town that rents out private mineral bath rooms. The charge is $5 for the hour and the private room comes with a dressing area and your own mineral water hot tub. We had to think about it but other than stopping to take a look decided to bypass it.

By the time we arrived in Beatty, we were glad we had decided not to stay. Unless you were intent on driving into Death Valley from there or soaking in the mineral baths, there didn’t appear much going on in Beatty. Even some of the RV parks looked sad. If we had decided to stay, we would have DEFINITELY chosen the Beatty RV Park. It looked to be the nicest one of all. However, we drove through the town and definitely agreed with Loralie that Beatty was a sad, sad town.

As we continued our trip north on Hwy 95, there were several other towns including Mina, Goldfield and Luning that we thought were also sad towns. At some time in the past, these towns must have been hopping but the life no longer seemed to be in them. We thought they were falling apart and in desperate need of repair. Tonopah was at an elevation of about 6100 feet and appeared to be thriving. Hawthorne was at the edge of gorgeous Walker Lake and also seemed to be a healthy little town.

The route from Las Vegas to Reno was a nice route. We thoroughly enjoyed traveling the back road and not on the freeway. The only issue we thought was the constant climbing. We’re sure the road never went downhill even though it must have. The terrain was high desert but the closer we got to the Reno area the more obvious the mountains to the west became. We even traveled through some green pastures. What a difference from the desert of Arizona where we had spent most of the winter.

One of the reasons for heading this way was because we had never done it. We also wanted to visit Virginia City. Remember the Cartwrights? Well, as we sit at the base of the mountains now and rock with the wind, we have decided that’s going to have to be put off for another day and another trip maybe. If we’re rocking here, the park manager warned we’d really be rocking on the mountain. Oh well …. we know not everything works out as planned.

We’ll probably hang around here for a couple more nights waiting for the wind to head on East. The terrain will definitely change even more from this point on. Tuesday was a 441 mile day. It was long and we were very tired. No ... we were actually exhausted. After we had decided not to stay in Beatty, we set the GPS for the Hawthorne Elks and that was to be the night's destination. Instead we forged on and went the additional 133 miles to Reno and I'm so glad we did. There are a couple areas between there and here that warn of high crosswinds. Travel on Tuesday was a little windy but had we waited until Wednesday it would have been horrendous. Sometimes things do work out.

Travel safe everyone.

Kingman Back to Las Vegas

With our uneventful night at the Wal-Mart in Kingman where the city does not allow overnight parking behind us, it was time to head on to Las Vegas for a few nights. A few of the other RVers had already pulled out of the parking lot before we were outside getting ready to go. We had to stop first and visit with our very nice Australian neighbors.

Back to fun projects

Two couples from Australia were off to spend six months together in the United States touring. Upon arrival they purchased a motorhome and at the end of their stay, they plan to sell the Class “A” motorhome before returning to Australia. I’m certain this was the smart way to do it. They indicated they had checked into renting one and decided this was much less expensive. We swapped some information and places to visit and headed on our way. I’m sure they’ll have a very good time on their very long vacation.

The wind was really ripping as we headed out of the Kingman area but it didn’t last long. Oh, it was windy alright but once on the road it wasn’t quite as forceful as it was when we first pulled out. We had a short 100 mile drive and arrived at our destination before noon. We know we’ll have a few long days ahead of us in the next couple of weeks so these short days are supposed to make up for the ones to come.

Dinner was at Dessy B’s Steakhouse. Terry hadn’t been there before but I had been with the Hyder’s when he was out of town. The place certainly isn’t fancy but the food was so good that I wanted to take him there too. The salad bar is fantastic, the steak perfect and the service flawless. We liked this place.

One more repeat will be to Terrible’s Casino but not to play slots. It’ll be to repeat their buffet. With coupons in hand we’ll be able to have the best brisket ever at their buffet for about $5 each. What a deal that is!

Tuesday we’ll be on our way north towards the Rhyolite Ghost Town (maybe). That’s the plan and you know how well we stick to our plans.

See you in Rhyolite (maybe).