Day 167 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways
I don’t know, Nevada 93 from midway between Ely and Baker to Las Vegas could compete for the loneliest road in America. Attractions seemed to be spread at least 60 miles apart. I wasn’t feeling spectacular, so that could have subtracted from the amount of attractions I would have normally visited.
Pioche
Our first stop was Pioche, known as the bawdiest, most lawless town in Nevada in the 1870’s. As the town’s population swelled to 7,000 during the mining days, legend has it that four dozen men died “with their boots on” and only two were ever brought to justice. According to my Reader’s Digest book, the local cemetery, boot hill, recorded some of the shootings and shenanigans. I visited the cemetery and saw some graves from the 1870’s, but missed any unique ones.
Million Dollar Courthouse
I also visited the Million Dollar Courthouse. The town leaders floated bonds in 1871 to construct the new courthouse, and it took until 1938 to pay the debt off. Due to all the interest associated with the bonds, the courthouse earned its name! I’m certain a few other bond projects in more recent history have followed in Lincoln County courthouse’s footsteps.
Cathedral Gorge State Park
After visiting Pioche, we stopped at Cathedral Gorge State Park. What an interesting place! Multi-colored buttes, about a foot wide, yet very long rose abruptly from the valley floor. Each one was separated by only a foot or so which created a maze that visitors could explore. As I entered an area, with Petey in tow, I met a few locals that pointed at about a three foot crawl space.
They said if I didn’t mind getting dirty, I could crawl through the opening to a larger area and find a rope to climb to top. On my hands and knees I shimmied through the space, but Petey was not interested in taking part. And frankly, I’m not quite as adventurous as I used to be so I contorted back through the gap and promptly found a trail that led to an overlook. Stairs seemed like the more civilized (and easy) way of exploring.
Caliente
After a few hours of wandering around the park and quick shower at the state park campgrounds, we moved on to Caliente. I just pulled off the road, rested, shockingly found a Radio Shack where I picked up a fuse for my inverter that wasn’t operating correctly, and tried the local pizza – another nice surprise.
My Reader’s Digest Scenic Drives book only called for one more stop on Nevada 93 before reaching the outskirts of Las Vegas, so I forewent the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge and drove through the evening into a sea of lights. I found a Wal-Mart in North Las Vegas for the night. I plan to attend to a variety of issues while stores were open on Saturday. ETB
Map of My Road Trip Across the USA
For a summary about my road trip across the USA, click HERE. For the interactive map, see the below link.
Other Articles About Nevada You May Like
- Day 164 – Loneliest Road in America
- Day 165 – Loneliest Road in America – Part 2
- Day 166- Loneliest Road in America – Part 3
- Day 168 – Nevada 93 – Part 2
- Day 169 – Hoover Dam and Bridge
Your adventure in Neveda reminded me of the movie 127 Hours. True story about a guy that fell in a canyon and a bolder trapped him. He cut off his arm to get out after 127 hours. Maybe Petey was smart not to go forward!!
Yep, saw that story…headed to Utah where it happened in a few short days.
Oh my gosh! Stay save in Utah. I hope you do not find that shoot between the boulders that drops you into the water! Remember that in the movie 127 hours? I commented on how creepy it was and you commented on how you would love to do that! Please don’t try it! :o)
Mom