Gotta cross Nevada to get to Utah

Sunday (Oct 15)

It was a nice temperature and very pleasant in the van, so I opened the door and Iay in bed watching my fellow campers pull into at the dump station and drop off their waste on their way down the hill. Then I got up did my usual morning things and headed down the hill myself, feeling very pleased that I don’t have to do the waste station ritual.. I really liked my steak and eggs at Delicious Kitchen last time, and I really enjoyed them again today – great meal – and the service was normal and competent

I was raised by a single mom who was a Depression baby and she raised me to have a primal fear of scarcity. So on a day like today, when I know I will beheading into the Big Nothing – ie. the endless, no services Nevada interior – I tend to overreact and buy twice as many meals as I will need. At the Von’s where I got an eight-piece chicken basket and three sides and a ten-pack of fresh-baked Von’s croissants to supplement the half Italian sub I still have from Newman’s three days ago. I think that’ll do me for the next 2-3 days!

The first part of today’s drive was quite interesting. Take a left at the famous green church, landmark for hot spring-ers all along 395. Keep following the hot tub road well past the hot tubs. Follow it all the way to join US 6 up from Bishop. Follow 6 to Benton Hot Springs, a very quaint little semi ghost town with an expensive hot springs.Take 6 up and over a low part of the White Mountains, skirting the north side of the huge mass of Boundary Peak, Nevada’s tallest mountain.The terrain here is endless dry hills dotted with solitary juniper trees. After that the road settles into Central Nevada boringness.

I had researched the cost of diesel in Tonopah and had a plan, but as I was entering town a sign pointed up the hill for diesel at a price about 10 cents less. I investigated, and up on the gritty, grimy mesa among the run down house trailers and shacks was a grimy hut with a couple of pumps out from. The credit card reader worked and there was water and squeegees for the windshield (not soapy water sadly), so it worked. Later on the main drag I recognized a station I quite liked (for some reason) fifteen years ago. If I had it to do over I would pay the extra dime per gal and go there – they might even have soap in the window squeegee water!

Thank you to the Banc Club for providing this parking lot. It’s the perfect answer to where to crash in Tonopah. After scoping it out I drove the half-mile back up the hill to an excellent dinner – two beers plus a half-chicken at Tonopah Brewery, then back to my parking lot. I could have walked, but I wasn’t feeling it.

Monday

This is a very nice spot, as featureless gravel parking lots go :) It’s quiet and private facing the embankment. Compared to my last three days sleeping at 7,000′ it’s also relatively balmy – only into the 30’s last night. Following my server’s advice last night, I have breakfast at the Tonopah Station Casino up the hill, and a darned good breakfast it was.

I was happy to avoid too-busy US 95 to instead continue east on US 6, a much lonelier road nowadays than the official “loneliest road” US 50. It was a long but quite relaxing and mostly pleasant drive of the classic Basin and Range form: up the mountain to the crest, usually a sign saying SomethingorOther Summit, elevation in the 5,600′ range. Then 15-50 miles straight as an arrow across the next valley, then a few more miles of curves up to the next pass, then do it all again.

The map tells me I am to take a right on 375 at Warm Springs. As I come up on the intersection, I realize I have remembered this place for years but had no idea from where! There is a long abandoned hot springs (well, warm springs) resort right at the T intersection. The hot water pops out of the ground four hundred feet up the hill and runs in an open air shallow concrete ditch down the the pool. The pool and building were fenced off back then, but the ditch was open, so I had a grand old time poking by fingers in the water at various points to test its hotness, and nosing around in general. This time the whole area was cordoned off by a much more serious fence, so I stopped and looked for a minute and drove past. If I was an eBay millionaire I would re-open that place! :)

375 it a truly lonely road. It takes you through Rachel and the The Little A’Le’Inn. Clearly they are trying to morph “alien into “Ale Inn” and this is their best try … a fail IMO :). Someone has made a nice little living by putting up a bar and an alien, Area 51-themed restaurant in the middle of nowhere. I stopped and has a piece of blueberry pie ala mode and it was quite nice. I bought a creepy little bright green alien doll for the granddaughter. I am concerned that it may scare her rather than please her, or that her mom may decide it is toxic and won’t let touch it. So I don’t have high hopes for this as a present, but we will see come Christmas time.

Next intersection is with US 93 east at Crystal Springs in the Pahranagat Valley. What a blessed valley this is! I thought about making the eighteen mile side trip south to camp at Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge, but opted for staying on my route and trying a new place, Kershaw–Ryan State Park. Even the intersection between these two major roads is a blessed oasis. Out of nothing but bleakness for 140 miles suddenly there are huge cottonwoods and willow reed marshes and a little lake. I’ll bet the Native Americans thought this place was heaven.

Onward to Kershaw–Ryan. The turn-off for it is at the outskirts of the town of Caliente, a place that the web says has hot springs, but where I have failed multiple times to find them. I drove three miles down a beautiful, irrigated valley to the park, looking forward to their quarter-fed shower. The nice ranger dude at the gate oriented me – campground and showers are right there, 100′ beyond the ranger station, and the pond and natural beauty that the park is all about are a mile up the road. As long as I was talking to a fountain of local knowledge, I asked him about the elusive hot springs, and was told that I couldn’t find it before because they are at a motel that has been closed, but now is open again! I was sheepishly thought out loud, telling him I might want to go there instead. Classy fellow, he absolved me of guilt and told me to go for it if I want!

I checked out the campground, used the bathroom, and sat and thought a while. The campground was well laid out, but just wasn’t appealing. I decided to check out the motel also. I wish I had driven up the hill, now I still don’t know what Kershaw–Ryan is about :<. But I really thought I would be back. It was only gonna be a five mile investment anyway, three miles to get bck to the road, and a couple of miles to cross town.

So I did that, and never went back! I was totally charrned by the place. A room with a tub sounded cool, but after a little discussion, the room without a tub sounded better. The public tubs are way bigger, and you have it for your private use anyway. Great decision, because the room he gave me was perfect in every way.

Room 1 is the leftmost of a modest little row right next to the parking lot. This meant I could park right there and have the big door of the van 10 feet from the motel room door. I was so handy to all my usual stuff that it was more like a high-end camping experience than the humdrum Motel 6, carry your crap to the second floor, card key for the security door kind of experience.

As befitting new ownership, the room is brightly decorated. It actually has a separate room that is a kitchen! A little fridge and a microwave and a sink is about it, but there is a nice little breakfast table also.

The hot tubs are pretty remarkable also. Each is a pretty big pool, About 9′ x 6′ that can fill up to a depth of maybe 2 1/2 feet. They have so much hot water to burn, so to speak, that you fill the tub from scratch with fresh hot water from a spigot with a ridiculous flow, do your soak, then pull the plug and leave it empty for the next party.

I did a little pre-soak, back to the room to wash off the road grime and to watch a beautiful sunset from the parking lot, then back for a serious hour or so soak. Just a very nice evening, and in fact, quite a pleasant day all around! In terms of how I want my road-tripping to work, this was pretty much peak performance :)