Eureka! We Found It - Thursday, July 27, 2023

This morning, all the thunderstorms had passed. We had a lovely sunny day. At 9 am, we pulled out of the KOA Holiday in Richfield, Utah. There were two ways we could have traveled to Eureka, Nevada, and we chose to take a northeastern route. 

Leaving Richfield, Garmin took us on backroads (UT 118 and UT 260) instead of I-70. The road was flat and straight. This route is a shortcut through Aurora, Utah, to get to U.S. 50. 

The view on UT 118 outside Richfield, Utah.

Cornfields along UT 118.

On U.S. 50, we went to Scipio and turned south on I-15 for ten miles and then took off again on U.S. 50 through central Nevada, named "The Loneliest Road in America" by Life magazine in July 1986. [We traveled a portion of U.S. 50 in February 2012 when we took a trip from Fallon, Nevada, to the Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park. At that time, we were in our pickup and the 5th wheel was in our RV site in Fallon, Nevada. We were workamping at Amazon in Fernley, Nevada.]

U.S. 50 between Aurora and Scipio, Utah.

U.S. 50 between Aurora and Scipio, Utah.

When we exited I-15 onto U.S. 50, there was a sign "No Services for 110 miles." There was another sign that let drivers know if they went ten miles south on I-15 they would find services in ten miles, in case they needed to fuel up before taking on the loneliest road in America.

Early scenery on U.S. 50 included nearby mountains.

Mostly, our scenery was miles upon miles of flat scrub brush or high desert grasses; no trees to speak of until we started going over mountain passes. Did you know Nevada has the most mountains of any state in the Lower 48? There are over 300 named ranges, along with over 100 anonymous mountain ranges that are scattered throughout the desert. Nevada claims 42 named summits over 11,000', including eight of the nation's ultra-prominent peaks.

If you're curious, here are the numbers of prominent summits in the United States [source: Wikipedia]

• Alaska: 84
• California: 17
• Nevada: 17
• Washington: 14
• Montana: 12
• Utah: 11
• Arizona: 9
• Hawaii: 7
• Colorado: 6
• Oregon: 6
• Wyoming: 4
• Idaho: 4
• New Mexico: 4
• North Carolina: 2
• Maine: 1
• New Hampshire: 1
• New York: 1
• Tennessee: 1
• Texas: 1

U.S. 50 in Nevada crosses 17 named mountain passes that break up the Nevada desert. The summits range from 4,600' up to 7,729'! The route was constructed over a historic corridor, initially used for the Pony Express and Central Overland Route and later for the Lincoln Highway. 

We did a lot of mountain driving today in addition to long, flat stretches across basins and deserts. Thank you to Bob for taking on the brunt of the driving. 

Our biggest hold-up today was another oversize load. It seems that these monstrous pieces of equipment are headed for the mines in Eureka, Nevada. According to the locals in Eureka, they live in a gold boomtown.

Here we are crossing one of the many mountain
passes.

The landscape is quite rugged.

When we came up behind this oversize load, we thought it was the same as the big buckets we saw yesterday. This parade was traveling only 20-30 mph! When they pulled over to let us pass, we realized this is a huge dump truck!

A very slow over-size load procession.

A large turn-out allowed us a 
chance to pass.

Up close and personal!

Today's drive seemed to take forever. With all the mountain passes, the slow over-size load caravan, a stop in Ely for lunch and fuel, and the time change, I thought we'd never get to Silver Sky Lodge RV Park. But, of course, we eventually made it.

Our site for the night at Silver Sky 
Lodge RV Park in Eureka, Nevada.

And, guess what? Not long after we arrived and set up, the oversize load caravan came by.

Our view of the big dump truck from the 
driveway of the RV park.

You can see all the cars that had to pull 
over and stop to let this behemoth pass.

The owner of the RV park, Reynard Moody, was immensely friendly. After we set up, he insisted that he take us on a tour of Eureka in his Explorer. We hopped in and he drove us around town, stopping to talk to people all along the way. He told us all about the gold and silver boom that is happening now. There isn't enough housing in town, so people with a little extra property are putting in sewer and electric and renting out space to RVers who are working the mines.

The mining income has paid for renovations to the Opera House, County Courthouse, museum, new schools, and a huge new fire department building. While driving around, "Moody" pointed out all the housing for teachers. He said they are recruiting teachers from all over the country, including Alaska.

After Moody dropped us back at our 5th wheel, we took off on our own to look around. First stop: the renovated Opera House. Built in 1879, Nevada is proud to have one of the two best restored and usable opera houses in the state. It is one of two theaters in Nevada with a horseshoe-shaped balcony; the other is Piper's Opera House in Virginia City. The Opera House was built on the ashes of the old Odd Fellows Hall which was destroyed by the fire of 1879.

The renovated interior of the Opera House.

The storied horseshoe-shaped balcony.

Many famous people have performed here over the years. There is a wall with signed photographs in the basement of the Opera House, and many historic photos as well.

It was 4:55 pm and the local museum was set to close at 5 pm. We were told if we hurried over there, Joyce would be happy to let us look around. So we walked a block over and walked in. Joyce was Miss Hospitality. She welcomed us and showed us around. 

The first room she took us in blew us away. The museum used to be the town newspaper building. When she took us through the door from the gift shop into the interior, it was as if we had stepped back in time. The newspaper office looked like people still worked there. 

A short history of the building: Built in 1870 from locally fired bricks and stone from the Chandler Quarry, this building housed the Eureka Sentinel newspaper until 1960. The construction cost was $10,000. The Eureka Sentinel Museum re-opened in June 1982. The museum includes the original press room and equipment from its newspaper days. Exhibits on the second floor represent early Eureka.

Sentinel Museum.

Joyce then told us we could check out the upstairs as well.

An old-fashioned kitchen, complete with
washing machine.

A school teacher's desk.

Beautiful glassware (with manganese) which 
turns the glass lavender over years of sun exposure.

Joyce came upstairs to see how we were doing. She asked me if I had seen the old washing machine. I told her I hadn't seen it. She showed it to me; I had never seen anything like it. I've seen the old washboard and wringer-type washers, but this was new to me. 

The Lone Star Washing Machine.

A description of the Lone Star Washing Machine.

The three uniforms below are (from left to right):

*Spanish-American War - Troop H, 3rd U.S. Cavalry, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio.

*World War I

*World War II - insignia of the Army Civilian Service

Bob had picked up a self-guided walking tour brochure from the Opera House, so we went walking. 

The mural below is on the side of the 180 Gallery & Gift Shop. It depicts a Basque shepherd. The building itself was built in 1877. It was the Eureka Billiard Hall and Saloon until the 1880s. This was also the headquarters for one of Eureka's biggest charcoal production companies.

The fire department building houses equipment and apparatus to respond to crash/rescue, structure and wildland fires. This is also home to the Eureka Fire Department Museum. Tours are available upon request.

The massive Eureka Fire Department 
and Museum constructed in 2009.

An old door with interesting hinges.

A stunning mural by Erik Burke and Nick D'Auria.

A very unique door.

Charles Lautenschlager Building (1879).

In the photo below is what remains of the Foley-Rickard-Johnson Building (1879). In 1879, M.D. Foley and Richard Rickard built this brick structure which originally was a two-story building. It has been The Remington, a Johnson and Company hardware store, a book and stationery store, a saloon, an assay office, and a Wells Fargo Express office. The upstairs held the Masonic and Odd Fellows Hall. The second story was demolished in 1983 after an earthquake.

Foley-Rickard-Johnson Building (1879).

Can you imagine an outhouse with 
five holes????

An adorable Little Free Library.
(It has children's books in it.)

The photo below shows the only piece of rolling stock in Eureka County left from the Eureka & Palisade Railroad: a crew car. The railroad began in October 1875 when Eureka businessmen formed a railroad company. The narrow gauge railroad was built to haul refined ore from the Eureka smelters 80 miles to Palisade. This is where it connected with the main line of the transcontinental Central Pacific Railroad, 1875-1938.

Eureka Palisade Train Car (1875).

Map of "The Loneliest Road in America."

The Eureka County Courthouse (pictured below) is a modest, Italianate, turn-of-the-century style building. The interior consists of an imported Spanish cedar judge's bench and balustrade with gilded accents throughout. The second-floor courtroom is recognized as the best-preserved in Nevada.

Eureka County Courthouse (1879).

That concludes our walking tour. We headed back to the RV park and had dinner. I promptly fell asleep after we ate and had a lovely 1-1/2 hour nap.

Tomorrow, we will be in Sparks, Nevada. Before we go to our campsite, we have to take our 5th wheel in to have the black tank handle repaired.

We'll see what other adventures tomorrow brings. Good night.