US 50 -- September 2007

[mlisbo]

Greetings America from England

Myself and 10 friends are riding hogs (hired in DC) from Washington to LA next September and I wondered if anyone could advise some places of interest to see and maybe stay along the route. Or if anyone has any good suggestions/websites etc we could look at.

Have heard about an "airplane graveyard in Nevada?" , that is something like the unusual we are looking for.

Oh and by the way its all males on the roadtrip.

Look forward to your replies.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

US-50 is a interesting route, in that it really does bisect the country. Espcially in the west, where it goes through the many small towns of the prairie, and then into the heart of the Colorado Rockies, near some of the spectacular National Parks in Utah, and then becomes the "lonliest road" as it runs through Nevada.

Are you planning to stick to US-50 all the way to California, and then cut south to LA, or is US-50 just one of the routes you are planning to use to cross the country? I have only driven sections of the route, but putting "US-50" into the forum's search feature will likely get you some more detailed information about what is along the route.

I'm not familiar with an airplane graveyard in Nevada. The closest thing I can think of is the Boneyard in Tucson, AZ, where the US Air Force stores most of its old/unused/decommissioned planes.

[Robert Schaller]

I can't say for certain there isn't an aircraft boneyard in Nevada, but if there is I have never heard about it, and I probably would have as I have been an aviation enthusiast for over 50 years.

The Davis-Monthan AFB boneyard (AMARC) has not generally been open to the public, but tours are reportedly now available through the nearby Pima Air Museum, which also has a large collection of aircraft, large and small including some "one of a kinds," lots of old round-motored heavies including an "Air Force One" that Kennedy used and some very rare jet-age aircraft (including a Blackbird). For Pima, try this link. I had trouble getting their site to load today, but I think this may be a temporary problem. If it doesn't work for you, you could search for Pima Air Museum and come up with lots of other links with information.

This is nowhere near US50 or Nevada though.

[W. Larrison]

There are also a couple of aircraft boneyards not too far from your route in California.

There's one at the California Air Logistics Airport (on the north side of the Victorville Airport) near where 395 comes south into Victorville (north of LA, north of San Bernadino). There's somewhere around 100 obsolete commercial jets on the north end of the airport. If you're coming into California via 50, you'd have to come south via Bishop and the Death Valley area to go here.

There's another at the Mojave airport in Mojave, California with another 100 or so obsolete commercial jets. The Mojave airport is off of CA-14 north of Edwards Air Force Base (north of Palmdale California). There are also sometimes a bunch of other interesting planes at this site -- commercially owned ex-military jets, including a Mig-29, and there's a commercial high performance jet training company that offers training in some surplus supersonic jets as well. It's also the home of Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, which has made such aircraft as SpaceShipOne which recently won the X-Prize. If you come into California via I-15 you can reach this either from 395 (veerings west on 178), or from I-5 or I-99 by taking I-58 east from Bakersfield, and then entering LA via the 14 freeway through Palmdale.

[mlisbo]

OK so everyone answers on the airplanes but is that all anyone recommends on a trip of 2400+ miles, their must be other interesting places as we pass Civil War areas and The Old West towns etc. I asked for ideas as well as mentioning the planes and it must be the one in Az that I had heard of, I think it featured in the movie SWAT.

Is Sept a good month to ride coast to coast?

We may ride to Vegas and just stop their and call it quits, do you think we would feel regretful later that we never made the full crossing or is it enough to get there?

We reallly appreciate any help as US 50 seems to have little website detail unlike 66 does for any help and ideas, anyone rode it?

[Midwest Michael]

Sorry, but I'm a little confused. You say you want to take US-50 all the way across but you are talking about going to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

You do realize that US-50 is several hundred miles from either city, right?

September is an ideal time to cross the country, but as far as regretting stopping in one place or the other, that's going to depend upon your goals. If you want to drive from Ocean to Ocean, then stopping a couple hundred miles short will probably be something you regret, but if you're just looking for an enjoyable ride, then there is nothing wrong with ending your trip in Las Vegas.

I don't know of any dedicated route 50 sites off hand, but again, it has been discussed on the forum on more than one occation before, again, if you dig around with the search function, I think you'll find at least a few more ideas to get you started.

[AZBuck]

As others have pointed out, US-50 is an interesting route across the heart of the US. It hits a few large cities, such as Washington, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Kansas City, but for the most part you will be travelling through wide open (and often scenic) spaces. The highlights of such a trip will depend on the individual, but the places you ought to be looking into are DC, the Appalachian Mts (Blue Ridge and caves), the Ohio River Valley (OH-7 and US-52 from Parkersburg, WV to Cincinnati would make a great detour), St. Louis and KC (blues and BBQ), the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Arches National Park. Then, if you're going to continue on US-50, be sure to take in Lake Tahoe and Virginia City before finishing up in San Francisco. Or if you want to hit Las Vegas and Los Angeles, use I-15 instead and take in those cities as well as the Mojave Desert.

Here is a short slideshow of views taken a Arches National Park by RTA's Gerald Thurman and here is a field report during a visit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

AZBuck

[Robert Schaller]

One of the things I really enjoy about US50 across Nevada is its remoteness. The highway crosses several mountain passes and valleys in sequence, and as you drop down one grade into the valley below, you can see 15 to 20 miles across to the next uphill -- with the highway stretching across the intervening land like a black ribbon. I'm a westerner through and through, so seeing horizon to horizon for miles on a clear day is something I live for (and treasure). The middle of Nevada is a place where you can get a feel for the expansiveness of the American West. If that appeals to you, then US50 will be a good choice.

Additional stops, if you are interested in history, Old Bent's Fort (CO) the Kit Carson Museum (Las Animas, CO), Dodge City, KS and Oregon Trail (& Pony Express) sites in the Kansas City area. The Santa Fe Trail parallels part of this route for a distance, so you will also see some markers for that. In the bottomlands just west of St Louis along the Missouri River, you will find a number of wineries, if that interests you (State Route 100 would be a good detour for those). In Indiana, about 38 miles south of your route you'll find Lincoln State Park, which is where our 16th President grew up and where his mother is buried. That's about as far as I've been on this highway -- but with this and the other suggestions, you should have a good start.Bob

[Quebec Gen]

One of the things I really enjoy about US50 across Nevada is its remoteness. [...] The middle of Nevada is a place where you can get a feel for the expansiveness of the American West. If that appeals to you, then US50 will be a good choice.

I agree with Bob, US 50 through western Utah and Nevada is one of my favourite drives. Attractions along the way include Little Sahara Recreation Area which is very impressive with its large sand dunes. It is a great place to ride ATV's and do some wild off-road driving if that's your thing. At some point between Delta, UT and the Nevada border, you'll pass Sevier Lake on your left. There are several trails that lead to that dry lake which can be fun to explore. Just be careful not to actually drive with a regular vehicle on the lake bed because you might get stuck in the mud.

In eastern Nevada, check out Great Basin NP and the Ward Charcoal Ovens. In Ely, stop by the historic Hotel Nevada and ask the staff to tell you about their famous guests and about the town's history.

My favourite stop along this stretch of the loneliest road is the Spencer Hot Springs, a couple of miles east of Austin. At the junction of SR376, take a left (south), drive about a quarter mile to the historical marker and turn left again on a dirt road. There are several junctions after that but after about 5 miles, you'll notice a hill on your left. Head to that direction and you'll eventually find one of the "pools". It's absolutely free and deserted most of the time.

In Austin, stop by the International Café for a tasty burger and fries. As you approach Fallon, pay attention to all the "roadside art" and "graffitis" people made in the sand or out of rocks. East of Fallon, you'll find the Middlegate Shoe Tree and Sand Mountain, another recreation area quite similar to the above mentionned Little Sahara.

Have fun!
Gen

[mlisbo]

Guys thanks for your replies and your suggetsions are just what we need for this as we plan to see the less well known in the UK sites en route.

The original confusion over I-50 is ours, the hire Company suggested 50 all the way to the West then head North and finish in Vegas, we wrongly assumed I-50 headed North but it don't as we found out.