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Nevada

400 miles of highway 50, the Loneliest Road in America so no apologies that it mostly looks like road. Vegas, a silly place. No pics of us - what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Its getting very cold, were knackered, will we make it?

At midday its still in the eighties as we enter Nevada but the mornings are still hard to get up to and the nights are freezing. We entered Nevada at about 8am, it became 9am as soon as we crossed the stateline and timezone. Sunset s now 6.30 and it feels like Summer is definitely behind us.Now that the days are drawing in we walk until the sunset.On the 50 in Nevada there are many opportunities to photograph the 50.The 50.Despite our disclaimer hitching to Vegas was rubbish. Join walkingthestates. Make new friends hitch-hiking on the loneliest road in America.Gary, an ex drag racer, picked us up on the 50 and drove us the 100 miles South to his home in Pioche. Then, as he had nothing else to do, he drove us another 150 miles to Vegas as that was where we were going. Top Man. Imagine that, by the way, thats the same distance as Brighton to Birmingham.We arrived in Vegas on one of the few rainy days ofthe year.Early morning Vegas.Early morning Vegas.
Vegas was an odd place. I couldnt have stood much more than a weekend. The place obsesses with money. I liked the fact that there was torrential rain when we arrived. It gave an interesting view of the city. The rain made it seem much more real and therefore much sadder.In Vegas you could visit New York, Italy and France. This saves Americans huge sums in air fares.Hitching back from Vegas was freezing. We had no luck with rides until we were befriended near the Utah border by a cop who recruited one of his mates to help us just before sunset. That night it froze for the first time on the trip (apart from our nights in the hight mountains.)After a torturously slow hitch, we finally got back to where we stopped walking thanks to a ride from Josh. Josh went 200 miles out of his way to deliver us safely back to the middle of nowhere. Josh is an 18-year-old Mormon getting ready to go on a 2-year -long mission as is customary for young members of the LDS church. Josh, remember to try and cut down on giving the sign of the beast during your mission.The start of 450 miles on Highway 50 in Nevada. Full moon. Long days walking until the last light.We crossed dozens of high passes on the 50. When we camped at these elevations it invariably dropped below freezing and we walked through snow on several occasions.Rare traffic on Americas loneliest highway.Trying to find things to photograph on the 50. Going a bit mad having talked to nobody but him for 3 days.Big wheels ....
People say that Nevada all looks the same. It doesnt. It just all looks remarkably similar.Salt flats, nearing Fallon.Walking into the sunset. Our longest straightaway was over 30 miles before the mountains and the curves.Walking into stormy weather. When the wind blew out of the North Nevada was one of the coldest places I have ever known. This day we both wore as many layers as possible all day long. I wore my balaclava to the surprise of very occasional terrified traffic. Still my shoulders were aching from tensing against the cold all day.Carcass of old car near Middlegate, NV.CND sign next to US air force on the Nevada salt flats, North of Area 51.Jeff, barman at the International Hotel, Austin Nevada. The hotel was an incredible building that had been moved piece by piece from Virginia City in the mid-19th century. The bar itself had been built in England. Austin was a great little town with a lot of character and a lot of history. There had been a bit of trouble earlier that day at the bar and Jeff was showing us the gun he confiscated that afternoon during a fistfight.The International Hotel, Austin, Nevada. This lady stood for election as Town Constable some decades ago (hard to tell/remember exactly when.) This was her campaign picture. She won. Yey.The shoe tree, near Middlegate. Long story - check Stus journal.Along the slat flats of the 50 towards Fallon many people had marked their names with stones. At some point someone had marked a Dave, saving me the trouble.
Another cold morning heading towards the Sierra Nevada and California. That day the headwind was incredibly strong. It was a long, slow day.Through Utah and Nevada we had been missing the sort of hospitality that we had had back in the Mid-West - largely because we had been in such remote places. This began to change as we approached the Sierra Nevada. In Stagecoach we met the fantastic Kelly who put us up for the night and cooked us an amazing dinner. Great dogs too.The very next night when we were looking for a motel in Carson City when Jody came rushing out Toads (a bar) to ask whether we were walking across the country. Fortunately we were so benefitted from Jo and Shawnes unbelievable hospitality. They have both cycled across the US and, like we will on our return, have some hospitality to repay. Hope to see you in SF guys.      

E-mail: stu@walkingthestates.com and dave@walkingthestates.com | Phone: (00 1) 301 538 0308