Twin Falls was a ‘go to’ place on the map and it didn’t disappoint with the amazing waterfalls that tumble into the gorge along which we happily wandered down the footpath that followed the edge on one side. It was a beautiful hot day & the silence was only disturbed by sequential gunfire. This potentially was a little troubling until we discovered it was the local police firearms practice range. 

The other interesting discovery was that this is where the legendary Evil Kinevil attempted some of his bike stunts. I remember as a child the press in the UK coverage of the various stunts attempted by Evil Kinevil so stumbling across this was an unexpected bonus. Scaling the front of the ramp like a mountain goat I realised to my chagrin that I could have easily nipped up the smooth ramp at the back! 

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It was a long drive from here to Ely which involved meandering between state borders to end up in Nevada. We drove into an area where wild fire raged on the hills and the smoke was so thick it blanked out the bright blue sky. It was as fascinating as it was horrific & we did what only British people probably do in the face of such adversity which was to stop & brew some tea!

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It was a touch of the ‘ ground hog ‘ day for me in Ely having stayed there earlier in the year with my daughter as we stopped overnight enroute for Bend that had us turning off at Eureka. Sadly this was too brief a visit to dig for Rubies or ride the ghost train but it was a great place to kick start our bid to survive highway 50 or ‘ the loneliest road’

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Armed with the booklet & a stamp the following day we pointed the van in search of the towns along the route that counted towards our goal. It meant we stopped in some odd places including a casino which we ventured into. With a self imposed limit of $10 we weren’t likely to bankrupt ourselves & for a few minutes we experienced the heady trill of the machines of chance. I lost all mine but hey it was fun & apart from the near confiscation of my phone all was good. 

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Highway 50 is as you can see quite a long & lonely road indeed although to be fair we did travel on some roads that probably could have been considered equally as long & felt a great deal more isolated during our adventure. Still we were on a quest & as the miles rolled we were optimistic that we would get our certificate & badge as planned.

We stopped at one place for a coffee & I was captivated by the small plaque with the John Wayne quote so this was duly purchased & hung in Bertha for the rest of the way. It now adorns my office where I see it daily & it evokes memories of those wide empty spaces.

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It was a long old drive that day & we had only had a rough idea of where the wild camp sites would be at the end. As the stamps amounted in the booklet the light was starting to fade & there was maybe a small concern of where we would park up for the night. 

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