 DAY NINE: Fallon to Middlegate StationMiles: 49 (348) • Start elevation: 3900 ft. • Ending elevation: 4000 ft. • Temp. 86F
Fallon is home to the well known U.S. Navy's "Top Gun" flight training program. Leaving town on US 50 was like biking directly into the Navy's training course as the pilots accelerated directly over us while performing their training missions. I have to admit that it was pretty exciting to see—and to hear!
About ten miles out of town on the north side of the road we came to Grimes Point Archaeological Site. This area claims ancient archaeological discoveries from thousands of years ago, particularly art work and petroglyphs from ancient residents of this region. There's a hiking trail which leads to the rock walls and caves which display some of these findings. We enjoyed the shade of the gazebo.
The landscape was really opening up as vast salt flats lay on either side of the road, with massive mountain ridges on every side that appeared to jut upward out of the flat plain, forming a giant bowl. It was impressive. Then on the left we could begin to see Sand Mountain. This huge mound is made up entirely of naturally occuring white sand and features wonderfully gentle whisps and shapes as it is continually being sculpted by the wind. I'm amazed that Nevada has an off-road vehicle course on the mountain permitting dune buggies and the sort to operate on its sandy slopes.
After two modest climbs (Sand Springs Pass - 4638 ft. and Drumm Summit - 4630 ft.), that were really just an introduction to the remaining eleven more major summits that we would ascend as we continued across Nevada, we could see what looked like an oasis in the middle of the desert. It was the old Pony Express stop, Middlegate Station. When you pull up to the hitching post outside the main building, you suddenly feel as if you've been transported back in time to the old west. There's an old Surry and a clapboard wagon parked out front—there owners presumably inside picking up supplies for the ranch. Then, when you push the door open and step inside and see the old wood-hewn bar and hand-cut oak floor, walls and ceiling, you realize that you really are in another century. This place has character coming out of the walls, as there are old photos and memorabilia covering nearly every square inch of space—on the ceiling too! It was early afternoon, so Paul and I were ready for some refreshment. We took a look at the menu and discovered that they serve up a mean veggie burger, so that's what I ordered. We sat out on the porch and enjoyed our food, watching some guys from the Naval Base play horseshoes. After lunch we talked with George for quite awhile, a motorcyclist from the UK who was touring the U.S. on his Triumph bike. We then rented one of the half-dozen motel rooms, when up rides three more cycle tourists heading in from the east. They were Nathan and Kyle? (about 21 years old) from Bloomington, Indiana, and Brendon (25 years old) from Boston. They looked well-weathered and road weary, sporting fairly scruffy beards. There trip was winding down as they were on there way to San Francisco.
The motel room was small, with two beds and not much other space, but it was meticulously kept. We kept our bikes out on the front porch. The shower was oh-so refreshing, and afterward, it was time to eat again. This time we opted to cook behind the main building under the cottonwood trees and on a picnic table. Lentiles and pasta were on our menu this evening, and it served up just fine.
You can view the photo album here. |
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