I love getting/staying off the interstates and driving scenic roads when I travel. And I love that I often have them all to myself! The first one is Highway 229 through Ruby Valley from US 93 to I-80 east of Ely, NV.
Those are the snow-capped Ruby Mountains.
The road in the valley travels through green fields and wetlands.
Rural farms and ranches.
An old barn.
A wetland area with lots of wading birds and dabbling ducks.
Since there was no traffic, I was able to pause for a couple of photos. This is an American Avocet.
And a Black-necked Stilt.
Yellow-headed Blackbird
I had to stop for this Pronghorn Antelope to get out of the way. He took his time and then just stood and looked at me.
In Ely I stopped at the California Trail Interpretive Center for a little while.
It is a wonderful free exhibit. "I saw the elephant" was a common expression in the days of emigration.
The explanation about the elephant.
There are several life-size dioramas depicting the life on the trail.
The Center is located near the west end of the ill-fated Hastings Cutoff, the "shortcut" that resulted in the stranding of the Donner party.
The Hastings cutoff.
The next scenic route I chose was Highway 225 north from Elko to Mountain Home, Idaho. I passed fields with Pronghorn Antelopes and their babies.
I stopped about halfway to camp at Wildhorse Reservoir, hoping to get in some kayaking time. I got a great pull-through site overlooking the water.
But kayaking was not to be. Those clouds ushered in a storm front with high winds and rain.
There were whitecaps on the lake!
The storm was over quickly, and this White Pelican came paddling by.
The sky was pretty in pink just before sunrise.
But more rain was coming. I continued on my route up through Duck Valley Indian Reservation.
This scenic route has a lot of twisting turns, but was quite doable at 25 mph. The road follows the Owyhee River. I did not take this or any pictures because I was too busy driving, but I found this one on the internet.
My advice is to make sure you fill up with gas at Elko, because you will not find a single gas pump between there and Mountain Home, Nevada. I started out with over half a tank and was running below 1/4 when I finally found a gas station.
I found a nice Passport America Park on the Snake River to spend a couple of days to catch up on laundry and blog posts before moving on to more adventures in Oregon.
