We have been taking the backroads - the Blue Highways - and finding remote spots with not too many people around, which has been quite awesome. But with that comes not much cell service and so not a lot of opportunity to keep this blog up to date.

Valley ranch and tumbleweed collection site

Well and then we hooked up with Clint, the old family friend I mentioned earlier, and we’ve been having a wonderful time visiting, hiking and dining on camp food, and all of this pretty much precludes getting much done on the computer. But I do want to share some of what we’ve been up to since I last updated this site.

Fall colors in Great Basin National Park

One of the things I’ve had in mind was, “Who Knew?” We drove through central Nevada to get here and I always thought Nevada was sand and tumbleweeds with the occasional casino breaking up the monotony. But holy cow - there is some real beauty in Nevada: snow capped mountains, forests, huge valleys - Who knew??? (And well, full disclosure - I guess I knew because Shannon and I discovered this for ourselves when we drove through in 2023. But still - we didn’t know then).

A site that was once a Pony Express station

So Eric and I went through in such a way that he could live it and I could re-live it. And although we would ultimately be heading to Great Basin National Park in the Southeastern part of Nevada, we first headed west from Elko, so we could then head south and get on US-50, “America’s Loneliest Highway” for a stretch, before hitting Ely and heading south from there.

America’s Loneliest Highway wasn’t all that lonely this time around…

But there was lots of fun and gorgeous scenery in Nevada, and Great Basin NP.

So, “Who knows? You know!!”

We hooked up with Clint late on Tuesday afternoon and slept near the access road to Alstrom Point which was our first group destination. Among other things, Clint is a big fan of classic movies, including the original Planet of The Apes series, a lot of which was filmed near Alstrom Point. That place is worth a look if you have the means. High clearance and four-wheel-drive is pretty much the only way to get there, unless you have a dirt bike or a side-by-side. We were delighted to find a spot overlooking Lake Powell and had it all to ourselves for two nights.

Lake Powell, just below Alstrom Point, is where Charlton Heston’s space ship crashed in the beginning of Planet of the Apes

Imagine Clint’s surprise when he came back from a late afternoon hike to find we had set up an outdoor movie theater (complete with fresh buttered popcorn, candy and soda) to watch one of his favorite movies, right there where it was shot nearly six decades ago.

Three chilly movie viewers watch the opening scene of Planet of the Apes

I am now sitting at White Pocket, another back-country location that also requires high clearance four-wheel-drive (and I’m surprised to have a good cell signal here). We have been hiking all over this alien landscape for the last two days, snapping a million photos that will never quite do it justice.

But we try…

Offroad and Offline

Making Our Way Through Oregon