Las Vegas to Ely, Highway 93, Nevada

Backroads Destination--Las Vegas to Ely, Highway 93, Nevada

We left Boulder Beach Campground and headed north on Highway 93 to Ely, Nevada.  I was a little concerned since I last drove this road in 1978.  At that time, I went for three hours without seeing another vehicle.  This and the possibility of snow had me considering I-15 as an alternative route.

Several friends recommended 93.  They were right.  It is a great road to drive, with little traffic and plenty of gas stations along the route.  Even more important lots of places to stop.  Unfortunately, for us we are still looking to get to Wenatchee by Tuesday of next week.

We did stop and stretch our legs at several places.  The Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge sign is framed by a desert landscape.  But it is the ponds and marshes that made it a National Wildlife Refuge.  For more information on US Fish and Wildlife land click on this Link.

Rules, rules and more rules.  Ah, for the freedom of BLM and Forest Service lands.  What caught my eye, however, was the no generator requirement.  I have not seen that before, but I suspect it will start showing up more and more in the future.

Click on the picture to enlarge the text so you can read the regulations.  Actually, given that it is Fish and Wildlife managed land it does appear like a small list!  There are nice campsites overlooking the marshes, however, it required doubling back for several miles so we just made a pass.  If you have the time, it definitely looks like a worthwhile stop.  There were several rigs in the sites that we could see from the highway.

Bugaboo was ready to head over to the ponds to visit the beaver, but we decided to turn around and keep heading north.

 The farther north we went the softer and mushier the side roads became.  However, there were a couple of sites that looked interesting.  The Key Pittnam State Wildlife Management Area does not allow camping, but looks like an interesting stop.  More information at their web site:  Key Pittnam Wildlife Management Area.

A few miles off 318 is the Kirch Wildlife Management Area.  It was several miles on a gravel road off in the distance so we did not go there, but there is camping available.  Here is that info:  Kirch Wildlife Mangement Area.  We will have to stop here in the future.

Further on we hit the Humboldt National Forest.  It is very early spring and all the roads leading from the highway were very soft.  So we took a pass.  I hate digging out rigs.

Headed in Ely looking for a place to stop for the night.  The Silver Sage Travel Center just south of town had diesel for the truck, benadryl for Susie's rash, and some neighbors for company!  I guess Ely does not have a Wal-Mart otherwise he would have been in their parking lot!!

Oh, the paved lot has a considerable slope.  Just behind is the gravel lot, but it looked really soft so we and everybody else stayed to the pavement.  Thanks to Sinclair and the Silver Sage Travel Center.