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Points 7-8
7. AustinBare, bold mountains and sagebrush desert characterize the remote stretch of Rte. 50 that leads onward to Austin. Although this area may appear lifeless, the relative stillness is broken by such animals as snakes, lizards, coyotes, and jackrabbits -- all more active by night than during the day. Flying above, however, are some of the more conspicuous denizens of the desert, including ravens, hawks, eagles, and occasionally, flocks of horned larks.
Historic Austin, with views of the Toiyabe Range, was another of Nevada's silver mining boomtowns. It sprang up in 1862 and quickly became one of the state's most populated areas. Unlike many mining towns that went bust before soundly constructed buildings could be erected, Austin offers a number of surviving structures, including lovely early churches. Three pioneer sanctuaries, their bricks stacked high against the sweep of sky, make the town a welcoming, historical sight. And just outside town, down a twisting canyon road, lies a huge stone fortress, Stokes Castle, the fanciful creation of a mining baron.
8. Eureka
The road out of Austin soon climbs to Austin Summit, a pass perched at an elevation of 7,484 feet. To the southeast rises Hickison Summit, where visitors can picnic on the lower slopes and enjoy views and petroglyphs. Antelope Peak and Summit Mountain punctuate the eastern horizon, both more than 10,000 feet high. Continuing on to Eureka, you'll feel your engine alternately strain and sigh as Rte. 50 crosses ridge after ridge.
Eureka itself, nestled in a valley among these peaks, is one of the state's best-preserved mining towns. Its buildings, made with bricks to avoid the fires that had ravaged earlier wooden structures, include an old newspaper office (now a museum), an 1880s opera house, and a well-restored courthouse that is still in use.
9. Ely
After a 77-mile drive past grazing grounds -- more peaks and sage-covered valleys -- the drive enters Ely, a onetime mining center. Here, though, copper was the treasure, and an amazing 22,000 tons of ore per day were scooped from the ground. Like the silver lodes to the west, however, copper is no longer mined here.
Stop at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, one of the most complete of its kind. Antique locomotives, passenger cars, and offices are on display. The trains set out on regularly scheduled tours-a pleasant way to conclude a visit to the Loneliest Road in America.
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