It didn’t have to be like this

 

 

We could take interstate highways to get where we want to go.  But we like Highway 50 across Nevada, billed as “The Loneliest Road in America”.  We like it so much we decided to get on Highway 50 at our first opportunity at Salina in the middle of Utah and follow it all the way to the other side of Nevada.  So today we traveled a backroad on our way to the backroad.

 

 

Along the way, we stopped by Great Basin National Park in Nevada.  Been meaning to do this for maybe 20 years.  It was a good idea to check it out.  This place is glorious!

 

 

 

 

We didn’t stay and camp here.  Too cold at night for us at 10,000 feet with no hookups.  But if we had stayed, this would have been our campsite.

 

 

 

 

 

From the highest viewpoint, it looked like this.

 

 

 

We stopped for the night in Ely.

 

2026 Summer Trip Map

 

 

 

 

The Badlands

 

 

Driving west from Green River, Utah.  A hundred miles of desolation.  No food.  No water.  No fuel.  No nothing.  Except scenery.  This was always a highlight of our spring break trips with the kids.  If we were heading west, first night at Green River State Park, and the next morning off across the Badlands, stopping at every viewpoint along the way.  The San Rafael Swell, an ancient uplift creating and exposing geological wonders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2026 Summer Trip Map

 

Ensconced for the night at a wonderful KOA in Fillmore, Utah.  Quiet.  Private.  Shady.  Grassy.

 

 

 

 

 

On the road

 

 

from Colorado through the rich red rock formations of Utah.

 

 

 

 

 

The welcome soft green grass and shade of Green River State Park for the night.

 

2026 Summer Trip Map

 

 

 

 

Sunday

 

 

A late start.  A short day.  Another state.

 

Cortez.  Southwestern Colorado for the night.

 

2026 Summer Trip Map

 

 

This used to be a KOA.  Fifteen or twenty years ago we stayed here so often, we would be greeted like family when we drove in.  Mom, Dad, and two sons running the place.  We’d announce “It’s good to be home.”

 

That was then.  The family we enjoyed so much sold it and moved on.  It’s no longer a KOA.  It’s no longer tip-top.  It’s still in a beautiful setting though.

 

 

Saturday

 

 

Cooler weather.  The low last night was 36 degrees.  We turned on the space heater and stayed toasty all night.

 

2026 Summer Trip Map

 

Tonight, the camping gods smiled upon us.  Navajo Lake State Park.  Cottonwood Campground.

 

 

About as nice a spot as we have ever been in.

 

 

Entertained a visitor at our site.

 

 

And encountered a Bull Snake.

 

 

They kind of like to pretend they’re rattlesnakes, but they’re harmless.  As boy scouts, we would find them along the trail, carry them for a while, then put them back down.

 

Friday

 

 

Lunch with the Albuquerque crew.

 

 

 

That was fun.  Haven’t done this in several years.

 

 

Then off down the highway for a hundred miles to Bluewater Lake State Park.

 

 

2026 Summer Trip Map

 

 

 

 

Pinon Juniper habitat.  This would be the Pinon Pine part.

 

Evening light.

 

Evening light

 

 

 

Last night.

 

 

This rig we saw this morning might be homemade…

 

I like the solar power setup.

 

 

A close-up of a sphinx moth.  Really, they’re not huge, I just wanted to show the detail.

 

They can be seen in the evenings hoovering over flowers like tiny hummingbirds.

 

 

And we’re off to the KOA in Albuquerque.

 

2026 Summer Trip Map

 

For showers, laundry, and a little more evening light.