We got a very early start this morning because we thought it might be very hot crossing Utah. It was actually quite cool until 11 am. We saw some very large, black rain clouds and what looked like falling rain. We donned our rain gear, but never got wet. We learned what “rain that never touches the ground” is.

The scenery along I-70 in eastern Utah is desolate and at the same time beautiful. There are mesas skirted by sand and flat valleys covered with the smallest vegetation. All the sharp edges are rounded off by the wind.

This mesa has been named, “Black Dragon.”

There are very few man-made objects besides the highway and the fences. (I would loved to have had the contract to supply hundreds of miles of fence.) Many of the towns are ghost towns. This is Thompson Springs.

When we got to Delta, UT, we put away the rain gear and put on our wet vests. The afternoon temperature was only 87. We continued west on US-50, “The Loneliest Road in America.”

It’s not really lonely, but you do go for miles without seeing another vehicle. The road crosses a basin, rises over a mountain range, and drops into the next basin. The road goes over 17 named mountain passes. The picture above, right is of a salt flat in one of the basins.

We stopped for gas and lunch at the Border Inn at – you guessed it – the Utah/Nevada border. From the border it was just 64 miles to Ely, where we are staying for the night. We are at the Nevada Hotel, which was built in 1929. It’s a great old-time hotel and, of course, a casino.

We covered the 437 miles surprisingly fast and arrived at the hotel in early afternoon. This evening we are going to see fireworks at the country club. Tomorrow we will finish the Loneliest Road and head for Reno.