Road Trip Wrap Up and What’s Next for Lex and Neek

Neek sez:

Our epic road trip ended with a surprise from TravelNevada.com!  We finally received our certificate and pins from completing Highway 50 – The Loneliest Road in America challenge.  It was a great wrap up to a long and glorious road trip.

We’re so grateful and happy that you were able to join us on this fun journey with some unexpected surprises like being caught in a freak snowstorm and getting locked up in jail and getting the tastiest grub in the West.Although we didn’t see the actual Mount Rushmore heads, which was the motivation for this road trip we were not disappointed at all.  There was so much to see and explore!

Devils Tower in Wyoming

From seeing Devils Tower to touring a defunct Minuteman Missile Base and beautiful lush waterfalls in Spearfish Canyon to getting 5 cent coffee at a wacky tourist attraction called Wall Drug – the experiences were priceless.

Brideveil Falls in Spearfish Canyon in South Dakota

Potato Creek Johnny at Deadwood

The Minuteman Missile Base in South Dakota

The Beautiful Badlands 

Lex enjoying his 5 cent coffee at Wall Drug

We tried to see Mount Rushmore but Mother Nature had other ideas!

Somewhere out there are the faces of some very famous Presidents

There were some scary moments in our journey such as driving through one of the worst Spring snowstorms in 70 years but we got through it fine.

A freak snowstorm in Wyoming

We found this little guy at a rest stop after the storm had subsided

Our journey also led us to meet with some of the nicest people who were always curious about our Who, What, Why, and from Where?  It was a mutual exchange of questions and answers.

At the start of Highway 50 at the Border Inn

Why I’m from….

At the Eureka Opera House in Eureka, Nevada

The Amazing Emily who invited us inside the magnificent St. Augustine Church in Austin, Nevada

Reno, Nevada was a city of contrasts.  The Reno Playa Art Park was a wonderful beginning to a hopeful future of artistry and creativity among the casinos and neon signs.

Imago by Kirsten Berg and the Circus Circus Casino and Hotel towering over

Virginia City was a place that may be a little on the touristy side but it was a pleasure to visit and we loved learning about the historic figures who had either visited or performed at the Piper’s Opera House.

From Boxing Exhibitions to Shakespeare Readings!

Gold and Silver brought many people to Nevada and California via Highway 49 – The Motherlode Highway.  The little towns along the way were quite isolated but they definitely had a wonderful sense of community spirit and are proud of their heritage.  

In one of the towns, Auburn, we found the massive cement statues built by a self-taught artist and dentist, Dr. Kenneth Fox.  They were featured in a book called “Weird California” and we had been searching them for a while.  It was great to finally see the giant works of art that we had read about for years.  

Our trip was nearly over when we reached Sacramento but first we had to see Old Sacramento and visit Pioneer Park where the original level of the city used to be. 

Creepy enough

We had traveled part of the Pony Express route on Highway 50 so visiting the Hastings Building which was the western terminus of the express seemed fitting.  Sacramento was very important to the development of California as it was the transportation hub between the mines and the other parts of the U.S.

Is that gold for real?

Finally, Lex got to meet his friend Don at Sutter’s Fort.  We saw school kids traveling by horse drawn wagons in their pioneer costumes from Old Sacramento to the fort.  They were excited and I was envious of their lively energy!  Time marches on too quickly.

Love those hats!

We had traveled 3,711 miles and loved every minute of our journey.  We stayed at motels and hotels, ate at restaurants, fast food and even made sandwich lunches in our room to save on time.  Our next adventure will be shorter and take us to the desert.  Hope you will come along with us!

Sar and Neek at Great Basin National Park