Day 16: Entering Nevada
Day 16 of the 1933 Harley-Davidson VL cross-country ride started the two-day push across Nevada, with a cold Route 50 crossing, lunch at the Border Inn, and a night at the Ely KOA.
Day 16 Ride Stats
- Date: October 4, 2015
- Start: Butch Cassidy Campground near Salina, Utah
- Finish: Ely KOA campground, Ely, Nevada
- Distance: about 220 miles
- Route: Salina area west on Route 50 / US 50 across western Utah to the Border Inn at the Nevada state line, then on to Ely
- Motorcycles: 1933 Harley-Davidson VL and 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD
- Gas added: 3.092 gallons total
- Oil added: 1 quart total
- Roadside issues: none noted; cold high-desert riding across western Utah
Day 16 Ride Journal
Day 16 was the start of a two-day push across Nevada. For once we were up early and packed before 9:00, so we used the extra hour to eat breakfast with Trip and his family. Then it was time to lay down some miles. Salina was a little more than halfway across Utah, so we still had 160 miles to ride just to reach Nevada. With a bigger-than-usual breakfast filling our stomachs, we planned to ride straight to Nevada, waiting to eat lunch until we had crossed into the “Sagebrush State.” Once again we headed west on Route 50 and settled in for a four-hour ride across the western half of Utah.
The most memorable part of that ride wasn’t the scenery, but the cold. The temperature was only in the 50s, which doesn’t sound that cold unless you are dressed for riding in the 70s. This oversight was due to the naive assumption that we would be riding downhill into a flat broad desert as soon as we neared Nevada. Turns out, we were in what is called “high desert,” which is considerably cooler than your stereotypical hot and dry desert. Neither of us felt much like unpacking our bikes to get to warmer clothes, so we just sucked it up and kept riding.
Like an oasis, the Border Inn lay just across the state line, and after four hours of cold, all I could think about was running inside for a hot meal no matter what was on the menu. Luckily the food was really good, which came as a surprise since we were the only patrons in the restaurant. Seems the big draw is the casino located in the front half of the building. Maybe it wasn’t as fine as the Venetian, but probably it is the nicest one you’ll find within 50 square miles.
From the Border Inn, it was a 60-mile ride to Ely and another KOA campground. I can’t say enough about how great the KOA campgrounds have been. We’ve stayed at KOAs all across the country, and every one has been well maintained with all the amenities you need when camping on a motorcycle. For the second night in a row we were also treated to a nice grass lawn on which to camp.
Just a few steps from the campsite was a great view of the surrounding mountains and sagebrush that Nevada is famous for.
A cold 220 miles put us just inside the Nevada border and less than 600 miles from the coast of California!
