Leaving Austin (above) we wound our way up and over Austin Summit… a fun ride. As we continued we passed Blackbird Ranch, followed by another Overland Stage Station at Cape Horn. Stopping once again to get baby out of his car seat, we took a break at Hickison Summit where we found the Petroglph’s, well worth a stop. This site is thought to be some 11,000 to 12,000 years old. Both John C. Fremont (1845) and Capt. James Simpson and his survey party (1859) passed through here… the Pony Express would use Simpson’s route beginning in 1860. From Hickison Summit to the town of Eureka is pretty much a straight run. Keeping a steady 75-mph, and with help of a slight tailwind, the 109" managed 14.5-mpg! In Eureka we checked in at the Best Western, it was nearly empty and very quiet. We asked the lady at the front desk, "where is the best place to eat?" She sent us to the Chinese-American restaurant across the street. I must say, it was the worse meal I’d ever eaten in Nevada. The steak still had marks where the jockey had been whipping it! I’d hazard to guess that business was slow, and when I asked for the T-bone, they put a frozen one on the grill, hence it was cooked outside and near frozen inside.   Other than that, Eureka is another must see town.         

    Below: Looking east into the town of Eureka, NV.

 Below: Eureka's famous Opera House.

Eureka's First House... from 1864

Wednesday morning we made an attempt at visiting the local museum, but it was closed. Headed east once again our plan was to see a few ghost towns before we hit Ely. We had read about Belmont Mill, Hamilton, Treasure City, Shermantown and Eberhardt in our ghost town book, and looked forward to a day of site seeing Nevada style. We stopped briefly at the Hamilton Historical Marker then headed southwest some 10 miles on a bladed dirt road. Two miles short of Hamilton we ran into snow on a north-face and were unable to proceed any further. We were a bit disappointed, but it gave us a reason for another trip.