Pioche, Panaca, and Cathedral Gorge, Nevada.
Not too much today. Perhaps I should have actually headed out today, but having decided to stay an additional day, I took it easy.
After mapping the next couple of steps of my trip after leaving tomorrow, I headed to Pioche, Nevada, about 90 miles from here (Cedar City), along the long and empty route 56 west, which after a while turns into Nevada route 319 and passes through the Mojave Desert, arriving at Panaca, Nevada, which seems to have one general store and a post office, and not much else. I even, very classically, saw tumbleweed blowing across the desert highway, but wasn’t able to get a photo.
At Panaca, make a right onto highway 93 heading north, and you’re just 12 miles from Pioche, an old mining and cowboy town, looking very much as it must have in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, and even earlier, much as DeLynn had said (which is why I picked this town to visit today), with its main street (there is only a single main street, actually) buildings dating back to the 1870s-1890s.
Unlike, Bisbee, Arizona, which also dates back, with a real retro feel, or even Jerome, Arizona, which has tried to rehabilitate and make itself interesting, Pioche has no charm or eccentricities, or hipness, and makes no effort. After all, it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Why bother? It’s a worn out and run down, one-horse (or one-truck) town in the middle of the desert, close to nothing and en route to nowhere, although the Great Basin National park is only about 110 miles north.
I didn’t stick around too long, although there was a pretty run down Pioche museum on the main street, and headed back to Cedar City. I did consider traveling the extra 110 miles west to Rachel, Nevada, the “center” (so to speak) of the so called Extraterrestrial Highway (Nevada route 375) that runs along the famous Area 51.
But, Rachel has a census of about 48, and the area is as desolate, and possibly even more so, than where I was at the moment, so decided that it would be pointless to really take the journey, other than as a novelty trip and an opportunity to take photos (of the desert, no doubt, and probably some cute signposts and maybe a store or two in Rachel, etc.). It would also involve a 180 mile drive back to Cedar City.
So, instead, I headed back to Arizona, stopping to take a look at Cathedral Gorge, between Pioche and Panaca, designated a state park in 1935. It is desolate and beautiful, and pretty large, with walking trails and camping sites.
I’m so used to driving long distances nowadays, that the 180 mile round trip to Pioche seemed fine, and I enjoyed racing along route 319/56 at 85 mph; after all, no-one else was on the narrow highway passing through the barren desert. That is, until a state trooper going the other way flashed his red and blue lights at me, although never turned around to ticket me, I suppose figuring here’s another cowboy traveling too fast on this state road. After that, I travelled around 70 on this 65 mph road, all the way back to Cedar City. A reminder that there are police around here. 😊
I took care of some stuff, like laundry and a little shopping, and then took a 2 mile hike just outside of Cedar City, part of a system of local trails, including a paved biking and walking trail. I hiked the Red Hollow/Thor’s Hideout Trailhead, designated a moderate stress trail because of its constant uphill path through rocky terrain, reaching an elevation of about 6500 feet where I stopped. Beautiful views all around. I was going to wear my sandals, but relented and wore hiking shoes, and good thing too.
Back to DeLynn and Maggie for my last night, and prepared to leave tomorrow, having decided to head back to Denver to visit with Shikha again, as well as a couple of other friends, and will spend a few days in Boulder, before heading back into Utah to visit a couple more friends near the Salt Lake City area.
I’ll be taking the longer but more scenic route through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, spending tomorrow night in Green River, Utah, about halfway to Denver.