DAY THIRTEEN – TOELLE, UT TO ELY, NV

I slept in a little this morning… got myself going… and came across a historic mill, which of course was closed. I still got a few pictures. I really would’ve liked to walk around it because it looked super nice. Then I saw the Donner Museum—except without my glasses on, I thought it was the Donna Reed Museum for a hot second. In my defense, we did pass her hometown and museum earlier in the trip. I laughed myself silly for that one. That one was closed too… not that I had any desire to go in.

Back when I first watched the the seven‑and‑a‑half‑hour YouTube video, one of the parts that really intrigued me was when Noah, the blogger, took the original 1913 route through a place called Skull Valley. Because he was going from California to New York, he went through the back side of a highway rest area, followed a dirt road straight into the desert and the Dugway Proving Ground, and told the story of the 1968 VX nerve‑agent test that went wrong. A cloud drifted into Skull Valley and killed more than six thousand sheep almost instantly. Ranchers found entire herds collapsed in the desert. It is one of the most infamous chemical‑testing accidents in U.S. history, and it is directly tied to that stretch of land we drove through today.

I knew I had to tackle this off‑road challenge, so I spent seven hours making turn‑by‑turn directions for this portion of the trip, carefully ensuring every turn was perfect and screen shot the Lincoln Highway maps with highlighted arrows. But Skull Valley comes with one rule: if it rains, you do not go. The dirt roads turn into alkali mud — the kind that behaves like wet pottery clay. When it is dry, it feels like concrete… but when it is wet, tires do not roll, they sink. Traction drops to nothing. Even 4WD vehicles get stuck within feet. The mud cakes onto the tires until they are basically smooth discs, and you cannot steer, you cannot brake, you cannot climb even the smallest hill. It is the same reason the Bonneville Salt Flats close after storms — the ground becomes a soft, saturated layer that can swallow a vehicle up to its axles. Out here, if rain shows up, you stay on the interstate.

So today came with a final decision as we headed west on I‑80. Yes… we had to go on I‑80. There was no choice. That is simply where the alignment brings you. I double and triple-checked the weather, and there had been rain yesterday. So … as Julia ROberts once said, I’m a safety girl…

So much to my disappointment, we followed the third‑generation alignment and headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats instead. But honestly… still amazing. As excited as I was to drive Skull Valley, and trust me, I really was, it was the right call.

As we drove, we came upon the Tree of Utah, and as I got out of the car to take a picture, my decision not to take Skull Valley was confirmed. The salt flats were slippery as hell. The Tree of Utah is an art installation—an 87‑foot concrete sculpture I knew we’d pass. I pulled over to see it. I stepped onto the salt… and I’m grateful I didn’t fall. The salt was extraordinarily slippery, with rain puddles everywhere.

Our stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats rest area was actually really cool. We walked out quite a bit onto the flats. It feels otherworldly… surrounded by beautiful mountains. Hunter and I took a bunch of pictures. I bent down to pick up a piece of the crust and asked Hunter if he wanted to touch it. The next thing I heard was “yummy.” I have nothing for you.

We then saw a sign for the actual international raceway, and I asked Hunter if he wanted to check it out. With an affirmative, we took the one‑mile detour. It’s very unassuming… just one sign… but we saw a tire marks the whole way there. But the salt was incredibly wet. The rest area had been dry… but the raceway was soaked. A tour guide happened to be there, and I asked why it was so wet. She said the raceway area is flatter, so water accumulates, whereas the rest area has more ridges and foot traffic, so it absorbs better. Really cool. I’m going to try to preserve the piece of crust. AI suggested clear acrylic spray. I have four days left… we’ll see.

As we made our way down toward the rest area where we should have come out, we finally saw wild horses. We were going too fast to stop for pictures, but still… awesome.

We pulled into the Shellbourne rest area and I took pictures of where we would’ve emerged from Skull Valley. I know we did the right thing… and seeing the salt flats was incredible… but it still hurts. The Shellbourne area was great—they have a kiosk with Pony Express information, even though the station remnants are gone.

We arrived in McGill and stopped at the McGill Pharmacy, which I knew would be closed today. The pharmacist passed away in the late 1970s, and his wife kept the store going for a few years until she finally closed it in the early 1980s. When she left, she didn’t pack anything up — she simply turned off the lights and walked out.

Today it’s the McGill Drugstore Museum, and everything inside is exactly where it was left: the prescription logs, the makeup, the candy boxes, the toys, the cough syrups, the pharmacy equipment… all of it sitting untouched for forty years. It looks like the pharmacist stepped out for lunch and never came back, and it’s one of the strangest, coolest time capsules on the entire Lincoln Highway.We peeked in the windows. One day I’m going to get arrested…

And then finally… Ely.

We first stopped at the White Pine Museum, where we got our Loneliest Road passport stamped. The museum is known for the skeleton of a cave bear, but it also has a Lincoln Highway display and some really cool local artifacts—like typewriters that were unbelievably beautiful. We also got our first Loneliest Road Passport Stamp… more on this tomorrow.

We drove up to the Renaissance Village. They use “Renaissance” to mean “revitalize,” but they’ve kept the town’s history alive. Apparently, many cultures settled here, and each house represents one—Basque, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Irish, Asian, Slavic, English, and some I may have missed… Unfortunately, It’s only open on Fridays and Saturdays to enter the houses, but we could roam the grounds. It was so adorable.

Then we went over to the train museum. It’s a working rail yard, and we went into the repair shop where a man gave us an unexpected, wonderful tour. He explained all the trains they’re currently repairing. Hunter lasted about twenty minutes. The place is huge—something like 37 acres—and truly fabulous. You could spend an entire day there.

We walked around town, looked at murals the town is known for…

But there also these really gorgous tiles in the sidewalk and the planters had designs and words on them. And then I found a mural that was captioned, “Where the World Met and Became One” … and suddenly everything clicked. The Renaissance Village… the sidewalk tiles… the planters around the trees with different languages saying “welcome” or “hello” or “cheers”… the community really is a patchwork quilt of all these nationalities living here, and they celebrate it!

I found a small shop called This and That and instantly fell in love with it. Had a whole conversation with the owner.

We went to an early dinner at The Jail Cell. In front of the server, I told Hunter, “Do not ask… it’s not on the menu.” And immediately he said, “Excuse me… do you have spaghetti?” She said, “I can get you spaghetti,” then instantly realized what she’d done and said, “Unless it’s—” and before she finished, I burst out laughing. “Well it’s too late now…” and we all cracked up. She was so sweet. she had them make the plate across the street at their sister restaurant. And remember the shop owner? She’s her niece. And the spaghetti sauce… I dare say, the closest to mine I have ever had. It was delicious (yes, I tasted). Oh, and my dinner… sincerely delicious! And did I mention we ate in a jail cell???

And then we were on our final mission of the night. Hunter had a $20 bill burning a hole in his pocket… and he was going to play the slots. And play he did! After getting bored fairly quickly on the penny slots (he had wanted to pull the lever) and after cashing out around $7.00 the most wonderful hostess at our hotel moved us to the bar (where mama got two free drinks) and she taught him Caveman Keno. At one point he was up to over $35! When I told him that he was running out of credits he goes, “I get more credits!” The bartender and I shared a laugh when I said, and now we have a problem and Hunter responded, “we have a problem.” He cashed out at $17.90! We then bought a $35 shirt, so ya know… math.