Originally published in The Green River Observer, October.
The main purpose of this trip was simple: go to Reno NV for an art teacher’s workshop put on by the National Gallery of Art at the Nevada Museum of Art. I was lucky to be elected by the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art as one of ten Utah teachers. I decided to make an adventure out of the trip and drive rather than fly, first to Wendover, then to Reno. At the beginning of my trip I had not yet decided how I would make my return trip.
I was warned that the drive from SLC to Wendover would be boring but I found the barrenness of the salt flats to be interesting. I also saw the Tree of Life, but I found this to be underwhelming. After 4.5 hours of continuous driving I arrived at Montego Bay in Wendover. In Montego Bay everything feels either recently updated or well-maintained. I was happy to see that the entire hotel was decorated with landscape photos, some featuring areas close to home. My only objection was that I was unable to find my favorite slot machines in the 25¢ denomination. I am also perplexed by the existence of high-limit slots in Wendover. Who comes to Wendover to play slots at $100 a credit. In the end I would stay at Montego Bay again, but I would not stay in Wendover again. This is due to the complete lack of activities outside of the amenities offered by the hotel (casino, pool, fitness center).
After driving 5.5 hours to Reno the following day I checked in at the Whitney Peak Hotel. It is likely the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at. Unfortunately I did not have time to use the climbing gym or the sauna.
From the Nevada Art Museum there were three exhibits I will share here. The first being a selection from their permanent collection titled Altered Landscape. The photos depicted how humans have interacted with and changed the world around them. I feel that the current set resonated with me because they were all desert photos. I was also happy to see an original Edward Weston print. Secondly, I was excited to see their Dorothea Lange Exhibit, currently on loan from the National Gallery. Finally the museum had an exhibit consisting of two giant clocks showing how bristlecone pine trees experience time differently than we do. Bristlecone pine trees are the longest living non-clonal organism on earth. I was excited to find out that these ancient trees could be found in Great Basin National Park, a short detour from hwy 50.
After leaving Reno I started my drive eastward on hwy 50 “The Loneliest Road in America” according to Life Magazine in 1986. I was surprised to see that the signs normally warning of deer were replaced with signs warning of wild horses. It was not much later that I saw wild horses along the side of the road and after that I saw wild burros. I wish that I could’ve stopped to photograph them but the shoulder of the road was not wide enough.
Through the drive I was captivated by the white Maynard Dixon style clouds, but around the town of Austin, these were replaced by dark menacing clouds. I stopped briefly in Austin where I photographed an old church and bought a darkroom enlarger from a man who claimed he owns a cabin that Ansel Adams once resided in. Right before I hit Eureka, the dark brooding clouds produced a downpour of hail. I would’ve liked to stop in Eureka, but I decided to continue driving.
After driving through the hail I finally arrived at the Hotel Nevada in Ely. The Hotel Nevada was built in 1929 and was the tallest building in the state at the time. Luckily my room did not show its age. My room, while small, had been recently renovated, was immaculately clean and had modern furnishings.
The next morning I awoke early to make my trip to Great Basin NP. Once there I took my car up 4,000 feet in elevation along the scenic drive. The hike to the Bristlecones was fairly easy, and it would’ve been earlier still if I hadn’t burdened myself with 30lbs of photography equipment. Right as I got my camera ready I pressed the shutter release only to realize that the light had worsened moments before. I decided to wait for the clouds to move before making another exposure.