Last August, the Family E departed Reno on a journey of exploration, hoping to discover Nevada. They started on Hawthorne, went on to Bodie California, then back into Nevada to Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park and Ione, where they stayed overnight. Then Caliente, Pioche, Ely and home again via US 50. Here are their impressions:

Connor & Davis Discover Nevada At the bar in Ione: Davis: "The trailer smelled like dust but the beds were the softest of anywhere we went." Connor: "This is the first time I've seen a Buffalo up close. The mound of poo is bigger than our garage."

Incredible scenery, I was expecting Nevada desert, rocks and sagebrush. Everywhere we went was green.

Henry Wong's Chinese fast food in Hawthorne is great. So is the clinic that's open on Sunday. I'm not being sarcastic here, the food is good and I was coming down with the flu.

Bodie is incredible. I thought a ghost town would be boring but when you are standing there and you look at the remoteness you really get the feeling of what living there was like. It is a must-see for anyone who is close to Mono Lake, going to Hawthorne, or a photographer.

Ione, Ione, Ione. This is without a doubt the quietest spot on earth. No cars, no trains, no ambulances, no planes, not even a coyote. It reminds me of a mirage in the desert. This would be a great place to camp, and my tent is cleaner than Fly's trailer. $50.00 a night and don't use the shower. But the beds are to die for. The bed plus the quiet made up for everything else.

Belmont has a B&B that is spectacular. Fly told us to go check it out because it was completely restored and all authentic. I blew up a roll of film inside this place. I can't think of a better place to meet 3 other couples and spend a couple of days riding the stagecoach, mountain biking and just exploring.

Connor & Davis Discover Nevada At the Mining Park, Tonopah

Everywhere we went in Tonopah things were closed (even the public pool), or in a state of disrepair. All this place has going for it is that it's halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. You can't even wash your car in Tonopah.

Caliente was really a pleasant surprise. The Tonopah Chamber of Commerce folks should get on a bus and go to Caliente. This place was clean as a whistle, the buildings are all painted (even the old houses in the old neighborhoods), the people were friendly, and yes, you can wash your car there. We stayed in one of the old cabins with the hot tubs and it was neat as a pin. The lady running the place even offered to do our laundry.

The road from Caliente to Baker (via Panaca and Pioche) was especially pretty and interesting. Lots of great scenery and interesting pavement, NDOT did a great job designing this one. We had lunch in Pioche and it reminded me of a miniature Virginia City without all the tourist crap. I can't imagine what winter is like in Pioche.

Baker fooled me. I thought we were actually staying in Baker but couldn't find the motel anywhere. The Border Inn is actually in Border, not Baker. Yeah, the Border Inn is really a bunch of modular homes, and yeah they're on the Utah/Nevada line in the middle of the highway. But they were clean and it was the best tailgating we ever did.

Mt.Wheeler and Great Basin National Park are absolute must-sees. The drive up the mountain to the hiking station is jaw-dropping. We did the short hike to Bristlecone and it was amazing. Another photographer's dream.

Lehman Caves was another really pleasant surprise. I thought … a cave big deal. This is another jaw dropper. We only had about 7 people on our tour so the Ranger gave us the special treatment. The old stories and the visual images are unbelievable. This is the coolest thing I have ever seen in my State (yeah, even better than Slide Mountain and Wheeler Peak).

Area 51 and Rachel are about 1/3 as neat as the Extraterrestrial highway. Tourism and hype have taken over the area and there is no Ale at the Ale-e-in. Fun to see once, but a real non-event compared to the natural wonders getting there.

Ely was a blast, due in part to the hospitality of the folks at the Hotel Nevada. We had reserved the Kennecott suite and I told them that it was my wife's birthday (she's an Ely girl) so they comped the room. Pretty cool. The suite was like going to Las Vegas compared to Fly's trailer in Ione. Big screen TV, hot tub, separate bedrooms, it was the best. I only tell my close friends about this because I want it to be the best kept secret in Ely. We explored my wife's old stomping grounds, schools, had a soda at the soda fountain downtown and went to the train station. We drove up to McGill looking for the soda fountain and the swimming hole and couldn't find either one. I guess we're just city folks.

Hwy.50 is the best, the views are spectacular and you can go 85 miles an hour. We had thought about staying in Austin, but decided to head for home instead.

Home