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 A Tale of Two Highways — Beowawe, NV Posted by:  Volcanoguy
N 40° 40.875 W 116° 28.769
11T E 543986 N 4503504
History sign at the Beowawe Rest Area.
Waymark Code: WMX0CA
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 11/07/2017
Views: 1
History sign at the Beowawe Rest Area on I-80 between Battle Mountain and Carlin, Nevada.
Marker Title (required): A Tale of Two Highways
Marker Text (required):
You have arrived at this place by driving east on Interstate Highway 80. Did you know that since entering Nevada you have been traveling along the route of the historic California Trail? From 1843 to 1869, an estimated 250,000 people made the trek from the Missouri River to California on a rutted, dusty road that was a dramatic contrast to today’s high-speed freeway.
The California Trail began at the Missouri River and crossed the future states of Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada before reaching California. The distance was approximately 2,000 miles. The California Trail was the major travel route to the West until the Pacific Railroad was completed in 1869.
Only a few hours of driving time has brought you from Reno or Carson City in western Nevada to this point. For a California emigrant, the same distance took over two weeks of walking in the heat and dust of August and September and upon reaching the Sierra Nevada mountains, they still had 150 miles of walking and climbing before they would reach their destination, central and northern California.
As you travel east, you will parallel the California Trail from here to Wells, Nevada — about 90 miles, or six days of emigrant travel. From Wells, the trail turns northeast into Idaho and does not rejoin Interstate 80 until Fort Bridger, Wyoming. As you travel on, consider what you would experience in the miles you see from your car window if you were walking through uninhabited country with worn out boots, tattered clothes, tired livestock, and scant food supplies.
County (required): Eureka
Marker Type (required): Other (describe below)
Other Marker Type (optional): Fiberglass
Is Marker Damaged? (required): No
Other Damage Type (optional): NA
Marker Number (If official State Marker from NV SHPO website above, otherwise leave blank): Not Listed
URL - Website (optional): Not listed
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