Spencer Hot Springs & Austin, NV

We drove eight hours across the state this weekend on what has been coined "the loneliest road in America." While driving, we had some time to come up with the following list

Our top 3 favorite things about living in NV:

 1. Pristine and vacant hot springs, all over
 2. Free America
 3. No state income tax and free roadside camping tie for third place

(while free roadside camping may seem like a mute point, when you're camping hundreds of miles from any population source, it's such a relief to fall asleep without any fear of an angry rancher or ranger interrupting your sweet dreams)

Our destination was Great Basin National Park on the far east side of NV (which unfortunately did not make it into our top three list). We toured the park and hiked Wheeler Peak but mostly we drove through the desert. Along the drive we saw lots of sagebrush and scrub, wild horses and burros, the occasional scary creature* and small run-down mining towns. The highlight of the trip was soaking in the Spencer hot springs and the nearby town of Austin, NV. Austin is certainly an old and run-down mining town but also very quaint and charming.

 
*Scary creature mentioned above