How hot? Dry heat or humid heat? I have a jet black dog that will be traveling with me, and he gets extremely hot within minutes in the direct sun. Just trying to be as prepared as possible for this trip.

 

I've done the drive you speak of four times, it is absolutely awsome. Vacant, sureal, vast, extremely wide open, beautiful; it's got to be one of my all time favorite drives(one of these days I'm going to do that drive via motorcycle). Services are few and far between(that's part of what makes it fun), if you fill up/buy food in Fallon you will easily make it to Ely then maybe top off your tank in Richfeild, Utah; Moab will be a breeze from there. There are a ton of interesting, maybe a bit weird sites along the way, like the tree with about a million pairs of shoes hanging from it or watching the Navy fighter jets practice dog fighting moves. The last time I drove US route 50(a year ago)I was driving a loaded Toyota Tacoma towing a loaded motorcyle trailer(that's pushing one of those trucks) and had no problems with the hills at all. I say go for it, I think you'll thoroughly enjoy the drive.

 

Mechanos ... are you traveling it when it'll be dark? There's range cattle out there. If so, just put the dotted line right down the middle.

I personally like the ride, great mountain views.

 

No, I'll be traveling it during the day. Depending on what kind of time I'm making (i.e. that is how much stopping and piddling around I do) I might just find someplace along the route to pull over and pitch a tent for the night. However, my current plan is to make it to the east side of Ely by nightfall and camp overnight at the State Park there.

 

try this
http://www.highway50.com/history.htm

here's a good line
US 50 follows roughly the path of the Pony Express riders. This famed mail route included places such as Baker, Ely, Eureka, Austin, Fallon, Silver Springs and on to Sacramento. Brave young men carried mail between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. To become a rider, the requirement was-'young, skinny, wiry fellow not over eighteen. Must be expert rider willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.' It took 10 days for a letter to travel the entire 1,800 miles of the Pony Express route.