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Geologically , the area is more dynamic than the Sierra Nevada . Here the continent is tearing itself apart . The terrain is the result of a widening that has been going on for 25 million years . As Reno moves apart from Salt Lake the crust has broken into blocks that toss in their sleep , forming gentle slopes on the west and steep escarpments on the east . The ranges ascend to 10,000 feet and bear names like the Flowery Range , the Pine Nut Mountains and the Dead Camel Mountains . They seem to build , like a set of waves in the Pacific . I thread passes that crest at 5,000-7,000 feet , narrow cuts that suddenly open up on vistas . Look north or south and you may see 120 miles of flat , the silhouette of distant peaks like the backs of migrating whales . The road has an elegant rhythm — relaxed sweepers in the mountain passes flow into straightedge gallops across the flat .
Nevada will tell you that there is plenty to find interesting on this route . Ghost towns . Mansions built by successful miners ( pre-Martha Stewart excess ), caves , haunted mines , wild horses , elk herds , cute deer hiding under piñon nut trees . You pass through dwarf cedar , pine , piñon , balsam , quaking ash , mountain mahogany , the light green of rabbit
You think the “ No Smoking ” sign is a joke ? A burned-out gas station in Cold Springs , Nevada . The destroyed station was later razed , but the Pony Express station ruins are still there .