One man's treasure can be another man's monotony. SR 447 lives up to that name. If you hate the desert then SR 447 will be one of the longest blacktops you'll ever drive. There are a still only a few reasons why a person drives SR 447. If you don't know the reasons, maybe you needn't conquer this marker.

After leaving the security of Nixon and Pyramid Lake, hunter can consider themselves on their own for the next 61 miles. At Mile 23, just past the hill from Pyramid Lake, SR 447 makes a nice coast down into Winnemucca Valley. The white playa of Winnemucca Lake (right center) gives a nice reminder of days gone past. Thanks to the Newlands Irrigation Project and a re-routing of the Truckee River's plumbing, Winnemucca Lake finally dried up in 1939. The drive to Gerlach is an impressive step into some very primal landscape. For close to 20 miles, SR 447 parallels the massive playa of Winnemucca Lake. When we went in early February, the temperature was fantastic at only 43 degrees and the lake shimmered with a thin blanket of water courtesy of melting snows.

At Mile 42: a little over halfway there! Notice that the only control destination is "Gerlach." I guess NDOT doesn't want people to know that they can take this road past Gerlach to many points northward!

At Mile 52, and having past the north shore of Winnemucca Lake.

After 77 miles, we'd finally arrived at the town of Gerlach! Having left Wadsworth a little before 3PM, the sun was barely setting around 4:45 in the evening this February afternoon. Welcome to downtown Gerlach, a town that coins the nickname, "Where the Pavement Ends and the West Begins." And this isn't too far from the truth. This tiny outpost is the largest settlement in an area covering 200 square miles - an area comprising northwestern Nevada, southeastern Oregon, and northwestern California: the single largest community east to Winnemucca, north to Lakeview and Adel, OR, and south from Cedarville, CA. If you've been paying attention this means this tiny burg provides the only services in this sparsely populated region.

Fascinated? I've covered this region in depth on my Trip to Soldier Meadows.

Of course, Gerlach is celebrated as the gateway to the famed Black Rock Desert and home of the annual Burning Man Festival. During Labor Day week, Gerlach locals cater services to over 50,000 visitors every year. SR 447 officially ends at the Shell Station when you enter town, but a paved highway, Old SR 81 (Washoe County Route 447) continues northwest across the desert to Cedarville, California.

For all you atlas lovers, please note that Nevada still refers to this route as "447." This route may or may not be signed as a "state highway."

Never a place too far for Nevada Landmarks! The next journey awaits.