WINNEMUCCA, Nev. — We might have discovered the nicest stretch of highway in the continental United States of America.

It’s not necessarily the most scenic. The quality of the highway, though, is unmatched by any other prolonged stretch of blacktop on which we have traveled in our retirement life.

I want to give a shout out to U.S. Highway 20 from Bend, Ore. to Burns, Ore.; then to Oregon Highway 78 from Burns to Burns Junction, Ore.; then on to U.S. 95 from Burns Junction to Winnemucca, Nev.

The stretch of highway(s) runs 354 miles.

I want to mention this briefly because the road was pothole/chuckhole free. We didn’t see a single blemish on the roadway from Bend to Winnemucca.

Our latest sojourn in our RV hasn’t been this smooth. Not by a long shot. We encountered a bit of rough riding along California Highway 99 through the middle of that great — smoke-clogged — state. I will not toss out any blame here; I merely am stating a fact.

Those who like to travel as my wife and I do will appreciate the observation, I hope, that the country does have some highly drivable rights-of-way.

The entire journey from Bend to Winnemucca was scenic as well. It was desolate, particularly the stretch from Burns southwest along Oregon 78. Even that has its form of beauty.

With all the talk we’ve heard in recent years about “crumbling infrastructure” and the need to rebuild our nation’s highway grid and bridges, I want to proclaim that a 354-mile stretch of highway way out West is in fine shape … thank you very much.