A Couple more days in Nevada - OK a couple weeks

 

A Couple more days in Nevada

Our stop in Topaz Lake – the lodge and casino RV park – was just across the California line into Nevada. We lingered a couple days to take some drives and walks through the Carson Valley before heading to Davis Creek Regional Park. 

This park is a few miles north of Carson City on 395 but feels like a mountain retreat. It is tucked up next to the mountains which shelter the Incline Village Ski resort on Lake Tahoe.  The trail to the Tahoe rim from the park is about 8 miles straight up 😊 so we took Highway 50 – by car. We spent a day driving around the lake with stops for short walks and lunch then ending the day with dinner at Robin and Seth’s lake house. They have established a base in South Lake Tahoe since they have enjoyed multiple business contracts in the area.  Tough duty – working on the lake – but then when it snows, it can be less fun since their projects involve diving in the water. Sorry no photos of the dinner crowd (just Robin cooking!) which included Robin’s parents and some of their siblings.

We also wandered about the historic downtown of Carson City while in the area – a small town with easy access to both Lake Tahoe and the desert. We also learned about Mark Twain’s connection to the area and wandered by his brother’s  house where he reputedly stayed while in town.

 

Our trip up to Virginia City was a foray into tourist land even during Covid.  The drive up through Silver City was spectacular – Steve was impressed with the 16% grade – glad we did not drag the trailer up there. The town is one tourist venue after another. Some of the best museums were still closed – more for the season than for COVID. Folks were wandering the streets, however, and fortunately masking when entering stores. There is an atmosphere of the gold rush era but not as powerful as the ruins in Bodie. There is just a lot of kitsch to distract from the history.

 

We did walk around the Bowers Mansion a short distance from Davis Park.  This lovely building was built with gold money and became a place of local social gatherings before the gold ran out.  Then in the early 20^th century, it was purchased and restored to once again become a community treasure.  It now hosts public events like concerts on the porch and house tours in the warmer months.

From Carson City we headed east to spend a few days at Fort Churchill State Park on the Carson River.  The fort ruins have been stabilized and are connected by a nice walking path. This fort was built to protect the gold rush towns whose arrival created conflicts with the indigenous peoples.  However, at the campground we were attacked by gnats every step out of the trailer unless the wind was blowing briskly, i.e. howling. We took a road trip down to Yerington, NV to escape the bugs. Found a nice antique store but no barber shop and our new favorite grocery store, Raleys.  

Historic Buckland Station - sadly not open yet

Crazy House on the Road to Yerington

signs marking this route to California which passed Fort Churchill

Giving up a day early we were lucky that Glenn and Carolyn found room for us at the Alpaca Farm – Sawdust Alpacas. They are Harvest Hosts – a wonderful organization that connects businesses with RV travelers. We enjoyed observing and learning about the alpacas almost as much as I enjoyed shopping in Carolyn’s shop for alpaca yarn.  It is not often one can buy yarn and see the animal it came from outside one’s window!

From the alpacas we moved to Lattin Farm another Harvest Host not far away.  We were able to set up early in the day and visit the local museum in Fallon.  This rather small town in kind of nowhere land, has a fabulous museum – well organized and cleverly displayed.  It was also empty so we lingered and learned about the ancient peoples that lived in this area thousands of years ago as well as the early history of the town in charming vignettes of shops and rooms. We almost skipped the annex but fortunately we took a peek and found classic cars, buggies, and trucks both restored and crusty. 

 

Fresh eggs

After a tasty lunch at the Slanted Porch – a local restaurant recommended by the museum hostess, we headed out to Grimes Point to see the petroglyphs and hike up to the overlook.  The view from the top was mostly of the local Naval Air Station – which also entertained us with some aerial acrobatics which seemed appropriate since it is the naval top gun school. A fact that is hard to miss in this town with many businesses named “Top Gun” this or that.

The petroglyphs were more down to earth and well worth the walk. Not much is known about exactly why these pictures were made but some speculate the rocks were hiding places for hunters waiting to pounce. Perhaps the hunters were just bored while they waited or more likely they hoped to conjure some prey with their artwork? While the area is dry these days, wandering the hills and squinting a little, it is not too hard to reimagine the lakes that once covered much of the landscape.

From the Fallon area we continued east to another former lakebed in the Humboldt River watershed. It is perhaps also important to mention that we have been in the area of the historic western migration to California. Fallon is on the western end of the “40-mile desert” that bridges the Humboldt River system and the Carson River. This desert – more like 20 miles across – was a major obstacle for the early settlers heading west. Although we buzzed through this barren stretch it was easy to see why those early travelers made the trip at night. The powder fine dust must also have trapped more than a few wagon wheels. We were glad to make the crossing without incident. 😊 Fallon also was a stop on the famed Pony Express route along Hwy 50, and next trip we will have to visit some of the stations that are preserved along Hwy 50.

Up in the Humboldt Recreation Area we camped with one other family along the Army Drain which sounds much worse than it is. The remnants of the once enormous Humboldt Lake provide valuable wetlands for migrating birds. Although we might have been a little early in the season, we did catch a glimpse of flocks of White-Faced Ibis and a group of four black caped night herons. Most of ducks were too shy for a clear peek since they took flight before we could get close. Even turning on our water pumped frightened the coots in the canal.

We also took a drive in a big round about loop from our camp site to the Lovelock Cave – a short distance by crow but nearly 20 miles by car. The drive included a tour of the nearby farms which are currently benefiting from the water not reaching the former lake. The cave was interesting – even for one who is not fond of caves. This was the first cave professionally excavated in the Great Basin back in 1911.  They found that ancient peoples had used it as a storage shed – burying supplies and food. More than 20,000 artifacts were recovered and we had seen a small sample in the Fallon museum. The short hike at the cave also highlighted native plants that have traditionally been used by indigenous peoples. The excellent brochure was beautifully illustrated and packed with stories from traditional cultures as well as information. For a rather remote and obscure location, we were impressed with the quality of the overall experience.  In addition, we lucked into a couple hours totally on our own. We had passed a couple cars on our way in and then again as we left, but for our time there we could imagine the area as it must have been for in the distant past.

In contrast to the austere cave experience, we ventured into the town of Lovelock – the county seat. As the name might imply the town has become famous for “locks” left here. There is a lovelock plaza next to the court house that is cloaked with locks and a cute sign which also has its share of locks presumably attached to secure eternal love? That was about all we could find of interest in this small Nevada town besides a well-stocked Safeway to replenish our frig.

 

Expecting to catch a late spring storm, on our way to Water Canyon – BLM (Bureau of Land Management) near Winnemucca, we stopped to refill our propane tank just as some icy crystals began to fall. Happily, they melted rather quickly but most of day remained grey and COOL. For the first time in a long time, we actually ran the heater overnight to prevent our systems from freezing – temps got much too low for our thin blood. Hoping for the promised warming we planned several hikes, but woke to more snow – more traditional flakes and fortunately all melted by noon. The bonus to all the moisture is a greener landscape than we have seen in quite a while.  The solar is keeping up so all is good.

View of trailer from hill - cellphone reception sort of

Water Canyon is a premier recreation destination just five miles from Winnemucca, NV although it feels very remote – a feeling bolstered by the lack of a cell signal.  We did find that hiking up the hill nearby we could at least receive emails. Besides the occasional hike for email, we wandered up the canyon trail to the yurt – an Eagle Scout project that is available during the winter season to shelter those who snowshoe up the trail. It sure provided a snug place to rest before our return – fully equipped and stocked with everything but food.

A couple nights in an RV park in Winnemucca rounded out our Nevada stay. While there we visited the Humboldt County Museum which also displayed some of the artifacts from the Lovelock Cave as well as several buildings from the late 1800s. Again, the display of old automobiles caught our attention both those restored inside and those rusting outside.

 We also treated ourselves to a Basque Style meal at the Martin Hotel.  Family style dining meant we enjoyed dinner with three California older gentlemen up for some “shooting”. They entertained us with stories of old Bakersfield and the oil industry there. So, besides doing chores like laundry, grocery shopping and truck washing, we took a drive out to Paradise Valley a short 40-mile scenic drive from Winnemucca where our dinner companions were staying. It is mostly a ghost town but greener than down in the big town. One run of old buildings claims to be the first strip mall in Nevada. Apparently, these structures were still in use until the 1950s. I guess the only good thing is they have left the old buildings for wanders like us to enjoy. Next stop is Eastern Oregon.