Callao June 14, 2010

Old log building in Callao

Callao (originally Willow Springs) was incorporated in 1859 in the foothills of the Deep Creek Mountains. It served as a stop on the Pony Express from 1860 to 1861. Riders would stop at the Willow Springs station to change riders and feed their horses. The telegraph line ended all activity on the Pony Express. The towns biggest boom came with the completion of the Lincoln Highway which brought more businesses and residents to the area. In 1936, 100 residents lived in the town. However, the towns importance would be diminished by the relocation of the Lincoln Highway to the west. Today, the area supports small ranching operations.

Plaque for the Willow Springs station

Gold Hill and Callao June 14, 2010

Remants of the mining to the east

On June 14 I traveled approximately fifty miles south of Wendover to two historic towns in Utah: Gold Hill and Callao. Gold Hill was a boom and bust mining community in Toele County which produced gold, silver, copper, lead, tungsten, arsenic and bismuth. Callao was a Pony Express station in western Juab County. All information comes from the book Utah Ghost Towns by Stephen Carr.

Gold Hill- Gold Hill first started mining operations in 1882 as part of Clifton Mining District. The original boom revolved around gold which was found to the east of town. By 1906 the boom had faded and the inhabitants left the area. During World War I the town boomed again because of the need for copper. The importance of the mines was helped by the completion of the Deep Creek Railroad which helped transport copper ore to Salt Lake City. Later during the war tungsten and arsenic became important. The government needed arsenic to control the boll weevil in the South. By 1924, the arsenic boom died with cheaper foreign sources and the town died too. Finally during World War II idle mines were restarted because of the need for tungsten and arsenic. From1944 to 1945 ore wih 25% arsenic was shipped to Salt Lake City. After two years the mines stopped production.

Lizard in the desert near the mines

Deserted store front on mainstreet

Spruce Mountain May 31, 2010

Looking West toward Ruby range from on the Mountain

Directions- Take 93 south of Wells for 25 miles. Turn left onto a dirt road heading east towards Spruce Mountain. You will get to a kiosk with maps for the area. If a visitor has an ATV, Pick-up truck or SUV a visitor can drive to almost all the sites. Remember to not go into any mine shafts which are not closed off!!!! The area is one of the best preserved mining sites in Elko County.

History-The Spruce Mountain mining site is a group of mines which mainly produced silver, lead, zinc, and copper evry year from 1899-1952. In the 1920s, mine production stood at $100,000 every two years. The most productive of the mines was the Spruce-monarch mine on the western side of the mountain. Other mines included Blackforest, Bullshead, Jasper, and Ada. The area boomed during World War II, when in 1945, $300,000 worth of ore were shipped out of the area. By 1947 the price of ore decreased in value and the mines of the area slowly became less profitable. Major mining activities ended in 1952 but a few companies still explored the site until 1961. Total production: one million ounces of silver, 22 million pounds of lead, 3.2 million pounds of zinc and 780,000 pounds of copper. (For more information consult: Old Heart of Nevada: Ghost towns and mining camps of Elko County)

Monarch mine ruins

Monarch mine

Old entrance into mine

Neat photo from inside cabin- Monarch mine

Toano Mountains Morgan Basin May 26, 2010

At 9:45 on Wednesday morning, I decided to explore deeper into the Toano Mountains. I left West Wendover with my dog Nevada and drove south on Route 93. I drove approximately 15 miles and turned west onto a well-used dirt road heading towards the mountains. The weather was heavily overcast which made for a cool hike in the desert. As a result, I easily made it into an area called Morgan Basin which is about 3.7 miles one way deeper in the Bluebell Wilderness Study Area. With a beautiful 360 degree view, I ate lunch (see above photo). After lunch I explored some more shallow caves and hiked back to my car.

The mountain range is on BLM land and has many off road vehicle roads. As a result, I was hiking on ATV or rough 4 wheel drive roads. People with ATVs could drive deep into the mountains. The area is worth it because of its rocky country and mountain desert vistas.

Nevada on rock outcrop; foothills of Toanos

Nevada on road to Sidehill Spring

Silver Island Mountains May 22, 2010

After a relative wet winter in the desert, I decided to spend the day exploring the Silver Island Mountains of Western Utah. The mountain range is famous because of its location next to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The salt flats is home to yearly races which feature some of the fastest cars in the world. The mountains themselves have a unique history. Recently, they were home to a significant amount of Tungsten mining. In the 1850s, the area was made famous by the Donnor- Reed Party who traveled through here on the Hastings Cutoff on their way to California. Today, a visitor can see remnants of the wagon tracks in place.

The main route into the area is the Silver Island Mountains Scenic Byway which runs 54 miles through the desert. The road was suitable for my camery; even though, it would be treachorous for any vehicle after it rains. I started off the day looking for a geocache called Surprise Ending up a canyon. I was making good progress but it soon became obvious my tennis shoes were not made for rock climbing. However, I had fun photographing the flowers abd old mining ruins of the area. Afterwards, I drove 15 more miles on the byway exploring caves and photographing flowers in the desert.

Plaque recognizing the Hastings Cutoff

Old Mine Shaft

Looking towards cave entrance

Toano Range Exploration

On May 9, 2010, I drove my Camery South of West Wendover to explore the Toano Range. The Toano Range reaches a height of 7900 feet and it extends North and South of Silverzone Pass in Northeastern Nevada. I left Wendover and drove South approximately 15 miles on 93 South towards Ely. I then turned onto an improved dirth road West towards the range. I drove about 15 miles into the foothills until it became obvious my car would have trouble on the rougher two track. Taking my pack, I traveled cross crountry to log a cache. The country consisted of sagebrush and rugged rocky terrain. Leaving the cache, I hiked back to the ATV track and further into the mountains. Three miles later I decided to play around in some rock formations in the Bluebell Study Area.

Rate Area

-Very good off-road vehicle area

-Study areas have neat areas for exploration

Leppy Hills Geocaching

On May 8, 2010, my fiancee Tara and I left mid morning to find two isolated caches in the Leppy Hills. The Leppy Hills are a range directly to the North of Wendover with a top elevation near 7,000 feet. The area is also a major off road vehicle area in eastern Nevada. We drove on a road that extends over the range to Montello, Nevada. The first cache we located was called Hawk's Rest which was a short mile hike up an ATV track. After logging the cache, we drove further up the canyon until the road became to rough for a two wheel drive car. From the car to the cache (McAndrew Big and Tasty) was 1 mile. Not a long distance but some beautiful desert country.