Osceola, Nevada July 1, 2011

Beat up truck in the old part of town

Tara and I continued driving south on 93/50 towards Pioche, Nevada. We wanted to stop at a ghost town called Osceola in the base of the Snake Mountains. To get to Osceola follow 93 until 50 turns off to go toward Great Basin National Park. Follow US 50 until the turnoff for the ghost town. The cemetery of the town is very interesting well worth a visit. Likewise, there are some historic building in what was the townsite. Watch for private property in the area.

History: Osceola produced gold from 1872 when it was discovered and off and on until 1952. The mining district had the distinction of producing the largest nugget in the state of Nevada valued at $6,000. Osceola also had electricity and the first telephone in White Pine County. Total production of the area mines was $3.3 million of which $1.9 million came from Placer Mining. The area had some of the longest running placer mines in the state.

Osceola had two major discoveries. The first one occured in September of 1872. The Osceola Mining District formed in October and soon 11 mines were working the area. In 1877 a new company called the Osceola Placer mining Company began to placer mine in the area. Because of the lack of water production remained small; however, the company built two water ditches to increase placer mining. With an increase in production, three mills of 5, 10, and 20 stamps began to operate.

Major mining activity declined for three reasons. A fire in April of 1890 destroyed buildings on mainstreet. The Placer Mining Company folded because of lower deposits and deterioration of water. A revival did occur in 1925 with seventeen claims being worked until 1952 but, the town's heyday had come and gone. (Info from Romancing Nevada's Past By: Shawn Hall).

Skeleton of original building on private property

Flower at cemetery
Headstone in cemetery

View from the cemetery. Headstone of young child in the cemetery.

7/1/2011 Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park Nevada

On our way down to southern California, Tara and I stopped at the Ward Charcoal Ovens south of Ely, Nevada, on route 93 south. The weather was beautiful with clear blue skies and cooler morning temperatures; however, by the afternoon the temps would be well into the 90s. A day use fee of $7 is charged because it is a state park. This park is very interesting and well worth your time. A visitor can also take a short three mile nature trail.

History: The charcoal ovens were constructed in the 1870s to create charcoal which would be used in the smelters to the north. Each kiln had a capacity for 35 cords of wood which burned for 12 days. Workers used the kilns until the charcoal was replaced by coke brought in by rail.

Lime kilns in the park

The charcoal ovens. There are four together.

The photo below shows Tara standing in the doorway of one of the ovens.

Wendover Air Show 6/25/2011

One of the aerial stunt teams

Last weekend Tara and I spent Saturday at the Wendover Airshow in Utah. The airshow started at 9 am and demomstrations ended at 2:30 pm. This post will show photos from our day in the Utah desert. (Look at my Veteran's Day post for the history of the Wendover Airfield in western Utah).

Two planes from the Heavy Metal Jet Team

F16 landing- part of Hill Airforce Demonstration Team

F16 in the sky

Navy Recon plane

Cool emblem on an F18 Hornet

June 17, 2011 Pony Express Trail Western Utah

A map showing the Pony Express route (red) in western Utah. It shows some of the more prominent station in western Utah.

After camping at Utah Lake with my wife Tara for a week; she and I decided to follow the historic Pony Express trail in western Utah. We left Utah lake and drove south on I 15 to east Route 6. Drive on Route 6 through Eureka until you reach 36 north. This road will take you to the Faust pony express station. From here Tara and I drove on the Pony Express into Nevada stopping at each station stop. Remember this is desert country and extremely isolated. Carry a spare and know how to use it. Bring extra water and food dayttime temperatures during the summer can be well into the 100s. DO NOT start this trip without a full tank of gas. An atlas of Utah (I use the Benchmark Maps Atlas) will show the route and all the stations. On this particular day Tara and I were on dirt roads for over five hours. The towns of Callao and Ibapah have few services so plan according.

Short history: The Pony Express was founded by William Russell and William Waddell in 1860 to create faster comunications with the west. In the past it used to take approximately six months for a letter to reach California. The mail service began in St. Joseph, Missouri, and ended in Sacramento, California. The men carried saddlebags of mail on ponies between relay stations. Each pony rode at a full gallop for 10-35 miles. The service opened in April of 1869 with ponies leaving Sacramento and St. Joseph at the same time. First westbound trip 9 days 23 hours; easbound 11 days. At its heighth the service had 100 stations, 80 riders, and 400 to 500 horses. However, the service was never profitable and it ended after 19 months because of the completion of the telegraph. (Thanks to ponyexpress.org for this information).

An advertisement for the Pony Express and its guarantee of 10 days

An job advertisment in Missouri for prospective riders

Tara at the Faust station commemerative plaque. The first station we visited on the trip.

Looking east on Lookout pass

The monument for the Lookout pass station. Notice the missing station plaque. The station plaques at Rush Valley and Fish Springs stations were also missing.

The beautiful commemeration for Simpson Springs at the southern end of the Dugway Proving Grounds.

The original station cabin with Tara and Nevada

The Riverbed Station to the west

Remains of the Boyd Station near Callao, Utah.

The Canon station west of Callao, Utah. I skipped Willow Springs in Callao for this post becuase it was featured in this blog last June.

Deep Spring Station site in Ibapah, Utah, right on the Nevada border.

Hike in the Goshute Mountains of Nevada June 8, 2011

Looking south from the top

Today, I decided to hike to one of my favorite destinations near West Wendover, Nevada, which is the Goshutes Raptor Migration study site in the Goshutes Mountains. The view from the top is one of the best in eastern Nevada with 11+ mountain ranges visible in a fabulous 360 view. The range is a major flyway for migrating raptors and during the fall Hawkwatch International conducts banding and aerial surveys.

Directions: From West Wendover travel south on 93A approximately 15 miles until you see a NDOT station on the right side of the road (a pair of binocs will also show the turnoff). Follow the main dirt road straight back into the mountains going over small hill. Follow the pair of binocs to the trailhead. The turnoff for Goshute Peak Trailhead is shown in the picture below. From 93 A it is six miles to where the trail starts.

The hike: Overall, the trail is three miles one way and gains 1500 feet in elevation. It starts off on an old two track going into the Goshutes Peak Wilderness Study Area. After a half mile to mile the trail leaves the canyon and climbs steeply by switchbacks to the site. The views are spectacular the whole way. Vegetation consists of Limber pine, Whitebark pine, White pine and maple in the canyons. Keep your eyes out for raptors especially during the fall. On this particulary day Nevada and I chased a storm out of the mountains making for spectacular desert scenes.

The storm over the mountains two miles from the trailhead. As I was leaving and going back to town.

My favorite desert scenes; the clouds of an isolated storm

Looking north from the Hawkwatch site

One my favorite pics of Nevada except for the jeans in the corner of the pic

Another pic of desert country. This time looking southwest.

Needlepoint hike Wendover, Utah June 6, 2011

The view towards West Wendover

Today I decided to hike up a peak in the Leppy Hills called Needle point. It has no snow on it and is close to where I live in West Wendover, Nevada, making it a nice early season hike.

Directions: I started my hike at the Wendover Cemetery near Anna Smith Elementary School. To get to the cemetery take N. Arrien Blvd away from the casinos (main part of West Wendover). The road will gain elevation on its way to the cemetery.

The hike: There is no formal hiking trail up Needlepoint but one can follow dirt roads most of the way up the mountain. I left my car and walked around the outside of the cemetery keeping the mountain on my left. I continued walking through the desert on an ATV road to the north side of the mountain. Here there is a little used dirt road that goes most of the way up the mountain. From its end is about 50-100 feet of skree slope hiking to the top. The trip is no more than two miles one way with moderate elevation gain (600 feet). At the top the wind was blowing extremely hard; making it tough for me to stand up. In fact at one point it blew me over.

Skree slope hiking at the end of the dirt two track

Looking through the "needle point" near the top

The wind kicking up dirt near West Wendover Elementery school

Guzzler Project at Ruby Marshes with NDOW May 21, 2011

Great view looking west towards the Ruby Mountains

Last week on May 21, I volunteered with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) to help build a guzzler at the Ruby Marshes; approximately 75 miles south of Wells. Guzzlers are man- made containers which trap rain water or snow melt. They are used in dry areas of the west to benifit wildlife during dry periods of the year. Because of guzzlers, places like Nevada and New Mexico can support more wildlife. The NDOW currently manages approximately 1,500 guzzlers in Nevada of which 300 have big collection devices.This particular guzzler will trap rain to fill tanks with water to benefit pronghorn antelope in the valley.

I drove from West Wendover with Steve Dennin, who teaches 4th grade. We arrived at the site at 9:20am and volunteered until 5:00pm. Our job mainly involved shoveling, carrying supplies and other support duties. NDOW supplied lunch and dinner as well. The best part of the project was networking with Nevada biologists throughout the day.

Another look at the snow capped peaks across the valley

The small container which animals will drink out of

The posts for the barb wired fence to keep wild horses out.
Needless to say, these biologists do not like horses. The pipe which carries water from the storage tanks to the guzzler is right underneath me. In theory the guzzler will remain full without human help.

The collection device at the end of the rain catcher. From here water enters huge storage tanks below. Gravity will carry water down a small pipe to the actual guzzler container.

The huge rain catching device