Nevada in the spring
Nevada is miles and miles of more miles and miles. Dirt roads going straight as far as the eye can see. Hidden in the hills and valleys are the remains of many dead boom towns. We took some time to visit during May. The desert comes alive with all manner of animals and critters. The
towns are old and fascinating. Many built on steep sidehills and only lasted a few rich years. With our Nevada Ghost Towns book (many call it the ghost town bible) we set out to find out if anything was left after all these years or rabid digging.
I should mention that Ivan is one of my collecting heroes. He is always positive and certain there is "lots more stuff" out there. Being a legend with a steel probe, his confidence is well founded. I was fortunate to be selected as his digging partner for the next few years. Our philosopy was "its great to be out whether we find anything or not" and "use every minute of daylight" in the search. We were up at dawn and out til dusk, road music on warp 9, a cooler full of cold drinks and sandwiches, and we loved every minute of it
It had been a wet year. Lots of water had been running and the ground was soaked and thriving. For a desert, Nevada was alive that year. The weather was cool and all kinds of critters were emerging. We got there early in March.
towns are old and fascinating. Many built on steep sidehills and only lasted a few rich years. With our Nevada Ghost Towns book (many call it the ghost town bible) we set out to find out if anything was left after all these years or rabid digging.
I should mention that Ivan is one of my collecting heroes. He is always positive and certain there is "lots more stuff" out there. Being a legend with a steel probe, his confidence is well founded. I was fortunate to be selected as his digging partner for the next few years. Our philosopy was "its great to be out whether we find anything or not" and "use every minute of daylight" in the search. We were up at dawn and out til dusk, road music on warp 9, a cooler full of cold drinks and sandwiches, and we loved every minute of it
It had been a wet year. Lots of water had been running and the ground was soaked and thriving. For a desert, Nevada was alive that year. The weather was cool and all kinds of critters were emerging. We got there early in March.
With our book in hand, we took any road that would lead to an old town. One of our early stops was a site in a mountain pass. There were only a few remnants of foundations. There was glass scattered but no real sign of the dumps or pits. Then we noticed the running water. It was uncovering old glass. We started to follow the fragments. In the willows, we see a gin stuck by a rock in the creek.
There had been enough water to wash out what had been missed by other diggers over the years. The dump was deep in the wash and on the bank of the creek. Digging in the water we brought out a large box full of bottles. With that we changed our strategy and started to probe the creeksides. The wash had run through the middle of the town and sure enough, they had used it to throw away trash. We found a number of other layers and more bottles. It was a pretty good start for our week long trip. Our goal was the town of Seven Troughs but we were going to take our time and check out some ghost towns along the way. Unfortunately, our luck did not continue. WE became..... , Lost in Lovelock! |
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The trading post let us go through all thier bottles. We were digging in a storage unit instead of a ghost town.
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A great museum where we met Rocky and Frances.
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Digging at the trading post and gifts from Frances on the right.
The Lovelock cave is an amazing place. It opens up to a huge shelter inside that is 15 degrees cooler than the world outside. Early native duck decoys were found in the cave. It is worth the trip.
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Our vehicle was now in Reno waiting for a head gasket job which was going to take a week. We loaded up our tools in the rental. On the way home in our rental jeep, we were able to make a few stops and finally get out of town. We made quick stops in Seven Troughs and Star City
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So, now we are back in the city. Our rental is gone. We have all of our digging tools we used on the trip back. The digging vehicle is in Reno and we still have ghost towns to see. We had no choice. We flew back to reno, sent our digging tools as luggage (costly decision) and continued our trip a little over a week later. Back on the road, we went back to Seven Troughs and a dozen other stops to end up in Tuscarora.
I may have mentioned that the desert was alive in the spring. Critters everywhere, large and small. This was the largest scorpion I had seen. The snakes were very active. And the ground was starting to move. I looked closely. Grasshoppers? More everywhere we went.
Our final destination was Tuscarora. This town had no railroad so the road had a constant train of wagons bringing supplies to the town. It is still inhabited and the digs were sparse with a lone tower to mark the once thriving community. But the cemetary was rich in history. However, the plague of locusts had increased to the point where you could see the remnants on the highway.
All in all, it was an endlessly fascinating trip. In addition to the major towns we stopped at everything that was on the way, large or small. I used the book to imagine where the photo was taken and try to reconstruct the image when all the buildings were long gone.
What was once a bustling silver industry is now just a part of the endless sage and juniper. |
Jack Rabbit sits on the top of the world. I bustling town on a steep sidehill. I imagine it lit up at night and the saloon lights could be seen from the road far below.
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