The Kingdom of Nye

Days 97 – 100 💬🌪🐡
September 20 – 24, 2016 Reliving new memories

Coaldale Junction

The forecast calls for high winds and dropping temps in the next few days, so we know better than to dawdle over breakfast – after an early walk and that so pretty sunrise we hit the road so we can get to Millers Flat outside of Tonopah before the afternoon zephyrs kick up. I’m reminiscing as I drive along the Central Nevada mountains, towns and straight shots of the two lane highways of my childhood; I find myself looking at them with new eyes – appreciating the expanse of the valleys and distances between the mountain ranges – the Monte Cristo Range every bit as unique and colorful as those in Death Valley. These ranges have thin, irregular peaks, their edges look like the edges of arrowheads, flaked to sharp bevels, bare but colored by mineral deposits. Passing through Luning and Mina, we are always amused by the speed limit signs, going from 70 to 30 and back to 70 within a mile and half 🤗   I make a stop at Coaldale Junction, a truck stop owned by my grandmother 30 years ago, now gutted and half burned out rubble … Interestingly I don’t feel sadness at the sight of the abandoned and graffitied buildings I had spent Christmas and summer vacations in; rather a curiosity of how it has become a tattered and wild place for spray paint expression and roadside pulpit. The walls and signs of these buildings – announcing “Restaurant – Bar – Fuel” back then, “Sleep and dream of a better tomorrow” this time, still stand on this sparse landscape – now I have experienced both in this place.

           More images from Coaldale Junction – once a must stop place for truckers in the 70’s

There are snow sticks in the mile markers, which remind me that I have also experienced one of the worst blizzards ever driving across this stretch of road – I had to literally navigate the road by following those snow markers during one winter’s trip – looking out of the passenger side window more than the windshield!  We arrive at  Miller’s– now a rest stop on Highway 95, and set up with Lone Mountain behind us and the southern end of Big Smoky Valley in front of us – I grew up in Smoky Valley, so this is home sweet home.

View from Millers Flat at the south end of Big Smoky Valley & solar installation at right

Phil’s Place

We decide to travel one more day to Amargosa Valley and stay there until the cold front that is right on our tail passes through. Skirting the eastern edge of Death Valley, the landscape is getting decidedly more “desert-y” – little Joshua Trees sprout up at Goldfield, some wild burrows are wandering by the road near Beatty, and the names of the land features warn of the harsh land: the Funeral Mountains, Hells Gate, Thirsty Canyon, the Spectre Range, I could go on and on…. The Amargosa RV Park is on Highway 95 south, and is pretty much just a stop on the way to Vegas – and only in Nevada – across the highway from The Area 51 Alien 👽 Travel Center, complete with gas, mini mart, fireworks store, themed souvenirs, a diner and brothel. The travel

Welcome to Goldfield

center is busy all the time with travelers young and old, American and foreign, snapping up t-shirts, snacks and pictures in front of the brothel and the “World’s Largest Firecracker” (an old water tank with red paint and a black pipe fuse sticking out the top) – hey, Route 66 has its corny roadside attractions – so does Highway 95 🐰 💋…

Phil is our host at the RV park and he is the best! The facility has recently re-opened, and Phil has put everything in good order – as soon as you enter the park, he rushes out to greet you and show you around, pointing out all of the possibilities for parking, amenities, and overall lowdown – it seems that he never stops or sleeps – cleaning up the area, greeting newcomers at all hours, visiting with everyone in the park, sharing his knowledge of mining and showing off his fossil finds – an alligator head and a dinosaur one too! He is quite the character, perfect for this place, and a good cook too 😉 Sure enough, the wind starts howling, but we are snug at Phil’s place happily streaming Netflix.

Holed up in the desert

Ash Meadows walkway

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is close, so we decide to take a day trip to see about those pupfish that caused such a stir in the 80’s. A dirt road takes you to the middle of the valley – unfortunately the road is not very well maintained – and there were some pretty heavy rains here in the spring, which didn’t help much either … but once you are there … 😮 what a beautiful facility in the middle of nowhere! Built just 18 months ago, it is modern and nicely appointed with a large array of interactive displays and a raised walkway leading out to Crystal Spring and through the peat and alkali fields that surround the area.

It is pretty amazing to come upon this aqua colored pool surrounded by scrub brush and sand; the brochures tell us that it produces over 10,000 gallons a minute, which

Crystal Reservoir

explains the large Crystal Reservoir we passed along the way. The Ash Meadows Pupfish is one of the many endemic (found here and nowhere else on earth) species in the refuge – and consequently all of them are considered endangered – we think we saw some of them in the spring – they are very small and blue colored … Have a look at this picture and see if you can spot one?

 

 

Crystal Spring, home of the Ash Meadows Pupfish

The spring and meadows were a gathering place for Nuwuvi and Newe tribes for agricultural and spiritual reasons; the Mesquite trees are hosts for the “screw bean” an interesting little food source … and two formations on the neighboring hills were

Screw bean

viewed as representations of the rattlesnake who “commands respect and watches over the land“.  Nearby is Devil’s Hole,  where the Devil’s Hole pupfish have hung out for the last 20,000 years or so – we watched a video showing that their isolated habitat runs so deep that an earthquake in Mexico resulted in waves cropping up in it within just a few minutes – “These tiny fish share important stories and reveal messages about how the world is ancient, delicate and interconnected” ~ a quote posted at the center.  So, the little pupfish and its big controversy ended up preserving much more than itself. 🌀

See Camping Specifics/Nevada for more info.

Rattlesnake formations as seen from the Ash Meadows Center

 

 

Longstreet’s Holstein welcomes you to their casino with the Funeral Mountain Range in the background…. only in Nevada!

 

We would love to hear from you … Please leave a comment using the link at the top of the post — “leave a reply”

Shop through us on Amazon! CLICK HERE. We get a referral fee and it doesn’t cost you anything extra- thanks! 🙂