A glorious day greets us upon waking at
Quail Creek State Park. The weather report is for a continuing clearing and warming trend - a nice change from yesterday. From St George we head north on Utah Hwy 18. Along the road we come to a lovely high grassy pasture which was the site of the
Mountain Meadows Massacre, one of the lowest points of Mormon history in Utah. On Sept. 11, 1857 the local Mormon Militia staged a surprise attack on an unsuspecting wagon train from Arkansas camped at this meadow. The Mormon Militia killed all 120 males over the age of 12. The surviving women and children were carried away and added to the Mormons' own families.
According to the plaque commemorating the site:
- In memory of the emigrant men and boys from Arkansas massacred here in Mountain Meadows on September 11, 1857. Their lives were taken prematurely and wrongly by Mormon militiamen in one of the most tragic episodes in western American history.
- May we forever remember and honor those buried in this valley.
May we never forget this tragedy but learn from the past.
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| Utah Hwy 18 heading north from St. George |
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On that somber note, we continue north and then turn west on Utah Hwy 56 crossing over the Nevada state line where the road becomes Nevada 319. Here the "Welcome to Nevada" sign is pretty basic on this isolated stretch of road. What no casinos? Nope - just bullet holes in the sign.
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| Utah Hwy 56 headed west |
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| Welcome to Nevada on Hwy 319 |
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Around lunch time, we decide to check out
Kershaw Ryan State Park, which is in a lush canyon surrounded by arid land.
The camping area isn't impressive with only cramped dusty sites. However, the picnic/day use area is completely different. It's an oasis with tall cottonwood trees, wild grape vines, and even a koi pond.Yup - a koi pond in the middle of the Nevada desert. Who would have thunk?
The local senior class is enjoying their Senior Skip day just before graduation. We get a kick out of watching the teenagers goofing off together. One nerdy looking boy has a deep hoarse voice which he uses to cajole his fellow volley ball team members and opponents. We wonder if he'll be able to talk at all for the next few days.
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| Canyon walls and cottonwoods at picnic area |
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| Parking area |
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| Koi pond |
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After lunch we stop in
Caliente NV to fuel up at a
Sinclair station complete with it's large
Dino mascot tied to a closed pump.
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| Caliente NV |
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| Chagrined Dino tied to a pump |
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| Back on the road |
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We continue westward on Hwy 93 and merge with Hwy 375, more commonly known as the
Extraterrestrial Highway, which runs along the eastern border of the infamous
Nevada Test Site at Nellis AFB where the first above-ground atomic bombs were exploded. Unfortunately,
fallout from these tests drifted over parts of Utah, killing sheep and quite possibly shortening the lives of local residents. No wonder locals are very uneasy about what is happening at Nellis.
Many have reported sightings of
UFO's along this lonely stretch of highway and whisper stories of
Area 51 where the remains of alien bodies and their space ship are reported stored. Later we learn the ET Hwy is a popular
GeoCaching site with
caches listed every few thousand feet. The ET Hwy itself is basically miles and miles of miles and miles, with little to break up the monotony. At one point we spot a herd of
wild horses wandering through
Joshua Trees. Much to our delight, they all look well fed and healthy.
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| Miles and miles on the ET Hwy |
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| Where we spot herd of wild horses |
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| More miles and miles |
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Rachel NV is one of the very few "towns" along the ET Hwy. Once a more thriving mining community of 500, the population has dwindled to just those running the
Little A'Le'Inn, where you can get a bite to eat and buy UFO culture memorabilia.
Back on the road, we try to amuse ourselves with spotting free range cattle, dust devils, and water mirages on the road ahead.
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| Free range cattle |
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| Dust devils |
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| Water mirage on the road ahead |
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As we near
Tonopah NV we start to see interesting land formations and what appears to be mineral rich soils.
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| Wonder that minerals are coloring these soils |
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| Tonopah ahead! |
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| Tonopah town limits |
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Tonopah was founded around 1900 when a prospector chasing a lost burro found rich gold and
silver ore. Like many rich mining towns
before it, the town became famously wealthy and then went bust as the ore played out. Evidence of it's mining heyday is apparent as we walk around the town.
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| Tonopah Historical Mining Park |
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| Looks lived in still |
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| Peter inspects old mining equipment |
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Although we know some residents have found work at Nellis AFB, our first impression of Tonopah is of a town in decline.
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| Mural of the once rich Tonopah |
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| Humm - not a place I'd have my car repaired at |
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| The Clown Motel |
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We are put off by the town's washed out appearance. To make matters worse, the only place we can find to camp is in an unappealing gravel parking lot next to a honky tonk casino. Still, we decide to stay on and try the nicest hotel in town for dinner - the
Mizpah Hotel. We are pleasantly surprised to find a wonderfully restored Victorian era hotel full of guests and patrons. The two darling young ladies at the check-in desk set us straight on Tonopah's current status. Both have been raised in Tonopah and agree it's been through some rough times... BUT rich new gold strikes south of town and the discovery of rare earth metals nearby have brought boom times back. In fact, a major gold strike to the south has people talking about rerouting Nevada Hwy 95. Seems hard for us to believe, but you never know in Nevada. Needless to say, the current boom has made housing very tight. The Mizah Hotel itself is completely booked as well as any RV parks.
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| Mizpah desk clerk |
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| Mizpah Hotel on main street |
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| Mizpah desk clerk |
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After an excellent steak dinner, the two young ladies direct us to a rest area 12 miles north of town were we can find a better place to camp.
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| Mizpah after dark |
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| Miller's Rest Area |
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| Pretty nice rest area |
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We leave Tonopah with the realization that things aren't always what they seem at first. Despite what we first thought, we very much enjoyed our stay and plan to return to see how things are going once the mining south of town gets more developed.
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| Full moon raising over Tonopah |
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