Berlin-Ichthyosaur NV

We are on our way to the Black Hills of South Dakota. It's a rainy Friday before Memorial Day weekend. We had planned to leave sooner to avoid crowds of people on the roads, but the camper needed more attention than we anticipated. Still by leaving early in the day and picking the less traveled back roads, we avoid most traffic and have a smooth drive over the Sierras via Carson Pass. We are lucky to find a great site at Indian Creek BLM campground. It's a lovely spot off the main roads and at $10 a night including nice hot showers, what's there not to like?

That evening on a stroll though the campground we spot a young cinnamon colored brown bear who's camera shy. He runs off by the time I'm able to snap a shot of him. Oh well, another great shot that got away.

Carson Pass

Missing bear at Indian Creek Campground

Since the rains are tracking east - the same direction we're going, we resign ourselves to being under drizzly skies for at least the next few days. Crossing over into Nevada,  we see several groups of ATVers having fun out in the salt flats and sand dunes. By the way, did you know that Nevada is considered the most mountainous state in the union?  Neither did we.  Nevada is part of the Range and Basin Province and there's apparently enough ranges to quality for the most mountainous state.

Rain clouds hang low over the Nevada mountain ranges

Memorial Weekend ATVers out for a spin

We're on a mission to avoid the holiday weekend crowds, so we head for the hills and dirt roads to escape the thundering herd.  What better place than Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park? It's well off the beaten path. The odd name stands for two attractions in this state park - the abandoned mining town of Berlin and a large fossil trove of Ichthyosaurs. Ichthyosaurs are not really dinosaurs, which were warm blooded and the ancestors of today's birds. Instead, they were ocean swimming cold blooded reptiles, that could grow over 50 feet in length.  They were widely spread during the Mesozoic Era and then disappeared completely for some unknown reason. 

There's our turn off

Nevada has great Open Range sign

Entrance to Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park

Even though the main campground is full for this Saturday night, the rangers direct us to an overflow area for our first night. Again we are glad to have a self contained camper. After settling in, we explore our new surroundings.  The town of Berlin was built in the 1890's in a canyon behind the mine on the western slope of the Shoshsone Range. At it's peak, the town had over 75 buildings and 300 residents. However, a disastrous flood destroyed most of the town just as the mine was playing out. Today, there's only one house left standing which it was occupied into the 1950's by a hermit.

Peter the DP points out some lichen to take a photo of

Wildflowers now dot the canyon where Berlin once stood

Berlin's last house standing

This state park offers two guided tours - one of the Ichthyosaur Fossil Bed and the other of the Diana Mine. Since they are offered at a nominal fee, we sign up both.  First is the fossil bed.  We are joined by a group of hard core fossil enthusiasts. I make the mistake of asking their leader where all they've gone on their trips and receive back a painstaking long description of just about every fossil bed and it's location (down to the GPS coordinates), when all I wanted was a general description of various beds they had seen. The guy was very nice and I do appreciate both his enthusiasm and his knowledge.

This particular bed is famous for puzzling scientists ever since it was discovered in 1928. In the site excavations during 1950's to the '60s,  UC Berkeley paleontologists Charles Camp and Samuel Welles identified over 40 individuals of the giant Ichthyosaurs in this one site. The immediate question was how did so many individuals die in the same place at one time? At first, Camp and Welles thought the ichthyosaurs died from a mass stranding like what happens to whales today.  However later, it was determined they died in deep not shallow water. So the search for an answer continues today using high tech ground imaging.

These guys were huge

Tour sign

Ranger points out some of the many individuals at this site

The next tour is of the Diana Mine part of the Union Mining District. We meet out tour guide at the Visitors' Center where he first points out the large Stamp Mill and then directs us into the blacksmith's workshop.  Because of the remote location, the blacksmith's job was to make and repair all the equipment needed for the mines, ore processing, and even everyday items needed for daily living. Certainly this man (or men) was a very important part of both the mining operation and the community at large.

Once inside the mine the ranger points out the gold laden quartz which was mined here.  Even though the ore wasn't so rich as to see gold veins, it was rich enough to be worth all the work the miners went through to extract gold from it. 

The ranger starts out by pointing out the Stamp Mill

Blacksmith's Shop

Gold laden quartz

Mining in those days required truly back breaking manual labor.  Dynamite was a big innovation and a big step forward from sheer manual labor.  The innovation of the pressure drill allowed more refined mining.  However, at first there was no containment of huge amounts of dust these drills created and many young miners died of lung diseases before people realized what was causing their deaths.

Dynamite - a boon to the mining business

Pressure drill

Dangers lurk in these old mines

As interesting as the mine tour is, it's great to be back outside and fill my lungs with lots of fresh air along with a quick trip to the facilities. When the gold ran out, so did the miners and townspeople - all moving on to the next big strike.  In the process, many things simply got left behind, much of which can still be found laying around the ghost town of Berlin.

Mine ore car

Rustic facilities

Part of the remains of Berlin

The most impressive building in Berlin is the old Stamp Mill where the ore was pulverized and the gold extracted. This building is in a state of arrested decline... in other words, the State of Nevada  stabilized the structure to keep it safe and from further decay.

Berlin Stamp Mill

Big wheels ground the ore into finer and finer particles

Peter in the Stamp Mill

Mining equipment silhouetted against the sky

Another favorite building is the old Station Master's house which also doubled as a stage coach stop.

State License plates

Hawaii ??

Some of the artifacts found at Berlin

Later in the afternoon, Peter helps two men camping across from us tighten their battery cables, which came loose on their bumpy ride into Berlin.  The father was part if the original group of UC student volunteers working with Camp excavating the fossil trove in the 1950's. He has brought his grown son to see the wonderful stars at night. However, he forgot to check the moon phase. Unfortunately, the big bright full moon outshines most stars as well as the Milky Way. By late afternoon the rain clouds are clearing out, as well as most of the Memorial Day weekend crowds. We enjoy a beautiful last evening camping in Berlin.

The road in and out of Berlin