Tuesday, 12 April 2022
I don't think I adequately described how difficult yesterday's drive through the sand and wind was for me. It left me feeling stunned, my mouth hanging open with surprise at first. The whole situation felt a little claustrophobic, being surrounded by the weather so completely I couldn't see out. It was very near a traumatic event and I felt residual effects for days. Those photos I posted show much more visibility than I experienced at times. I felt like I had to power through the storm because I couldn't see any reasonable alternative. And because I had to keep my wits about me, I couldn't take time to acknowledge the fear I felt - fear because it would be so easy for something to go really wrong, and I had my critters to care for. And since I didn't allow myself to feel all that at the time, I couldn't really enjoy the sense of relief when it was over. So today, I was still processing belatedly.
This morning the wind was still 25 mph (per the National Weather Service) and the temperature at 5:40 AM was 22°. With all that, the official wind chill was 6°. And Dexter and I felt every bit of it when we went out for our 2 early morning walks. Gracie loved it, with that double coat of hers.
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| today's route |
Immediately after leaving town I came to Tonopah Summit, elev. 6,256', and found very high winds again. You can see on the map that the road goes up and down through a broad flat valley, covered with scrub, and surrounded by mountains.
Off to the south out of my sight was Boundary Peak, elev. 13,147', the tallest point in Nevada, and appropriately sitting on the border with California. In fact, NV is considered the 2nd most mountainous state after only Alaska. That seems odd to me - I mean, I've been in Colorado, for instance - so I looked it up and, depending on your criteria, it's true. Look at this:
- the state with the highest mean elevation is Colorado
- the state with the most geologically distinct mountain ranges is Nevada - more than 300 of them
- the state with the largest percentage of land area used by mountains is either West Virginia or Hawaii
- the state with 17 of the 20 highest mountains is Alaska
- but if you count sea mounts as mountains, 100% of Hawaii qualifies - in fact, Hawaii's highest spot, Mauna Kea, is 13,800' above sea level (higher than Nevada's high spot), but its actual base is far below the sea so measured from its base, it's over 33,000' which beats out even Mount Everest
In all those categories, California comes in no better than 2nd, so I guess it only seemed like there were a lot of mountains to me. And though Nevada has a lot of flat land and deserts, I have been going through a lot of mountain passes just in the few days I've been driving around here.
I heard a rabbi being interviewed on the radio before he left to help deliver humanitarian aid in Ukraine. He said he kept hearing people asking "where is God to help us?" and he thought instead people should be asking "where is man to help himself?" He said people should raise their voices when it seems God is silent, that people can effect tremendous change if they'd only bother to try. Interesting man. I hope he's able to stay safe.
As I went farther south, I started to see Joshua trees - lots of them. It was the first cactus I've seen on this drive, which seems odd since this is desert country. According to the map, it's the Cactus Mountains that I'm seeing off to the left, and they include Cactus Peak, elev. 7,395', so I guess this is the right spot for cactus.
I heard on the radio that Nevada has the largest average class size in the US, which seemed like another odd factoid so I looked it up and it's true. So despite a 27-year-old state law that mandates reduced class sizes, recent budget deficits have resulted in class sizes that fluctuate a great deal but have produced at least some high school classes with 50 kids. I've taught junior high, and my largest class was 36 and it was really tough trying to teach with that many kids to take care of. I can't even imagine 50.
I also heard on the radio that rents in Las Vegas had increased as much as 30% in the last few months. But its population has grown by almost 16% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses (censi?), a fact that may explain both its class size problem and its rent level.
I came to the tiny town of Goldfield, elev. 5,690', pop. 298 in 2020, and despite its lack of size it's the county seat.
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| Esmeralda County Courthouse built 1907 |
A good part of the town is a National Historic District, including that courthouse, which is still being used. I passed the Goldfield Radio Museum, but all I could find online about it was so garbled I don't know what it is or even if it's open.
Goldfield Summit, elev. 6,097', is 400' higher than the town, so I did a lot of climbing to get there, and then a long hill sloped down so steeply my ears popped.
Still lots of Joshua trees. In fact, a big forest of them. It seemed like there were as many as in the national parks to the southwest of here.
I passed a group of mountains with sharp peaks, covered halfway down with material that looked soft and smooth, and I figured I was seeing erosion of the peaks and the covering dirt had slid down the mountainsides.
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| See that soft-looking stuff at the base? I thought it was a cloud or something at first, but I'm pretty sure it's eroded dirt. |
I took this photo while I was driving down the road, because the only place to stop was in the actual lane of travel and I didn't want to take that chance. But this is what I saw. Isn't the contrast odd between the sharp peaks and the soft base?
I noticed the oncoming traffic seemed to be coming in clumps, and I couldn't see any obvious reason - no slow vehicle in front, for instance. But farther along I found out why: road construction had created a 1-lane road and a pilot car had to guide us through. I was first in line, so I talked with the guy holding the stop sign, who said he couldn't feel his face after being out in that cold wind. He told me rocks had been falling in the road from a mounded up area that the road had plowed through, so DOT decided to rebuild that whole section of roadside.
I asked him if he had trouble getting people to stop, and he said all the time, and that the worst offenders were the CDL drivers (professionals) who ought to know better. He told me the previous week a truck carrying big heavy equipment ended up going off the road because he hadn't tried to stop in time.
While I was sitting there waiting (it was a long wait), I heard an ad on the radio for "Trump RVers" to come check out his campground at Westgate, wherever that was. Imagine what those folks might say if they heard an ad for a campground that wanted anti-Trump RVers to come stay.
Once finally through the construction zone, I pulled over to let 11 cars and semis behind me to pass. One semi blared his horn at me and one car thanked me, thus illustrating the DOT worker's point, I guess.
I passed turns for Boiling Pot Road, followed by Bailey's Hot Springs, which may explain what the boiling pot referred to.
I passed an old sign for Brothel Angel's Ladies, but the road to the buildings was closed.
At Beatty, elev. 3,300' (we had continued to drop down), we took a break at Cottonwood Park. It covered a city block and had lots of trees and grass. Gracie rolled around twice on her back, because it's been a while since she's seen grass. Both dogs got stickers in their feet and Dext twice found something he considered edible. But other than that it was a nice park. Beatty says it's Hornet Territory. It also says it's the Gateway to Death Valley.
The wind was still very strong and cold.
Farther along I came to another 1-lane road amid construction, this time with a sign saying "30 minute delay possible." As it turned out, the delay here was much less than at the previous one - I clocked only 11 minutes this time.
I passed a sign saying for "Big Dune" turn right. No hint what that was, but online I've learned it's BLM land, and is the local name for the Amargosa Dunes, that cover 5 square miles and stand up to 500' high. Apparently locals use it for off-roading, but comments say it's hard to get to, which may be why more don't use it. But the BLM said it's home to sensitive plants and animals, so it's likely just as well it's not very accessible.
I passed a sign telling me I was in Amargosa Valley, elev. 2,660', but there was no town and no nothing. I learned from the map that the town is off the main road, though I saw no signs telling me that. But Amargosa Valley, like Beatty and Hawthorne (from yesterday), has a road running from there on US-95 across the border into California.
At the highway junction I saw the World's Largest Firecracker, and here's a photo and some info about it - be sure to scroll down past the first section to get the info. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/firecracker I also saw a sign saying, "Welcome to Nevada," and another one saying "Area 51 Aliens." It was a fireworks store, which may mean something.
I saw a Mustang with a NV license plate that said, "PVT JNES." We're only young once. (Just as well, maybe.)
Near Indian Springs (pop. 881 in 2020, down from 991 in 2010), elev. 3,123', I passed Creech Air Force Base which has, among other activities, the training site for the Thunderbirds, a close formation flying squadron, like the Navy's Blue Angels.
I saw another one of those wild bull signs with another saying "open range."
The land was thick with Joshua trees along here.
The road passed through the Las Vegas Paiute Indian Reservation.
As I was coming into the Las Vegas area, I started wondering why I hadn't see any solar installations since I'd been in Nevada. Just as I had the thought, I saw a few on house rooftops. But in this countryside of seemingly nonstop sunshine, I thought I should have at least seen some solar arrays - particularly when hydroelectric power wouldn't be available in this desert.
The driving skill in Nevada is surprisingly lacking. I've had several people pass me in clearly marked no-passing zones. I've seen several people run red lights with no excuse at all - they just ignored them. In Las Vegas I saw a man using a walker and a boy on a skateboard cross a 10-lane road against the lights. These folks must be a little nuts.
I saw a license plate frame that said "I 💚 Guam - Where America's Day Begins."
On US-95 driving through downtown Las Vegas I ran into a traffic jam at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon.
I made my stop at an Office Depot to make a copy of my handwritten Schedule 1040, plus several other schedules. Then I went to a post office not far away and mailed it; it'll have no problem getting in before any deadline. I had a hard time finding any place to walk the dogs because the shopping centers were crowded and people drove with a surprising lack of caution. The critters needed a break, so I drove straight to the campground, which was part way out of the main area of town on the road to Henderson.
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