The one western state I have never been to was New Mexico. Not only did I want to see the area, but I needed to get some mining town coverage of the state for Western Mining History. New Mexico is a long drive from Oregon, which is the primary reason I had never been there. Finding the time for such a trip isn't easy. Finally I was able to carve out a two week period to git er done, and on March 19th Diego and I hit the road.
I was also hoping that this trip would be a spring break of sorts. Weather in Bend this time of the year is various shades of crap, so I packed the duffle full of shorts in anticipation of some SW style spring sunshine. Shorts never left the bag, but every layer of warm clothing I could find sure did. But more on that shortly............
I decided to take some backroads through NE Nevada, near the Blackrock Desert. Nevada border:
I pulled over on a gravel road to check my map and a rancher pulled up and offered a spot on his land to pop the top, complete with wifi:
Heading south towards Gerlach (this is just to the west of the Blackrock Desert):
Oregon to New Mexico - 2 weeks, 4,000 miles, and 100 pounds of dog hair
Started by
DirtyDog
, Apr 08 2009 10:52 PM
76 replies to this topic
#1
Posted 08 April 2009 - 10:52 PM
#2
Posted 08 April 2009 - 10:59 PM
While driving on state road 34 (north of Gerlach), I discovered a spot where the George W. Lund Petrified Forest was preserved. The petrified logs/stumps here were several feet in diameter. It's amazing to think a lush forest once grew in this desert area:
#3
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:01 PM
My first planned destination of the trip was Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in central Nevada. This park is really in the middle of nowhere, which is part of the appeal. This is a place where an old mining town is preserved AND they found dinosaur fossils. Have you ever heard of anything cooler than that? Me neither.
Edited by DirtyDog, 08 April 2009 - 11:22 PM.
#4
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:03 PM
The ghost town of Berlin:
#5
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:05 PM
More Berlin:
#6
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:05 PM
And even more Berlin:
#7
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:07 PM
Ichthyosaurs!
#8
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:08 PM
The campground here was nice and I had it all to myself so I stayed two nights:
#9
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:09 PM
Sunsets in Nevada are always spectacular:
#10
Posted 08 April 2009 - 11:11 PM
On my second night at Berlin-Ichthyosaur I had a change of weather - and a sign of things to come throughout the trip:
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