April 24 - 25, 2024 Winnemucca, Nevada

April 24th, 2024

We slept pretty well in the Walmart parking lot in Fallon.  By dark, most of the traffic had slowed..

Before we left, our neighbors, Roger and Jane, stopped by with their information.  They are heading to Alaska also and hopefully we will see them along the way.

There were no mountain passes today.  A lot of flat area but we are at 4500' in altitude.  I still can't wrap my head around it!

More salty areas:

A lone tree among the scrub bushes:

This area from here to the Interstate is part of the original California Trail.  As we travel and look around, I think about all those folks who traveled this way for a better life.  And what did they think about as they traveled thru this area.

Many canals thru this area - not sure if they are natural or man-made:

Still part of the California Trail:

Not sure what this is.  Almost looks like a type of oven:

On the interstate - 80 mph on I-80...

Rain in the distance and a train in the foreground:

Another interesting abandoned structure:

GREEN!!!

Homes along the mountain and clouds covering the mountains:

WOW!  One of the things that amazed me about the west is that you can see for miles and you can also see where it is raining.

The Rye Patch Reservoir:

This is an active gold and silver mine.  It is the original Florida Canyon Mine that was purchased by Rye Patch.  They also purchased a number of other mines in the area and intend to reopen them.

Free range cows everywhere:

Area around Winnemucca:

We arrived at the Winnemucca RV Park and settled in.  Andy did some RV battery maintenance and I cleaned some of the dust from the RV - it was everywhere.  Later in the afternoon, we took a ride around Winnemucca and checked out the area. (The last few pictures above are from that little road trip.)

The is just a stop-over for us now but after doing some research, we will be back.  There are some ghost towns to explore - 😊

Some interesting links on Winnemucca:

https://historicwinnemucca.stqry.app/2#:~:text=In%201866%2C%20Winnemucca%20Post%20Office,to%20serve%20the%20traveling%20public.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnemucca,_Nevada

An interesting article on the upcoming gold and lithium boom:

https://www.nevadanewsmakers.com/RayHagar/article.asp?ID=458

April 25th, 2024

It rained most of last night and today was cloudy and dreary..  So a perfect day for laundry - LOL!  After that was done and put away, we made a quick trip to the store and decided to hang out for the rest of the day - especially since it became very windy.

Tomorrow we continue our journey north so stay tuned and enjoy today!

April 23, 2024 - Travel to Fallon, Nevada

( Note: Another picture intensive blog.)

We woke to a beautiful day, packed up and headed north.

It may look a little foggy in the pictures but that is actually sand in the air.  (Yes, I could even taste the sand.)

Past the dry lake bed:

What a nice surprise to see the snow on the mountains:

Love the different colors:

An OMNI!  I am always so excited when I see one!  (It doesn't take much any more! LOL!)

This was either a dry lake bed or a salt marsh - not certain on how you tell them apart from a distance:

Abandoned homes in the middle of nowhere:

When you gotta go - look what appears!

Not sure what these structures are - some type of mining or milling perhaps:

A construction company - some old buildings there too.

Heading into Hawthorne:

Roads that go off into the mountains:

Ammo Storage Buildings:

If you enlarge the photo, you can see more of them - up to the mountains:

This is all part of the Hawthorne Army Depot.  I did do some research on the Depot and posted it in this blog: https://thehitzels.blogspot.com/2022/11/november-5-2022-travel-to-goldfield.html

I would still like to do a tour and maybe someday I will be able to get there (Hint:  Anyone know someone who can get me tour - LOL!  I did call and email and unless I worked there or knew someone, I was SOOL!))

Heading to Walker Lake - our view from the motorhome:

Horses at Walker Lake:

They are free range horses - I do not know if they are part of the Nevada Wild Horse Herd or part of the Army Depot Management Herd.

Coming to Walker Lake:

Read this - it is a MAJOR Sheep Crossing:

We have done this route quite a few times and one time, we did see sheep.  On another note, as we traveled over the years, there are some routes that we really like and this is one of them. As we passed thru some of the little towns, I have said that I wanted to stop and explore.  My goal over the next 2-3 years is to do just that.  Nevada is an amazing state.

Homes on the lake - the water is really low:

More views from the road:

More abandoned homes - wonder what stories they could tell:

Tumbleweeds caught up on the fence:

Interesting Formations:

Free Range Cattle:

What a treat!  A girl and her dog rounding up the cattle:

There was another person helping further on down the road plus the group of cattle already rounded up but I did not get the pictures.

And another place to go - just in case!

Seriously, I have no idea why these outhouses are where they are!  There are no parks, shelters, or even corrals.  Must be some reason.

The Fallon Watershed and a National Wildlife Refuge:

More cows with some babies too:

We are on the outskirts of Fallon, Nevada.  There are many fields of green crops - the most we have seen since leaving Yuma.  It was nice to see green again.

Some more abandoned homes:

Yes, this is definitely farm and cattle country!

We arrived at the Walmart in Fallon and I did a much needed grocery run.  After putting everything away and having lunch, we decided to stay here.  There are a few RV's around us and we met a few of those folks.  One couple are SKPs and Boomers and heading to AK.  We did not catch their names but gave them our card.  Maybe we will see them along the way.

Since we decided to stay, I stopped in the local Great Clips and got a much needed haircut.  

Tomorrow we are headed north so stay tuned and enjoy today!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 174 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Nevada: US-95; US-50