Triple Score In Nevada’s No-Man Land!
We’ve entered into the no-mans land of south-central Nevada, or rather what most would call no-mans land. It’s several hundred miles of endless dry desert and bare mountains intermingled with small, nondescript towns and long, interminable lines of asphalt stretching to near-infinity. This is the home to some of loneliest highways in the world, a place where only fools & adventurers come wander. In fact if it weren’t for Nevada’s wealth of silver I seriously doubt anyone would ever have settled here at all.
It’s also, or so I thought a place of no internet signal. Our handy dandy Coverage? App (which we love, by the way) showed us moving into an area of complete internet absence, a place where no signal penetrates, a spot hwær not a single wisp of errant electronic connection doth prevail. This fact had been corroborated by several other travelers who I inquired to about this stretch of highway. Clearly we were heading into the very depths of total connectivity vacuum and needed to prepare for our severance appropriately. The evidence was so overwhelming I had given my adieu’s on Facebook, pre-written several internet posts to auto-publish and planned our entire itinerary by hand.
Imagine our astonishment when everything was turned on it’s head….
In a place where no water should exist, we found a gorgeous, FREE lakeside campsite teeming with birds & the sweet sound of wind singing on the leaves of our nearby trees.
In a place where no internet should exist, we found a strong 3G signal robust enough to stream a movie.
In a place where no earthly things of interest should exist, we found both natural beauty, fascinating history and outer-worldly oddities.
Can you say triple score, baby???!!
Clearly things in this wretched place are not exactly as they seem. Then again, this is a spot where strange things are known to happen and many intriguing secrets are hidden. Apparently, surprises are just a normal part of the package.
We’ve been here a few days now, basking in the glory of our lakeside find and exploring some of the surrounding gems. We’ve even had our first encounter, although the story of that will have to wait until it fully unravels and we get further down the road. Lots more about this area to come, so tune in those electronic beams and be ready for anything….you never know what you might find out here.
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This would be a good time for you to read “Area 51,” written by Annie Jacobsen. It’s quite an eye-opener, and a 90-year-old gentleman (former CIA) that we met at a mobile home/RV park told us a lot about things the author confirmed and backed up with declassified records. There are a lot of records that are still classified after more than 50 years. You’ll have a good read!
Excellent recommendation. I think I’ll look at it right after the current book I’m reading (which is in a similar vein and which I’ll post about when I’ve finished it). Really interesting stuff.
Nina
I want to come……..
sounds great, what about the weather, wegot above 95 yesterday, today is a bit overcast and very nice.
I am looking to move north soon, not too far…..yesterday they were scraping frost off their windows in Ogden.
Papa
http://www.papas-travels.blogspot.com
We’re about 10-15 degrees cooler here. You won’t need to drive far into NV to see a temperature drop. It’s pretty much uphill all the way from Overton onwards.
Nina
Old English, is it? How did you make the ae – Danish alphabet?
Yup, the Danish alphabet uses it…but so did Old English too, depending on which reference you look at. I thought it would be fun to throw that in there and see who noticed. You caught me 🙂
Nina
Yay! Surprise Internet is best. Usually it’s the other way around for us. The coverage map shows all red, but that pesky canyon/mountain/forest gets in the way! Enjoy your water and strong signal and I can’t wait to hear all about the encounter 🙂
I have to admit this is a first for us too. Like you said usually it’s the other way around. Verizon must have put up a new tower somewhere in the area very recently.
Nina
Actually.. if you turn on the ‘Roam’ layer, I betcha you’re in a roaming area. Not that Millenicom cares 🙂
Shockingly enough even no roaming here. The tower must have gone up very, very recently to not show on any of the coverage maps. Not that we’re complaining 🙂
Nina
Are you at Papoose Lake?
Nope, although that sure does look like it’s right in the middle of no-mans land (maybe even within the boundaries of Area51?). We’re in a more regular area. I’ll be revealing location soon 🙂
Nina
I would say “trifecta!” Gotta love all those surprises:) If we don’t hear from you again, we’ll know you were beamed up!!! Let’s hope that doesn’t happen! Enjoy your wonderful new home!
By the way…we saw couple playing golf here with their dog:) He was unleashed and just sniffing along behind. So if you get this far east, the course is ready for Polly!!
Awesome!! Golfing with doggie…Paul will go bananas!
Nina
What a beautiful looking area to be camped in. You’re providing plenty of info for people like me who’ve wondered what some of the areas in Nevada would be like. It’s been fun so far, and I look forward to tagging along for the journey as you continue your voyage north thru the state.
Great pics of the area, thanks for sharin’em.
We’ve had some nice surprises so far. Nevada is turning out to have alot more to it than I imagined.
Nina
The word “encounter” sounds ominous…. was the water in the lake cold?
Yes, it’s pretty chilly. No swimming allowed in this particular lake but we have dipped our toes just for fun.
Nina
That looks alot like Pharanagat Lake near Alamo, NV. Is that where these photos were taken?
Maybe..maybe not…I will reveal all soon (and yes, I’m a total tease) 🙂
Nina
Is the lake there going down too?
Actually the lake here seems very healthy. This is a natural lake (not man-made) and is only used by wildlife. It looks very full.
Nina
So there are lots of birds. Is this a managed wildlife area? I know, I know you won’t reveal it yet. But please soon. Thanks for this and answers to my previous questions.
BTW, two days ago when hiking on one trail in the high desert of CO I discovered a stunning high waterfalls (at least 80 ft high drop) in a full force. What a beauty!! But what is interesting that it’s located not more than 100 ft from the trail and nobody seems to know about it. How cool is that? So if you ever decide to travel to the high desert of western CO I’m willing to share my discovery with you if you’re willing to reveal more details you only briefly mentioned today.
I’m pleased you show your fans there is so much more to Nevada than Las Vegas.
We are in a managed area, but I’m not going to give away more (for now). We’re enjoying our first solo time in a while, so hiding out a bit 🙂
Nina
You must stop and see the old cemetery and mining operations in Pioche! Eagle Valley is a beautiful spot for a few days and is just up the road from Alamo. There is a little Bryce Canyon like spot perfect for a brief romp.
Looks like an interesting stop…the canyon too. Not sure we’ll make it out that way, but I’ve added it to the “list”.
Nina
Nina,
If you and Paul like hotsprings there is a pretty good non developed one across the highway from the Second Fuel station you come to going north on the west side of the highway. I believe it is a Shell station now, used to be a Texaco, it is called R place I believe. Anyway they will probably tell you about the springs across the street. They used to be a private place but now I think they are owned by the county. I have not stopped there for about 4 years so a little investigating would be advised. We used to stop there coming back from whitewater floats in Idaho and sure felt good on the sore rowing muscles. Enjoy!
Actually funny you should mention this coz we tried to go there today! Turns out the county has shut down the area (Ash Springs) due to unsafe conditions (something to do with the retainer walls), so sadly it’s closed and may continue to be closed for at least another year. Such a bummer! We were all ready to soak too.
Here’s the news article I found later:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/water-environment/planning-swim-ash-springs-think-again
Nina
I have been following your blog for about a year now and love your posts. We don’t boondock but camp in the southern states 5 months of the year. My question for you is how do you organize all your notes. Do you use an online site to keep them or just pen and notebook? I do a lot of online searching for info that I might not use for a year. Just curious if you have a suggestion. I don’t have a computer just an iPad. Thanks for your wonderful posts and pics!
Now, THAT’s a good question and I have to admit I don’t have the perfect answer for it. The worst way to keep notes is on paper…just never can keep track of stuff that way, so I recommend something electronic.
What I’ve seen many people do is keep notes in e-mail folders (by state, say), or jot things into a searchable word document. I’ve used various forms of this kind of note-keeping over the years. It works, but it’s not perfect.
On the iPad hubby uses Evernote and loves it. He keeps all his notes that way, plus they synch with his computer too. That might be a good program for you to look into.
The snazziest implementation I’ve seen is using map programs like Microsoft Street & Trips. In that program you can add a “pin” to a specific location whenever someone tells you something interesting about it, or you read about it on the web. Then, when you’re ready to travel there (even if it’s years later) you can just zoom into the area and have your notes ALL for that particular area in one place. I’ve been working on this kind of implementation and think it’s the one I like best. Sadly, this program won’t work on MACs or iPads.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with Pinterest, which also has a pin-on-a-map function. Not sure I’m completely sold yet, but I’m giving it a try. It’s a neat way to store ideas visually on a map for places you want to go. You just have to have a web reference (blog post, internet article etc.) to link to. It’s free and easy to use.
No perfect way to keep notes, but hope that gives you some ideas.
Nina
Thanks for the tip on Evernote. Just added it to my iPad. I’ve always wanted a way to save and organize the business cards and Post-It notes that are laying around.
I love the otherworldly “stuff” so am looking forward to future posts on the subject. I have realized while reading your NV posts how little I really knew about the state. You have given us yet so many more ideas of places to explore out west.
This is our first real exploration of this state too. SO much to see and learn.
Nina
Wow, I just read about the hot springs at Ash Springs a day ago on another blog and had put it on my “to see” list. Bummer it is closed at the hands of the Feds for who knows how long.
-Greg
http://sockmonkeytrekkers.blogspot.com/
Such a glorious surprise in a beautiful landscape.
Great information, I must admit I don’t know much about Nevada. Definitely a few things for the “list”. Thanks for sharing as always.
Brenda