Hello Everyone!
It’s been a relatively mellow week out here on the road. Warm temperatures in southern Nevada have been very welcome and have not inspired me to move back into colder climates with any unnecessary speed. I hung around Las Vegas for an extra day to do some work on my van and then lingered in Boulder City longer than I expected. I did see a fascinating old mining town in the El Dorado Canyon near Nelson, Nevada, visited the Lost City Museum in Overton and finally made it out to the Valley of Fire which did not disappoint. I’m ending my week here in Mesquite, right on the border, as I plan to make my exit from the Silver State tomorrow. It’s not been the busiest week I’ve ever had, but sometimes that’s a good thing.
When l wrote, I was enjoying some time in fabulous Las Vegas, a town which I’m always happy to see. Thursday I did make it to the Nevada State Museum which compliments its twin museum in Carson City very well. It is a very well curated museum which takes visitors from Nevada’s prehistoric past to its glittery present in an engaging and concise way. The museum is located on the grounds of the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, an area which was once the natural freshwater spring which was the reason people came through Las Vegas in the first place. Las Vegas was home to a small indigenous population before becoming a stop on the Spanish Trail, a Mormon fort and trading post, a railroad town and finally the neon jungle that it is today. The spring has long since dried up and the area’s water needs are currently met by Lake Mead which is held back by the Hoover Dam, but it was originally a real-life oasis in the desert. The name “Las Vegas”, which is Spanish for “The Meadows”, was not placed on early maps ironically. I wouldn’t say I learned a lot in this museum as I’ve spent a lot of time guiding tours through Las Vegas and have read a lot about the area’s history and also because I just spent a month exploring the rest of the state and its history. But I did enjoy all of the photos and films and costumes which helped bring a lot of that history to life. I also really loved the displays on old Las Vegas kitsch – from old poker chips and playing cards to glamourous showgirl outfits. Aside from the permanent exhibit, I also thoroughly enjoyed an exhibit on the photography of Arthur Rothstein who came to Nevada in 1940 and captured some breathtaking black and white images around the state. There was also a cool exhibit on the work of Darren Pearson, an artist who combines long exposure photography and “light painting” to create some beautiful and whimsical images. Out back of the museum, you could catch the train to Boomtown, a recreation of early Las Vegas. This was fun, but definitely more geared towards children than adults. It was a very full day at the museum and I’m definitely glad that I went.
When I left the museum, I was feeling pretty good. I was headed towards Chinatown to get some dinner when my “Check Engine” light came on in my van. I’m sure you would all agree that this is never a fun thing to see. I immediately changed course and headed to the nearest O’Reilly Auto Parts to get it checked out. Most auto parts stores will check the code for free and be able to offer suggestions based on what comes up. Because they don’t actually work on vehicles, there is no pressure put on from them to get work done and you can take the information and go from there. It turned out to be the canister purge valve solenoid, a part I had never even heard of before. I ordered the part and then set about trying to learn what it was and how to replace it. It all seemed fairly simple if I could just figure out where it was in my van. I couldn’t see it anywhere in the engine compartment and figured I would have to pull the “doghouse” which covers the engine inside of the van. I finally found a video on Facebook which detailed everything I needed to see in a van that was almost identical to mine. Feeling like I had the problem under control, I drove back downtown so I could park somewhere known and safe and then walked the mile up Main Street to the Arts District. One of my favorite bars in Las Vegas, ReBar, is in the Arts District and it was nice to be somewhere familiar while my brain was processing what was going on.
I picked up the part on Friday morning and then set about clearing all of my stuff away from the doghouse and then pulling it off to expose the engine. As soon as I got it off, I could see the purge valve right there laying on top. It took less than a minute to replace and it seems to have fixed the problem. It was nice to be able to fix it myself and I was really grateful that this happened somewhere where I could get the part and get it done. While I had my tools out and my hands were dirty, I took care of a half-dozen other little things that I’ve been meaning to get to, so all-in-all it was a successful morning. Feeling confident about my van, I headed out of Las Vegas and drove about 45 minutes south to the tiny little town of Nelson, Nevada. Just 2 miles from Nelson is the old Techatticup mine, established soon after gold was discovered in what is now called El Dorado Canyon in 1859. During its active years, Techatticup, along with its sister mines Wall Street and Savage, produced about $5 million worth of gold. Because the Colorado River runs nearby, it was significantly easier to get supplies in and gold out of these mines than it was for others in the state. Today, Techatticup is one of Nevada’s coolest ghost towns with some great old buildings and even a tour of the mine itself. It’s clearly been staged for photography and is a popular wedding spot, but it was still really fun to wander the streets nonetheless. I got there at the perfect time of day as well with the sun really lighting up the east side of the canyon as it was going down.
I only stayed for about an hour and then took off so I could catch a little more of the desert’s grandeur during the “magic hour” before sunset. Some of the rock formations out there were phenomenal and the sky was showing some really amazing pastel colors that night and it was just a really pretty drive down out of the mountains. After the sun dipped behind the mountains, I continued on to nearby Boulder City for the night. Boulder City was the town that grew up during the construction of the Boulder Dam (now called the Hoover Dam). It’s a really nice little town with some interesting history surrounding the dam’s construction and some great little bars and restaurants. I grabbed some dinner and then went down to the Skinny Bar to listen to some live music. The guy playing was great and the bar was pretty crowded. One of the bartenders even got up and played her bass for a few songs. I turned to my right started chatting with Joe who was about my age and had grown up in Boulder City. His grandfather was actually from my hometown of Washington DC but always enjoyed his time in Vegas and finally decided to move his family west. Joe had since moved out to Las Vegas for a lot of years and then to Henderson where he currently lives. He comes down to his hometown every couple of weeks to have a few beers and catch up with his old friends, especially the ones he played baseball with (they apparently won the state championship one year while he was playing). He was a really nice guy and I loved hearing about growing up in Boulder City and how the town has changed over the years. At some point we moved across the street to the Back Stop which was a bit rowdier but still good fun. At some point Joe headed home and I ended up chatting with some French guys for a while. They came to Las Vegas for work, but wanted to go see some of the “real America” so they went to Grand Canyon, Kingman and Boulder City – all excellent choices in my opinion. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t spend a ton of time talking to people outside of museums and parks, so it was a good night to be out in Boulder City.
I was not, however, feeling great the next morning, but the weather was warm and sunny and beautiful so I decided one more day in Boulder City would be nice. I wanted to take some photos and get some work done anyway and I wanted to go out to Valley of Fire, but not necessarily on the weekend so it all worked out in the end. I spent some time in the little library in town, had a delicious Cornish pasty for dinner and had one quiet beer before calling it an extraordinarily early night (I think I was asleep by 8:30pm).
I was up nice and early on Sunday as a result and took a nice long walk around town to take some photos in the early morning light. Then I went for breakfast at The Coffee Cup, which is definitely the most popular place in town. Thankfully I was there before 8am and got a seat at the counter (with all of the old men in town who eat there on a regular basis – my favorite). The food was good but the service was really excellent and I left full and ready to face the day. I headed out of town and just up the road to the Clarke County History Museum in Henderson. I love museums like this and have seen them in several places around the country. Essentially they buy a plot of land and then move old buildings which are slated for removal from around the county to a central location. The first building they brought in was the old Candlelight Wedding Chapel which had been the spot where many celebrities had gotten married including Better Midler, Conway Twitty, Michael Caine, Ray Liotta, Barry White and James Caan. Without the huge neon sign which once marked its location in the heart of Las Vegas, it looked more like a pleasant little country church. From there you could walk down Main Street and check out several homes which were brought in later. They were all open, furnished and full of information. They even had the old Boulder City Train Depot on the property. The inside of the museum was equally fascinating with a lot of information about the history of the county from mammoths and dire wolves to Elvis and Frank Sinatra and beyond. I was there for a decent chunk of the day and then made my way out to Echo Bay along the shores of Lake Mead for the night. Lake Mead is so low these days that it’s unrecognizable, but it was quiet out there and there were lots of stars in the sky when the sun went down.
I got up super early on Monday to get to Valley of Fire before the crowds and the heat. Of course I have heard about how beautiful Valley of Fire is for many years now, but when I’m in Vegas I’m usually tired and it’s hot out and the last thing I want to do is drive an hour to a place called Valley of Fire. I’d rather sit by the pool with a cold beer and then take a long nap. I was thrilled to finally get out there though and it definitely won’t be my last visit. I spent the morning hiking to the Red Wave, White Domes, Fire Canyon and the Mouse Tanks, all of which were phenomenally beautiful. Even though it was early February, it got plenty hot in the middle of the day so I took a little siesta at midday and then got back into it in the afternoon. It got really cloudy out as the day wore on though, so the light never really caught the mountains the way I would have liked for it to, but it was all profoundly beautiful nonetheless. After the sun had set, I made my way out to nearby Overton for the night.
Yesterday morning I started my day at the Lost City museum right there in Overton. This is one of Nevada’s eight state museums and I was really excited to see it. The Lost City is known more formally as Pueblo Grande de Nevada and is a set of Ancestral Puebloan ruins which stretch 30 miles down the Moapa Valley. This discovery a hundred years ago was important because it was generally believed that the Ancestral Puebloans only lived in the Four Corners region farther to the east. Current thinking is that they were an outpost community who were there to mine salt (or maybe turquoise). They left the area in the 13th century, about a hundred years before their eastern brethren moved out of places like Mesa Verde, Hovenweep and Chaco Canyon. Prolonged drought is generally thought to be the reason for the departure as family groups moved into the more modern Pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona (Hopi and Zuni). The museum was established by the National Park Service and was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the ‘30s. It not only attempts to interpret the Lost City, but also relics from all of the communities which were flooded out of existence with the building of the Hoover Dam and the filling of Lake Mead. This includes nearby St. Thomas, a Mormon community perhaps most famous for feeding John Wesley Powell and his men when they bobbed out of Grand Canyon after their three month exploration. St. Thomas has long been underwater, but with the lake as low as it is, you can now go and visit the ruins of the town nearby. After a nice morning at the museum, I continued on up the road to Mesquite on the Nevada/Arizona border. I had booked a room for two nights at the Virgin Casino here and was looking forward to a couple of days off the road. I ran some errands, spent some time in the library and then checked in and relaxed for the evening. I drank a beer by the pool, won some money in the casino, lost it all back and had a merry old time.
Today has been a very chilled day. It’s overcast out, but pleasant here in Mesquite. I rehung the bathroom door in my van, cleaned out the refrigerator and got some laundry don,but mostly I’ve just been lounging around, looking at my Utah map and starting to come up with a plan for my next state. It’s really nice to take a full day off the road and sit here in my very inexpensive hotel room and do my work and relax.
I’m taking off from here tomorrow. I’ll cross the northwest corner of Arizona and then make my way into Utah, The Beehive State (which symbolizes “industry, hard work, and the cooperative, pioneering spirit of its early settlers”). I’ll be in Utah for a while and I am really looking forward to it. I’ve spent a lot of time in my life in Utah’s beautiful national parks, but there are quite a few state parks, small towns and natural areas I’m looking forward to exploring. I hope to be out hiking most days and enjoying the natural scenery of the region as much as possible. I’ll start out in the south of the state and slowly make my way east and then north, hopefully staying out of the snow as I go. If you have any top tips or recommendations, don’t be afraid to let me know – I’d love to hear them. I’ll have a week of Utah under my belt when I write this post next week, so be sure you check back in so you can see what I get into. Have a great week out there and thank you, as always, for reading.
-Mike