06OCT07 - Beatty, NV

It seems no matter how we try, we just can’t out run the bad weather; we woke up this morning to below freezing weather and a thin film of ice on the vehicles. Luckily it didn’t last long once the sun hit it. So once again it was back on to old US Highway 95 south to Las Vegas. First a little geography lesson. Turns out Nevada is home to 31 mountain ranges, generally running in a SW to NE direction! So when you are driving in Nevada you are either in a valley surrounded by mountains up to 11,000 plus feet; climbing up to a pass; or coming down from a pass! We know the Rockies are higher, but we found these more beautiful. The most spectacular was when the road was squeezed between Mount Grant and Lake Walker.

Our plan was to drive only half the distance to Vegas and spend the night in Tonopah. But the only RV park in town was full of bikers and Air Streamers, so we decided to continue to Beatty, NV, right next door to Death Valley National Park. Turns out this was a very good decision because Tonopah had temperatures well below freezing during the night. And it allowed us to visit Death Valley first thing the next morning.

South of Tonopah we stopped in Goldfield, NV, a “living” ghost town, so Dan could explore. We are not sure what a “living” ghost town is versus a true ghost town; but we think it has to do with whether there are businesses at all open? It looks like Goldfield has a population of seven, and it turns out there are seven bars in town. Around 1906 to 1910 Goldfield was the biggest town in Nevada. Also in Goldfield is an information office for the Nuclear Regulatory Agency to tell the public what great idea it is to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain (unfortunately it was closed!). For further info and pictures on Goldfield check out:

www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/goldfield.html

Also on our drive Corrie noticed several “ranches” that were right next to the road out in the middle of nowhere, usually surrounded by barbwire, and having signs advertising 24 hour parking for truckers? Dan had to explain prostitution was legal in Nevada in every county, except the counties with Reno, Tahoe and Vegas in them; and the common name for the brothels was Ranch.

Anyway we made it to Beatty, NV, and checked into the Space Satellite RV Park for the night. After dinner we walked around the small town and noted two unique features. The first was right next to the RV park, and was a business that had every type of military ammo box for sell. We are talking pallets and pallets of 50 caliber boxes, 20mm cannon shell boxes, TOW anti tank containers, and the list goes on. Not sure what the market is for these items? The other unique thing, was Dan noted a complete, solar powered, fully automated, weather center. Upon examination it turns out not to be just a weather center, but it also automatically measures alph, beta, and gamma radiation. Why you ask? – Can you say Nevada Nuclear Test Site right next door! Turns out your federal government has installed these sites all-around the test site extending from California to Utah. They are completely open to the public to check at anytime, and are routinely monitored by volunteers (usually high school science teachers). Check it out at:

http://www.cemp.dri.edu/

Trivia: What is the connections between Goldfield, NV, and Madison Square Garden?