A travel blog about our RV adventures
Category: State Parks
Abandoned Kiln at Aurora It was time to start heading south as our journey entered the return phase, however there were still many ghost towns and old mines to search out. Hawthorne, Nevada, home of the U.S. Army’s ammunitions storage depot, became our next base camp. We had stayed here in the early days of … Continue reading Old Mines and Ghost Towns – Part 7 – Base Camp Hawthorne
Gold!!! We arrived at the place where gold was first discovered in Nevada. The state capital is located nearby in Carson City (named after Kit Carson). Fort Churchill guarded the area from bandits, desperadoes, tribal unrest and offered protection for the thousands of emigrant trains heading west to the gold fields. From mid-1800’s to early … Continue reading Ghost Towns and Old Mines – Part 4 Dayton, Carson City, and Molossia
Bodie, CA Our next destination took us into the counties of Mineral, Esmeralda, and Washoe where mining camps, stage coach stations, railroads, and the California Trail brought together thousands of people looking to “strike it rich.” Thousands of tons of gold and silver ore were moved out of this area during the rushes of the … Continue reading Old Mines and Ghost Towns – Part 3: Luning to Washoe Lake
Heading south out of the Wind River Mountains, we followed the South Pass and Mormon Trails through Wyoming, past Salt Lake City, Utah and into Nevada. Pioneer history, ghost towns, and more beautiful hikes in the Basin and Range territory met us along the way. Lyman, Wyoming Lyman became our base camp for the next … Continue reading Wyoming to Nevada
Welcome to Wyoming--- land of rivers, reservoirs, ranches, trout fishing, dinosaurs, and mountain men. It has been a delightful discovery to experience the uniqueness of each state almost immediately upon crossing its border. Wyoming provided some of the best cloud watching to fuel the almost-daily thunderstorms, which in turn brought us some of the most … Continue reading Dinosaur Diamond: Wyoming!
Colorado’s Grand Valley was our next dinosaur destination. Between the Colorado River and the Colorado National Monument in the western edge of the state, this area was originally heavily agricultural. Outdoor recreation has become the major focus now with cycling, hiking, fishing, and climbing the most popular. More importantly, the Dinosaur Trails area is located … Continue reading Dinosaur Diamond: Colorado Fossil Dig
Bordering Utah and Colorado is a 512 mile National Scenic Byway named The Dinosaur Diamond Highway. Along the route are museums, fossil quarries, rock art, federal historic sites, national parks and several state parks that contain 200 million years of history. Extend the route into Wyoming and a picture begins to form of paleontology’s wild … Continue reading Dinosaur Diamond Highway
The similarities and differences within the state of Arizona are fascinating. Remaining constant throughout our travels were the Saguaros, the canyons, and the opportunities for outdoor activities. In the central part of Arizona, we experienced the wild west, the gold rush, the Civil War, and the Christian tradition. (NOTE: For those receiving these posts by … Continue reading Arizona: Monasteries and Mountains (edited)
Yuma to Tombstone sounds like it should be a western movie about a stagecoach route. As we traveled between the two cities, it often felt like we were seeing the remnants of the wild wild west. The landscape is filled with Saguaro cactus and numerous desert plants making the Sonoran desert much more lush than … Continue reading Arizona: Yuma to Tombstone
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