Exploring Alamo, NV with Family

We’d planned to meet family in Great Basin National Park; but due to a cold weather system the forecast is now calling for freezing temperatures, rain, and snow. So, we quickly change plans and arrange to meet them in Alamo, NV instead.

Picketts RV Park

We choose to set up camp in Pickets RV Park due to it’s proximity to the hotel our family is in, it’s right behind the local grocery store, and has full hookups. It’s a very small town and the only restaurant is a Chester’s Chicken in the the gas station\grocery store. So, being here allows us to easily cook for and entertain our family members for the week.

We all arrive around lunch, eat and settle into our respective locations. Then we meet up later in the afternoon to relax around camp and catch up before having dinner.

Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge (NWR)

The next day we head down to Pahranagat NWR to begin our exploration of the area.

Established in 1963 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife recognized the remaining lakes and marshes of this Valley needed to be preserved; and designated 3,916 acres of lakes, marshes, wet meadows, and desert uplands as a Wildlife Refuge. They chose to name it Pahranagat because it means “feet sticking in water” in the native Paiute language; which is a very good description of the area. The refuge has since expanded to 5,380 acres and is an essential stopover for migratory birds as it’s located on the Pacific Flyway.

Large springs north of Alamo provide water for the lakes and wetlands. The water is stored in the Upper Lake and is released to lower portions of the refuge as needed.

Upper Lake Loop Trail

Our first stop is the Upper Lake where three of us head out to the hike the 3 mile loop trail around the lake while the final member or our party opts to meander her way around with binoculars and an app that can identify birds by their calls.

Visitor Center & Pahranagat Loop Trail

Next, we head down to the Visitor Center where we explore the exhibits, watch the short movie about the area, and then head down the short Pahranagat Loop Trail. We stop a short way down to have lunch at a shaded bench. After lunch, three of us finish the trail while the final member of our party opts to hang out outside the visitor center until we begin the Cabin Trail.

Cabin Trail

The Cabin Trail begins behind the Visitor Center and winds it’s way along the Pahranagat Wash until turning back toward Alamo Road where there are two cabins nestled amongst the trees. The first is the Railroad tie cabin; which was used by ranchers for more than 30 years for various purposes including: temporary housing, machinery storage, a workshop, and a shed for livestock.

The second is the Petroglyph Cabin; which is a historical mystery as to who built it, when, and why. The deep walls and small windows indicate it may have been built by early settlers around 1870 as this construction was commonly used for security during that lawless time. However, the carvings in the soft rock on the front of building depict everything from Native American petroglyphs, cattle brands, and initials; leading to the confusion regarding the origin and history of the building.

Crystal Wash Petroglyph Trail

The following day we decide to go through Crystal Springs to find the Crystal Wash Petroglyph Trail. We end up doing two U-turns before finding the trailhead because I, as the navigator, am too busy chatting instead of paying attention to where we need to turn.

Once we finally reach the trailhead at Wash II, we sign in at the registration book and head down into the wash to begin the trek to find the Petroglyphs hidden along the trail. They are marked; but there is no defined trail and the markers are not easy to locate. Even with the guide from the Visitors Center, we don’t see one until we’re at the end of Wash II. Now that we finally have a point we can identify on the trail guide, we can use it to give us a general direction for the next one and we begin to see others.

We have a much easier time finding the petroglyphs in Wash I and on the way back to the trailhead are able to locate the remaining sites in Wash II. The trail itself is interesting due to the necessity of walking through sand, scrambling over rocks, and climbing up boulders. We even found a few birds along the way to satisfy the non-hiker in the party.

Views along the trail

The views along the trail looking back down the wash provide some spectacular scenery and some very interesting geological formations.

Petroglyphs

The Petroglyphs were varied and interesting, so I included a sampling of some of the best ones.

Extra Terrestrial (ET) Highway Rest Area

Next we head back into Crystal Springs for the rest area on the Extra Terrestrial Highway to have a picnic lunch before heading into the Key Pitman Wildlife Management Area (WMA) for a little more walking and hopefully some bird sightings.

Frenchy Lake at Key Pittman WMA

As we head toward Frenchy Lake we quickly realize that there really isn’t a trail here. Just an old road leading down to the lake with a lot of cow dung from the ranch on the opposite shore.

So, we carefully pick our way along the road and unfortunately scare a group of geese as we near the bottom of the road. They take flight and in turn scare away everything else on this side of the lake.

We move a little closer to the lake, picking our way along a cattle track and do see a few ducks; but everything else is just too far away to identify. At this point, we feel a few drops of rain and decide to call it day and head back back to camp for a few hours of relaxation before dinner.

Ash Springs Petroglyph Trail

The next morning we begin our days explorations at the Ash Springs Petroglyph trail. This trailhead is much easier to find (it helps that the navigator was paying more attention), the trail itself is better defined, smoother to navigate, and the petroglyphs easier to locate.

Views along the trail

This trail is on the side of a hill, so the views across the valley are spectacular.

Petroglyphs

According to the brochure, there are over 60 petroglyph boulders in this area; but we stuck to the trail and the 18 marked sites along it. Picture 4 below contains a very unusual figure of a human with upraised arms and very large hands that encircle the person’s head. The body posture of these figures is very rare and may be unique to the area.

All four of us made it around the trail much quicker than expected, so we quickly revise our plan for the day and head back to camp to pack lunches and begin our afternoon adventure early.

The Road to Delamar

Once our lunches are packed, we begin the trip to the Delamar Ghost Town. It’s a 30 mile drive on dirt roads through remote landscape and after a cloudy morning is promising to be a beautiful day.

Delamar Flat\Dry Lake

The first stop along the trail is the Delamar Flat or Dry Lake bed. There’s also a petroglyph boulder here.

Mule Deer & Joshua Trees

Most of the road here was very easy; but the last mile or two became very rough and slow going. As we get closer, we spot four mule deer on the hill amongst the Joshua Trees. Can you find them?

As we get closer to town I hop out of the truck and walk the rest of the way up clearing the path of sharp rocks and rusted metal that could potentially cause tire damage along the way. We enter the town at what used to be Main Street and begin to see building ruins. We follow the road further up the hill and park to have lunch.

Ghost Town

The Delmar Mine operated from 1893 – 1909. John and Olivia Ferguson discovered gold in 1891 and named it the Ferguson Camp. However, it was eventually renamed “Delamar” after John DeLamar bought the mining claim in 1893. DeLamar then sold the mine to new owners controlled by Simon Bamberger in 1900, two years after a fire destroyed the half the town.

The town site covers an area of about 5 square blocks and eventually between 1,500 to 3,000 (depending on your source) residents settled in the town. It contained many businesses including a post office, newspaper, hospital, school, churches, saloons, stores, and an opera house. Unfortunately, the mines dry milling process created a fine silica dust which caused the deaths of many of the town residents giving the mine the nickname of “The Widow Maker.”

After lunch we spread out through the town to get a closer look at some of the ruins and I decide to walk up the hill at the far end of town, to get a view back into the Delamar Valley, as well as the town from above.

The mine

On the way out of town, we stop at an overlook point above the abandoned mine and get some really good views down into the distance as well.

Leaving Dalamar

As we leave Delamar and head to Helene we get some incredible views down the road and to the Pahroc Valley toward Great Basin Highway.

Delamar-Helene Cemetery

Our next stop is the Delamar & Helene Cemetery where unfortunately many of the tombstones have been stolen. This was originally the Helene Cemetery; but the Delamar residents began using it after the road to the Delamar Cemetery was washed out. Despite the vandalism, there was still a peace hanging over the site and several intact graves and markers.

Helene Ghost Town

From the Cemetery we choose to leave the truck parked here and walk the 1/2 mile up to the Helene Ghost town. This site is much smaller than Delamar and only consists of a few buildings, the mine on the hill, and a line of really old colored glass shards lining the path there.

Once back at the truck we decide to head into Caliente and share a few of our favorite spots in Cathedral Gorge (previous post) before having dinner at the Side Track restaurant in town.

Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge Continued

The next day the family decides they’d like to head back down to the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge and see the parts of the park we missed the first day.

Middle Marsh

Our first stop is Middle Marsh located between the Upper and Lower lakes. Just like the first day, three of us take off for a hike while the final member of our party opts to meander with her binoculars.

Dove Dike to WHIN Dike

We take off across Dove Dike with the intent of doing a loop down to WHIN Dike and back up the road to our starting point. But, once we get across Dove Dike we come to a locked gate with the trail being on the other side. After searching a short while for a way through, two of us end up squeezing through the gate while the other climbs over it to continue on our journey. As we follow the trail down to WHIN Dike, we come across another locked gate; but this one has an unlocked person gate on the side (just like the other one should have).

Just after coming through the gate we scare a few Jack Rabbits and one of them was nice enough to stop at the top of the hill for me to photograph it.

Lower Lake

Next we head down to lower lake for lunch and another walk. But, once we arrive we quickly see the walk we’d planned to take is completely overgrown. So, we find a spot along the lake with good views of the wildlife and relax while enjoying our lunches.

Upper Lake South end

Since we weren’t able to walk at the lower lake, we decide to stop at the southern end of the Upper Lake and share a viewing area with our resident birder that we found while doing the loop trail here a few days ago.

Davenport Trail

We leave our birder at the viewing area and cross the dam to find the Davenport Trail; which leads from the lower lake down to the Visitor Center. We plan to go a little way down then turn around, and it’s good thing; because this one was also completely overgrown and forced us to turn around earlier than we wanted to.

Despite the overgrown trails, we all enjoy the day. The weather was very pleasant and the views were incredible.

Our time here together has come to an end, so we make one final plan to meet for breakfast then go our separate ways.

Goodbye breakfast

It’s a chilly morning, so we all cram into our little camper for an incredible breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes with sliced banana on top, sausage, and eggs. Yum!

Then it’s time to say goodbye. Hugs all around, and we head off in our separate directions.

Next stop… Barnes Canyon Trailhead