Sunday, October 27, 2013

Nevada Hiking

Ward Mtn FS campground, on Highway 6 at Murry Pass has been our base of operations for the last few days.  It’s a beautiful, well built, modern spacious campground – and free at this time of year.  And virtually empty as a bonus!IMG_2072IMG_2114

It’s only 8km (5 miles) out of Ely, Nevada so we checked out the town a few times.  A few area forest service roads also provided some room for wheeled exploration.

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But we also got out on some trails.  Many of them appear to have been marked and designed for cross country skiing, so they did not go to the ridge tops where I wanted to go.

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So there was a bit of bushwacking, but most was above treeline, and the views were worth it.  But there was also some hazards on the trail in the form of the local wildlife.  This fellow emerged from his lair in the middle of the trail and challenged me.

 

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I escaped with my life, but I have no idea what he is.  Perhaps an alien (where is Area 51 anyway?), or an early halloween prankster.IMG_2088IMG_2092IMG_2094IMG_2096

Following the ridge line back down, there were amazing tree skeletons that had fought to live in this hostile environment for possibly hundreds of years.

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I’m not sure if these are the long-lived bristlecone pines, or others like the pinyon pine, but they are certainly amazing specimens.

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We might have departed yesterday, but the weather has been so idyllic, sunny, warm and calm, that it has been just too easy to stay, relax and enjoy the scenery.  Besides, there was hockey and football games that I did not want to miss if I was on the road somewhere.
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But the forecast is for cooler and damper weather in the next few days, so our camp at around 7400 feet may not be the best place to be.  But anything is better than the forecast from back at home where it has started to snow and the high temperature for the day is the freezing (melting?) point Winking smile.  So – we’ll be on the move for somewhere.  The decision will have to be made at the intersection in town …

PS:

I almost forgot to mention – I received e-mail notification of a comment on my last blog from Barrie, who had a question about Hailey running loose, etc.  For some reason, the post never made it to the blog, and no, it was not sent to spam, nor awaiting moderation.  It just never showed up online.

  But in answer to his question; Hailey is usually in her harness and on a leash when outside the camper or the truck, and under very close supervision.  She always knows the camper is ‘home’ and a safe place, but her curiosity could lead her into all kinds of hazards such as traffic, and coyotes, etc.  But in areas of unlimited visibility such as open desert, I will let her loose without harness, with a bell, always keeping a close eye on her.

Another thing I keep forgetting to mention is the fact that so far on this trip, I have always been able to pay for fuel at the pump without ever having to jump through the zip code hoops (Canadians will know what I am talking about).  Now I’ve likely gone and jinxed myself!  Worst ever was the Safeway station in Flagstaff – I had offered to leave both my credit card and my safeway rewards card with the clerk while I filled up, but he wanted my driver’s licence as well!  Like I was going to gas n dash pulling a fifth wheel trailer! Needless to say, I took my business down the street.

6 comments:

  1. I've been following your blog for more than a year, and notice you seem to always have access to TV and Internet service in what appears to be some very remote locations in Canada and Western U.S.. Would you you mind sharing some details about how you manage to access the outside world from such remote locations?

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    1. I get my internet via a dish I set up on a tripod - with a view to the southern sky. Basically it is a company called Hughesnet http://customercare.myhughesnet.com/
      that I get through a Canadian distributor http://www.galaxybroadband.ca/. It's not for everbody, but it works great for me. I used to subscribe to satellite TV in Canada through Bell Expressvu, but they changed their satellite configuration and it can no longer be received in the southern US. I am now with Shaw.ca, however the same thing might happen with their signal at some point? Through a bit of playing around, I am able to receive both systems on one dish, so if I set up my internet dish - I automatically have TV. I also pick up US TV off-air when available, but I really want my Canadian news, sports and WEATHER! Hope this helps.

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  2. I did not mean to be Anonymous, but I forgot my Google password. My name is Len Coffelt, and my wife and I have just purchased our first motor coach and hope to become full timers if we can ever sell our bricks and mortar home. In the mean time we will be part timers within the next month.

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  3. When I was a kid in California, we always called them "Potato bug." Usually found in freshly cultivated soil, as I recall.

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