Album Nevada - Southwest from Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)

Lake Tahoe wealth (#1169)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:34:32 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

From somewhere near Incline Village (Nevada), looking past a wealthy cove and across Lake Tahoe to the mountains in California.

I generally refuse to visit the Lake Tahoe area, it’s too much the epitome of consumerism at its worst. When I first went through there in 1967, there was quite a bit of open space with small villages of simple cabins, all in glorious forests with spectacular views. The glorious forests and spectacular views still exist, but too marred by ostentatious displays of gated-community wealth bounded by over-crowded developments of casino resorts with bad traffic. Want to see nature? See the natural aggression of bad traffic and fast luxury cars that think they own the roads.

US 50 Spooner Summit trailhead (#1162)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:33:19 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Snowing, at a small picnic grounds at the Spooner Summit trailhead on US 60, Memorial Day weekend.

US 50 Spooner Summit trailhead (#1165)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:33:26 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Just what I didn’t need to know – that snowmobiling is popular in the national forest...

US 50 Spooner Summit trailhead (#1163)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:33:24 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Late spring snow.

US 50 Carson City (#1160)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:33:17 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Leaving Carson City. Though it was late May (the 26th), there was snow in the mountains and there had been chain controls further west that morning, due to ice. Since I didn’t have chains for my car, I had delayed heading out until after the chain controls were lifted.

Carson City Nevada State Capitol (#1571)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:31:23 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Like others have discovered, its almost impossible to get a picture of the Nevada State Capitol Building due to it being surrounded by trees. It’s also small compared to most state capitols in the U.S., and not set in some sort of dramatic landscaping to make it look commanding – surprisingly subdued. To keep up with subdued, it’s not the same as other state capitols as the site of the legislature – the legislature meets in a different building, this is the site of the governor’s office. The building was completed in 1871.

Carson City Office of Attorney General (#1569)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:31:19 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

An interesting building, impossible to photograph due to the surrounding trees. The building was a project of the New Deal, built in 1937 as the Supreme Court and Library with funding from the Public Works Administration.

Source: livingnewdeal.org/us/nv/carson-city

Carson City Cactus Jack state office? (#1566)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:31:14 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A classic small casino, across the street from the Paul Laxalt State Building, which is part of the state capitol complex that is on the south side of downtown.

Carson City Nugget Casino (#1564)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:31:12 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Though I’ve passed through Carson City many times, I’ve never stayed overnight or explored. My hotel was close to the old downtown, which was small and pleasant to explore.

Tonopah, NV reflections (#1131)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:03 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Like Goldfield, 25 miles south (adjacent pictures), Tonopah started out as a mining town in the early 1900’s, grew very rapidly but then the ore ran out and within 20 years the town was close to dying. Tonopah, though, benefited much more by WWII and then the Cold War. Just east of Tonopah, the Tonopah Army Air Field was a major training ground during WWII and, a little further east, the Tonopah Test Range was a major part of the Nevada Test and Training Range, the huge nuclear and advanced weaponry range that extends across much of southern Nevada. However, over the years the activities of the Nevada testing area became more concentrated and the military/defense industry support for Tonopah diminished. When I first started visiting the Tonopah area in the early 2000’s, there seemed to be some residual economic impact from the military presence, but in later years that seemed to diminish and Tonopah was looking increasingly desperate. Fortunately, being the largest commercial area around the halfway point on the only road between Reno and Las Vegas, there was always some demand for fuel and accommodations.

Just in the past few years, something seems to be happening for Tonopah resulting in increased revenue. Part of that success may be from a very large solar field constructed outside of town in 2014 (see solar link below), but considering the low manpower demand from a solar field once it is in operation, there must be something else that is resulting in growth.

As a comparison, linked below is a photo of downtown Tonopah from 2006 showing the tall building on the right (the Belvada building), and the gray brick building adjacent to it, both looking empty and almost abandoned. As is evident from this picture, all of downtown was in much better shape on this most recent trip (also see adjacent Tonopah picture).

Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonopah%2C_Nevada
Solar field 2014: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/39416317250
Downtown 2006: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3315244221

Virginia City, NV (#1145)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:21 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

An impressive structure that stood out – but with no apparent name or history.

Tonopah, NV Tesla Charging station (#1132)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:05 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A Tesla charging station in Tonopah? A town seeming set culturally set decades back?

It seemed odd to see this among the mix of abandoned and revived buildings from the 1920’s, in a town with little visible economy, but there it was. It makes sense, though, since this is roughly the halfway point between Reno and Las Vegas and most Tesla’s don’t hold enough charge for the full trip (440 miles). Per the article linked below, you can recharge your Tesla in an hour – just enough time to stretch your legs and have coffee. Unfortunately, for people like me (I have a plug-in hybrid) it doesn’t help since it is a proprietary system.

Source: www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-travel-road-trips-tesla-nevada-electric-highway-20190520-story.html

Walker Lake / snow (#1137)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:10 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Late May snow in the mountains on the east side of Walker Lake.

Carson City Silver Queen Inn (#1159)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:39 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A classic-looking 1960’s motel in downtown Carson City.

Carson City Nevada State Museum (#1158)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:35 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A surprising image of life in the mines, at the Nevada State Museum.

Carson City Chinese Woodcutters (#1154)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:31 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

I was in Carson City to see an exhibit at the Nevada State Museum titled “Fueling the Boom: Chinese Woodcutters in the Great Basin 1870-1920.” Though a small exhibit consisting mainly of posters like this, it was fascinating. I had never heard of the role of Chinese woodcutters in creating the charcoal that fueled the gold and silver rush of the late 1800’s. Some of the Chinese that ended up being woodcutters had been recruited for working on the transcontinental railroad and stayed, while others were immigrants specifically recruited for supporting the mining camps. Due to strong anti-Chinese feelings, they were relegated to doing the sorts of work where they could be largely invisible to the rest of society – often living in very rudimentary housing in the mountain forests. The stories on the posters of their living conditions and perseverance were fascinating, as well as were the stories of their abilities to import some items from China to their camps and thus have some semblance of connection to their culture.

nvculture.org/nevadastatemuseumcarsoncity/exhibits/fueling-the-boom-chinese-woodcutters-in-the-great-basin-1870-1920

Virginia City/Gold Hill, NV mill/mine (#1153)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:27 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

What appears to be an abandoned mill, in Gold Hill. Gold Hill was a separate town immediately adjacent to Virginia City.

Virginia City, NV (#1146)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:23 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Heading south out of Virginia City, I believe the snow capped mountains towards the center of the picture are on the east side of Lake Tahoe in California.

Virginia City, NV mine (#1147)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:25 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Why Virginia City prospered (originally) – mining. Like much of Nevada, the mining success was relatively short lived, though substantially longer here than in other towns visited on this trip – silver was discovered here in 1859 and the mines didn’t apparently start being depleted until 20 years later.

Virginia City, NV (#1140)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:05:16 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

I violated my normal principle of staying out of major tourist destinations, and went partially into Virginia City, NV to see what it was about. I quickly discovered that it was, in fact, a major tourist destination with all of those old buildings filled with shops, bars, and eating places catering to tourists. I decided to escape.