Wilson Hot Springs and the Boyd Pony Express Station, West Desert, Utah

On the way from Fish Springs NWR to Callao, at the north end of the Fish Springs Range, there's an old bus upside down on the side of the road. Next to it is a dirt road. We took it about a quarter-mile, until it ended. I had heard there were hot springs out here, but I had also heard that lots of people get stuck getting out to them. Fortunately the temperature was below freezing and I could hear the gunshots of hunters, so I didn't feel too isolated.

We parked and checked out the nearby hot spring. The kids were not too interested, so they went back in the truck while I hiked around it and to another old, abandoned bus. I wonder what the stories are about the buses being there! The land is actually the southern edge of Dugway Proving Ground.

Near the bus was the hot spring the refuge biologist had mentioned, with some tubs. The circular tub was only about half full and the water wasn't particularly warm. Nearby was a bathtub with a rusted edge that was full of water but didn't look too inviting.

I could tell by the color of the hot spring itself that it was really hot. In fact, it's about 142 degrees Fahrenheit. You definitely want to be careful around it.

Here's a link to a brief Utah Geological Survey page of water quality for the spring. 

The link shows a map, and then when you click on a spring, you get a listing like the one below:

Id	2081
Mapno__cou	TO-109
County	TOOELE
Region_loc	Fish Springs
Source__we	Wilson Health Spr.
Location__	(C-10-14)33c
Quad__usgs	C
Township	10
Range	14
Section	33
Qtr_sectio	c
Idname__us	395423113254900
Type	Spring
Temp__°c	60.5
Class__hig	SPRING HIGH
Depth_of_w
Flow
Rate_units
Longitude_	113.4303
Latitude__	39.9064
Utm_eastin	292251
Utm_northi	4419986
Depth_to_w
Status
Date	12-Jul-67
Reference	USGS/NWIS; 2000
Ph	7.4
Conductivi	31200
Sodium__mg	7090.0
Potassium_	18.0
Calcium__m	740.0
Magnesium_	224.0
Aluminum__
Iron__mg_l
Silica__mg	33.0
Boron__mg_	2.600
Lithium__m
Bicarbonat	180.0
Sulfur__mg	1600.0
Chlorine__	12000.0
Fluorine__	4.00
Arsenic__m
Total_diss	22900
Total_diss	21700
Cations_an	100

I couldn't find much else about Wilson Health Springs. Apparently Northern Arizona University did a study back in the 1990s and found many different microbes living in the hot springs, but it doesn't look like they followed up on the initial studies. Their preliminary report (link above) shows the layout of the several hot springs and warns that access to some of them is treacherous, with a thin crust.

I was glad that the ground was frozen, as it made it easier to stay up high. I could see that if the ground was warmer and wetter, it would be very difficult to move around.

Frost on the salt grass.

Looking back towards the truck was very scenic. If you like isolated hot springs, this is a neat place to visit.

I could imagine a bus full of hot spring afficionados on their way...

Before the buses traversed the area, this was the route of the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway in the United States. What a route they chose! And the reason they chose part of it was because it was previously part of the Pony Express Trail, used to deliver mail by horseback from St. Louis to Sacramento in 1849-50. We stopped to visit the Boyd Pony Express Station, which has some nice interpretive panels. Not much of the station is left, but the view of the Deep Creek Mountains is still gorgeous.

We headed south, but I had to stop for a couple more photos. This is the Weiss Highway. Watch out for traffic. (This highway had a bit of notoriety back in the 1990s.)

And this has to be one of the most complete but remote signs out in the West Desert. It actually makes things seem so close. What it doesn't mention is that the nearest gas is over an hour away. And that if you see more than two vehicles in that hour, it will be considered a lot of traffic.

Ready for a visit? Wilson Health Springs are something I don't cover in my book,  Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area (affiliate link). However, I do have chapters on Fish Springs, Callao, the Confusion Range, and many other places of the West Desert. So if you'd like to learn even more about this fascinating area, check it out!

The New Little Horse Canyon

 During August and September we had exceptional monsoons. Meaning more frequent than usual, and in some places, more precipitation than usual. Unfortunately quite a lot of that rain came on areas that had just burned, causing a lot of erosion. However, many places in the landscape have evolved to adapt to change (it's just that now we have a lot of non-native species that screw things up!). Regardless, seeing the flood damage gives you an awe of the power of Mother Nature.

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to go hiking up Little Horse Canyon in the North Snake Range in Nevada. We could see new drainage channels heading to the east. They flowed right over the Gandy Road, which is still in poor shape. Whole trees were carried across the road.

We could see why when we got down into the bottom of the canyon. Places thirty feet high were scoured.

some of the rocky banks continue to collapse.

We kept gawking as we walked along, finding debris in trees far above our heads. It would have been so amazing to see this flood. It actually wasn't just one flood event, but at least four.

When we rounded one corner, we could see that the streambed ahead was fifty feet lower. What had happened here?

It turned out the stream had cut down to bedrock and washed everything off it.

On the left side of the photo below, you can make out the old stream channel, which had been cutting through the limestone. It was only a couple feet wide. Now the stream bed is tens of feet wide. It will be so interesting to see what grows back in this area.

The raging creek snapped trees off at their base.

We don't get a whole lot of flash floods in this area, they're more common to the south. But this summer was definitely the time for them. Fortunately very few people live in this area, so although the amount of land moved was immense, the damage done to infrastructure was minimal.

As we left the canyon, we reached the debris flow, where the water slowed down and debris fell out of the current. Trees littered the bench as far as we could see.

It was a really cool hike, and I hope I can visit some of the other places that were flooded this summer. There's something about seeing massive landscape transformations that puts me in my place. Ha!

W.M. Keck Museum--Fun with Minerals, Fossils, and a Tea Service

 During our fall break with its focus on culture, I told the kids we were going to concentrate on museums instead of hiking. Believe it or not, they were happy about that. Our first museum of the trip was the W.M. Keck Museum in the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering. We had looked at their website before we went to get the address, and went there. But that ended up being the general address for the University of Nevada-Reno. After wandering in circles for awhile we got directions, left the parking garage, and drove to the other end of campus, where we fortunately found a parking spot and then did the short walk to the museum.

We had the museum all to ourselves, which after our experience at Sand Mountain, was quite welcome.

On the first floor we saw hundreds of different minerals. We oohed and ahhed as we went past.

Then we headed downstairs, where we saw real gold--both on rocks and on the Mackay tea service. The kids were more interested in it than I thought they would be.

Next we headed upstairs, to see some fossils.

I was also quite interested in the carbide lamp collection, as that became the primary lighting source for miners in 1896 (before that they used candle lanterns). Cavers used carbide lamps for decades. I even used one when I started caving, but after having super hot water run down my face because I didn't have it adjusted quite right, I decided to stick with electric. Nowadays most cavers use electric lights, which over the years have become smaller and brighter.

As we were leaving the museum, a staff person stopped us and let the kids pick out a rock. They were both delighted! We used the restroom and I admired the beautiful radiator. A heating duct next to it blew hot air.

Then we took a little detour into the library and found this electric vehicle that had been built for Burning Man. The sign welcomed folks to give it a ride.

It only took about half an hour to see everything at kid speed (we didn't read much), but we all had a good time. Then we got back to the van before the parking meter ran out (we didn't have many coins with us). I was so impressed that I had actually parallel parked. That's not a skill I need out on the ranch!

A Visit to Sand Mountain, Nevada

 Over Desert Boy's fall break we headed west across the very wide state of Nevada to go to Carson City, the state capital, to celebrate the 150th birthday of the state. On the way there we stopped at Sand Mountain, east of Fallon. About four years ago we stopped there and let the kids play in the sand and thought it would be a fun place to return to. I even planned to camp there. But when we got to the turnoff, we could see that things had changed. A sea of RVs was parked at the base of the sand dunes.

 Even though it was Wednesday, hundreds of people in RVs with trailers and off-highway vehicles were spread out. It turns out that Tuesday and Wednesday are free days. Otherwise it's $40 for a week or $90 for the season. The pricing structure was obviously not for the casual nature observer wanting to take a jaunt up to the top of the dunes. It appeared that there weren't any specific time frames for vehicles at the dunes (unlike Coral Pink Sand Dunes, where hikers didn't have to worry about getting run over until 10 in the morning).

I was a bit floored when I saw the Papa Murphy's pizza vendor. I guess we didn't need to bring that top ramen!

The kids really wanted to play in the sand, so we carefully made our way out towards the dunes, where I stood guard while the kids played. When we saw vehicles coming our way, we scurried out of the way. It wasn't exactly relaxing.

Despite all the vehicles on Wednesday, when we drove by again on Sunday morning, there were probably double the amount, plus a constant stream leaving the dunes. Over half had California license plates.

I had quickly decided not to camp at the dunes, as the noise level was quite high, and there clearly wasn't a tent section. We went back down the road and checked out the nearby Pony Express Station, where we saw the dunes with some awesome light.

Desert Girl really loved playing in the sand.

The Pony Express Station was neat, but not a place I'd like to stay at. Driving across the state at 70 mph is long these days, I can't imagine how hard it would have been back in 1860. And the signs by the Pony Express Station said it didn't have a roof and the water tasted terrible. Not exactly a rousing endorsement.

We ended our evening at Sand Mountain with a really pretty sunset. I thought the OHVs would get off the dune, but they just continued roaring up and down the dunes. albeit with their lights on.

If you like OHVs, this is definitely the place for you. If not, it's very pretty from a distance.

Oak Creek Canyon

 East of Delta, Utah is Oak City, Utah (check out the link for an interesting tidbit about the country's atomic history), and east of it is a beautiful canyon called Oak Creek Canyon. I never paid much attention to it until it burned in a huge wildfire a couple years back. When we had some extra time one Saturday, we decided to go drive up the canyon and see what was there. We were impressed.

Even though it was obvious that the fire had burned really hot, taking out whole hillsides of trees, the vegetation was coming back well. The oak trees were already several feet tall, and colorful maples dotted some of the areas. A big section of ponderosa pines had been protected from the fire. Those that did burn may produce the next crop of ponderosa pines, as they require fire in order for their seeds to regenerate.

We eventually turned around and came back to the lower campground. We found an old picnic structure.

Behind it was an impressive amphitheater. I let the kids play in the leaves and use their imagination while I wandered around taking photos.

I'm not sure who uses this amphitheater, but I'd sure like to be there for some performance.

The leaves were spectacular.

I was a bit surprised to see signs announcing bears in the area. I guess the acorns help provide enough food for them.

The campground host has a cabin. It looks like a great place to spend the summer. We will definitely be adding this canyon to our summer camping list.

The canyon is located in the Fishlake National Forest. Activities include camping;  fishing (for introduced trout); rock climbing; hiking Fool Creek Peak, the highest peak in the Canyon Range; wood-gathering; hiking Devil's Den memorial trail; and checking out the fire rehabilitation.  When you drive the road, there are places where they tell you not to stop for the next mile because of flood damage, and when you see how they had to bulldoze through all the debris to reopen the road, you don't slow down too much, even on a sunny day!

It's so fun discovering places that aren't too far from home and yet are so interesting.