Nevada Northern Railway - Spring 2015 Trip

 We needed to go to Ely and I asked the kids if they wanted to ride the train or go swimming. They both chose to ride the train. (Wow, that says a lot since they LOVE swimming!) We got our tickets early, as it happened to be a free day for locals, did some errands, and then headed back. We found one of Desert Girl's friends to join us for the ride.

The kids love getting their ticket checked by the conductor as they board the train.

Once we got on, we found another surprise: more friends!! What a great day.

It was also volunteer day on the train, with several booths set up in one car showing off volunteer opportunities.


The girls found some fire chief hats. Desert Girl had decided the day before she was also going to wear a cape. I think capes are always in fasion.

After awhile inside, we headed out, where the girls posed.

And posed some more.

It was a beautiful day for a ride, and the train was nearly full.

Engine 40 took us easily up towards Ruth.

The mine tailings at Ruth are always impressive. Basically they moved a mountain to extract a lot of copper and a little of some other metals.

We opted to spend most of the downhill trip outside.

But first we had to turn around. We backed up, the engineers watching closely.

The little yellow caboose led the way.

We backed into Keystone Gulch, population 20. No, make that 18. Or maybe 17.

 Fortunately the gallows were empty as we visited the little town.

On that afternoon, the population was zero.

But some bandits appeared and wanted to know if anyone would join their gang.

No one did, so we headed back to Ely. We did pause as one guy got kicked off the train. We were all impressed. If you misbehave, you have a long walk back. Fortunately everyone in our group stayed on the train.

We saw some smaller mines on the way back.

The tunnels are always highlights of the trip.

We noticed a fire truck as we went along town. Then we saw a big blackened area--a fire right next to the tracks! Did the train start it? I don't know, but fortunately the fire fighters kept it contained.

We crossed the road...

…and enjoyed the scenic views.

Have I mentioned it was a really beautiful day for a train ride?

Almost back

 All that was left was to get on the right tracks. One of the conductors got off to throw the switch.

Then we had a big steam blast, and before we knew it we were back at the station.

It was a very relaxing couple of hours with beautiful scenery. The trains run all summer and into the fall. For more info, check out Nevada Northern Railway's website. All aboard!

Kershaw-Ryan State Park - Spring Break 2015

 We were headed home from Las Vegas, a five-hour prospect, and the sun was setting quickly. We had to make a decision: drive all the way home or spend one more night out? The plan had been to camp one more night (night five), but being so close to home, we could also feel the pull. When I thought about driving so far in the dark, though, with lots of animals along the road, I decided we would stay one more night. That way we would have time to explore a little more. And I'm all about exploration.

I started with the beautiful Joshua tree forest along Highway 93 west of Caliente. This isn't a forest like you see in the Eastern United States or in the Pacific Northwest or the Rocky Mountains. A Joshua tree forest is spectacular in its own way.

The setting sun really lit up these trees. Then I noticed two hawks talking to each other from the tops of two trees. I went a little closer to get a better look and found they were Swainson's hawks. These hawks winter in Argentina and are now back! Hello!

The flowers on the Joshua tree come in big terminal clumps.

The individual flowers themselves might not be so showy, but altogether they make for an impressive display.

We had to decide where to camp. We had several options: trailheads for the Silver State OHV trail, Kershaw-Ryan State Park, or Cathedral Gorge State Park. We ended up choosing Kershaw-Ryan, as I had never been there and it was only two miles from Caliente. We pulled into the 15-site campground and selected a site. The kids put up the tent all by themselves while I made their meal of choice: top ramen. Yep, we were living it up!

The very nice ranger stopped by and gave us a brochure and told us about the pay showers (8 minutes for 50 cents) and the firewood. We availed ourselves of both, then went to bed.

The next morning was chilly, so I started a fire and roused the kids to eat some hashbrowns. Yum!

I got just a little bit of attitude.

We wanted to get home by lunch so we could see my husband and have the afternoon to unpack, so we packed up and headed further into the park. We were amazed at what we found. A small wading pool was near the end of the road. Since it was March, it didn't have water in it, but we could imagine how much fun it would be in summer.

We also found a playground, which the kids loved.

We decided to take the Canyon overlook trail, about 1.4 miles long. But since we didn't have much time, I told the kids we were going on a trail run. They were good sports and started running.

The trail was great, with nice views.

And benches for resting and goofing around.

We kept climbing higher, getting a view of more of the park.

I wondered what was up the side canyons. Although the principal vegetation was sagebrush and everything seemed quite dry, these canyons are subject to flash floods. In fact, nearly all the park facilities were wiped out by two back-to-back flash floods in 1984, and it took a long time for the state to appropriate money to rebuild.

The canyon was originally developed in 1873 by Samuel and Hannah Kershaw, who called their ranch Meadow Valley Wash Ranch. In 1904 they sold it to rancher James Ryan, who then donated it to the state in 1926 as a park. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed facilities in 1934, and it became a state park in 1935. Although in some ways you feel like you're going back in time in the park, the frequent trains (we heard about ten during the night) remind you that progress is chugging along.

Leaves were just appearing on some of the trees.

When we finished the trail run (which the kids rocked!), they checked out the fish pond.

The ranger let them feed the fish, which they loved.

I'm looking forward to visiting again in the summer to check out all the rose bushes and for the kids to take a dip in the wading pool. This is truly an oasis, and the bird life is terrific. Kershaw-Ryan isn't far off the beaten path and definitely worth a stop. It was a wonderful way to end our fun spring break.

Red Rock Canyon - Spring Break 2015

After Valley of Fire and visiting friends at Lake Mead, we headed to the Red Rock Rendezvous, a climbing-oriented weekend at Red Rock Canyon sponsored by Mountain Gear. The event sold out, so we were expecting a big crowd at the campground at Spring Mountain State Park, and we found it. Someone commented on how many of the tents looked the same, and it's true, they were remarkably similar! I guess climbers think alike.

My friend Randi joined us, and the next day we headed off early for a climbing clinic while my brother Ed watched the kids (thanks, Ed!). It's been awhile since I've climbed, so I felt really rusty. Nevertheless, I was ready to get on rope and climb some rock! I really appreciated Randi for talking me into attending.

Climbing instilled some fear in me, but also reminded me why I like. It feels really good to conquer a slab of rock.

Next it was Randi's turn, and she did a fine job of getting reacquainted. She's done some cool climbs, including a 16-pitch one in Yosemite that I'd love to do someday. It took her and her climbing partner 15 hours to do it. It turned out that one of our instructors held the speed record for that climb: 52 minutes. Whoa!

Here's Randi before she disappears around the corner.

It seemed like the right spot for a selfie!

We did a couple more climbs and then headed back to the parking lot. It took awhile to get back to camp, and when we did we found Ed relaxing in the shade by himself near the tent.

"Where are the kids?" I asked.

"Oh, they're playing in the creek." He pointed in the general direction, and I couldn't see them at all.

Um, should I be worried? Was I a helicopter mom or just reasonably cautious? I eventually went over to take a look.

Sure, enough, they were down in the ravine, happy as could be, playing in the creek that was at most a couple inches deep. They had had a great time with their uncle.

It was getting hotter, so we decided to take a walk and see if we couldn't find a swimming hole. Google maps showed a nice body of water nearby. Soon we found it.

 But we also found out no swimming is allowed, as it's the home to the endangered Pahrump Poolfish (which used to live near Pahrump, but all the springs there went dry).

So we went back to the creek, where we had a good time.

The next morning we went climbing with the kids (something I managed not to get any photos of!), and that was fun until it got hot. So we wrapped it up and Randi headed home. We let the kids choose where to go for a late lunch, and they chose Indian food. I think I've trained my kids right! It was delicious.

Then it was one more activity before heading towards home: bowling.

Wow, it's been awhile since I've bowled. And bowling after rock climbing isn't exactly the best idea. But the kids had a fantastic time and it was air-conditioned, so it was good all around.

(The kids have decided it's really fun to stick out their tongues for photos.)

Then it was time to head home. Except I got tired, so we spent one more night out...