Major production funding for Wild Nevada is made possible by the Nevada Commission on Tourism, who encourages everyone to explore the Silver State's hidden treasures.

MUSIC >>Chris Orr: Hi, welcome to Wild Nevada.

We're starting this show right at the geographic center of the state.

I'm, Chris Orr.

>>Dave Santina: And, I'm Dave Santina, and we're joined this time by Rich Moreno of Nevada Magazine.

Thanks for coming along to lead us again, Rich.

Now, we only found the center of the state because Rich brought his GPS, and the geographic center has no monument, no indicator whatsoever.

It's along a dirt road, in fact.

So, unless you've got a GPS you're not gonna find it.

So, make sure you have one if you're lookin' for it.

state is in the northern part of the Monitor Valley and, Rich, where are we gonna be goin' on this trip?

>>Rich Moreno: Well, we're gonna head north of here and look at some petroglyphs.

And, then we're gonna go south, uh, to take a coupleB@ of hikes through some very beautiful country in the Big Smokey Valley and Monitor Valley areas.

So, let's go.

>>Chris: That sounds good.

>>Dave: The U.S.

Geological Survey doesn't recognize the geographic centers of any of the 50 states as exact locations.

This is simply because there's no agreed upon definition of what constitutes it.

But generally the Survey considers the geographic center as "that point on which the surface of the area would balance if it were a plane of uniform thickness."

>>Chris: Another way to illustrate it is that if you traced Nevada's boundaries on a piece of cardboard, cut it out and then balanced it on a sharp pencil, the balance point would be the center of the state.

MUSIC >>Dave: Leaving the state's center, we head north on State Route 425 to Highway 50. about 10 miles to the Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area.

>>Chris: We meet Rob Perrin, an outdoor recreation and wilderness specialist with the Bureau of Land Management.

>>Dave: Beautiful day to be out here.

>>Rob Perrin: Very beautiful day.

>>Dave: So, what direction, uh, you wanna take us?

>>Rob: Well, we're gonna go right up here and look at some petroglyphs.

>>Dave: Okay.

>>Chris: Sounds great.

>>Dave: Lead on.

>>Dave: Rob, I've come by this sign on the highway a few times, but never stopped here before.

What's the story of this site?

>>Rob: Well, this was established as a BLM campground and picnic site back in 1967, uh, and has been in use since.

It's a very popular site.

>>Chris: Rob, we're on a real well-established trail.

What's the highlight of this trail or its purpose?

>>Rob: Um, well, this trail comes and shows folks all these, uh, petroglyphs that are along these rock faces here.

If you look at this, uh, one flat surface here you can see a bunch of, uh, vertical, uh, what appear to be scratchings, in, uh, in the rock.

>>Dave: Yeah, they look like tally marks, like somebody was counting up, uh, some numbers of something.

Uh, what do they think it is?

>>Rob: We have no idea, really, who did it, when it was done, or what the purpose of the markings were.

Um, so, it's all up to the visitor to speculate as to what it might be.

It's kinda, kinda cool, really.

>>Dave: Yeah.

>>Chris: Now, are all the petroglyphs along here the same type?

>>Rob: Uh, no, actually there, there are some differences.

These are, look like that most of them were scratched in.

As we look at some of the others we'll see that there were, some were pecked and some of the styles were somewhat different.

>>Dave: Hmm.

Where are the others?

>>Rob: Uh, right up here.

>>Chris: Hey... >>Dave: Oh, I see things.

>>Rob: There's some curvilinear markings in here that look like they were pecked in as opposed to scratched.

And, uh, there's some speculation that those might be related to fertility somehow.

Um, and also an interesting, um, I guess it's not really a petroglyph, but, uh, the initials "RY" are scratched in and, uh... >>Dave: Yeah.

>>Rob: ... there's some speculation that that's from, uh, the James Simpson Party, exploration party that came through here.

>>Dave: So, this was part of, uh, one of the trails going, uh, westward?

>>Rob: Yes, Yes.

There's - this site has had a lot of, uh, transcontinental, uh, history associated with it and, uh, first John C. Fremont came through in 1845 and James Simpson in, uh, 1859.

Well, let's go up and look >>Rob: Um, well, there's a lot of speculation.

Of course, we don't know, but, uh, this is one of the lowest, uh, crossing points of this mountain range.

So, a lot of people have traveled across the mountain range, um, to go back and forth between the valleys and so, we figured that that's probably one of the main reasons.

Um, this is one of the more elaborate of the, uh, petroglyph panels, uh, along this rock face and you see we have the, the curvilinear, um, possibly fertility related, uh, glyphs in there and then we have a lot of the vertical.

>>Chris: Mm, hmm.

>>Dave: I love the fact that each of these three different places you've shown us is really different in the design, in the style of the, of the glyph.

>>Rob: Right.

And, uh, this could be an accumulation of hundreds or maybe even thousands of years of, uh, of artwork.

>>Chris: How many trails are up here at the site?

>>Rob: Uh, there's just the one interpretive loop trail that we're on.

>>Chris: Mm, hmm.

>>Rob: It's about a half-a-mile in length.

And, there's some more, uh, petroglyphs right up on this face in here.

>>Dave: Oh, yeah, okay.

>>Rob: This is the last, uh, site, petroglyph site along the tour.

>>Chris: Wow!

Kinda the best for last.

This is great.

>>Rob: Yeah, this is, uh... >>Dave: They're all over.

>>Rob: they're all over the boulder and, uh, these are quite different in style from the other ones that are on the other panels.

>>Dave: There are a couple down on the bottom that are a little, uh, sort of, sort of animal-like.

>>Rob: Yeah, this is, uh, one of the unique, uh, features of these petroglyphs on this particular panel is that, uh, these are the only ones that are, that, as far as we can tell, are depicting animals of all the petroglyphs here at this site, so it's, it's kinda unique compared to the other ones.

>>Chris: I'm glad we stopped.

>>Dave: Yeah.

>>Chris: We thank Rob for giving us the tour of this petroglyph area.

For anyone with an interest in Great Basin petroglyphs, this is a "must see" spot.

>>Dave: Back on Highway 50, we head east to State Route 376, which is the road through Big Smokey Valley to Tonopah.

About 100 yards later we make another left onto a dirt road marked by an historical marker for Toquima Cave.

>>Chris: It's a six-mile drive before we turn onto another dirt road and head towards a small rise.

>>Dave: Spencer's Hot Springs can be either a welcome sight for a tired traveler or a big disappointment.

It all depends on your perspective.

For the tired traveler, the hot springs provides a great place to relax and soak the stress out of your travel.

But if you're expecting something lavish, you'll be disappointed.

>>Chris: As Rich explains, Spencer's Hot Springs actually consists of three hot springs.

And, like all hot springs, the water is extremely hot.

The water temperature here runs about 194 degrees.

So just don't go hopping into the first pool of water you see.

Here at Spencer's the main pool is clearly evident and cool enough to soak in.

>>Dave: One of Nevada's best kept secrets, Rich says, is the abundance of geothermal resources, hot or warm springs, that can be found throughout the state.

The springs come in many shapes and sizes.

Some, like the elegant Walley's Hot Springs in Genoa, are full-service resorts, while others, like Spencer Hot Springs, are little more than a hot pool of water with a wooden bench.

Hot mineral water travels to the surface as a spring when a crack in the earth, or fault, is present.

This fault acts like a pipeline for the hot water, which has a natural tendency to rise.

>>Chris: Dave and I take a moment to try it out.

It's wonderful!

Unfortunately, we can't linger here too long because we still have a good distance to go before our day ends.

MUSIC >>Chris: Leaving the hot springs, we turn left and head up into the Toquima Range.

It's a short but beautiful drive to Pete's Summit and the turnoff to the Toquima Cave Rock Art Site.

>>Dave: From the parking lot, we follow the sign pointing to the cave.

A well-traveled trail takes us up to the cave entrance.

The site is protected by a large chain link fence which keeps visitors from disturbing these ancient artifacts.

>>Rich: This is pretty impressive.

>>Dave: It's a tall fence.

>>Rich: Yeah.

Well, you know, they have to - there's a sign that says... >>Chris: Oh, my gosh, look at those!

>>Rich: ..."Don't destroy your America's heritage."

>>Dave: So, we can look... >>Chris: Those are amazing!

>>Dave: They made a peep hole for you.

>>Chris: I know.

>>Chris: Toquima Cave isn't really a cave but a pre-historic rock shelter.

Over 300 independent images have been recorded in Toquima Cave, with two rock art styles represented.

>>Dave: The Great Basin curvilinear style includes dots, circles and squiggles.

The rectilinear style includes lines, curves and tally marks.

>>Chris: There's yellow.

I've never noticed the yellow.

>>Dave: Yeah, you've got a lot of different colors up here.

>>Rich: Yeah.

Well, you can see it through the fence pretty well.

>>Chris: Yeah, you can.

>>Dave: Some of those markings are so, are familiar looking.

>>Rich: Yeah, they, they, uh, they, we've seen them.

(Laughs) Um, you know, Hickison Summit, other petroglyph sites.

>>Dave: Yeah.

So, the vertical notch marks, which... >>Rich: Right.

>>Dave: ...could be anything.

>>Chris: And, the circles.

>>Dave: Circles.

>>Rich: Right.

You know, it's too bad that nobody knows what they mean.

>>Chris: Yeah.

You can speculate endlessly.

>>Rich: A mystery.

>>Dave: I like it that we don't know, 'cause if we did know, it might be really disappointing.

>>Rich: You mean it's like a shopping list?

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Dave: Well, yeah, what if it was just like 'Bring home bread'?

>>Rich: (Laughs) Yeah.

So, I wonder if it had some kind of religious significance.

>>Chris: Beautiful.

>>Rich: Or it's related to the hunt or, you know, maybe they camped in this cave.

>>Dave: Yeah.

Maybe passing time.

>>Rich: Yeah.

>>Dave: A calendar.

>>Rich: Could be.

Yeah, because of all the little, little tally marks, as you called 'em.

>>Dave: Yeah.

See how much better it is that we just decide for ourselves.

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Rich: Okay, all right.

Good thing we don't know what they mean.

>>Dave: (Laughs) >>Rich: All right.

>>Dave: Outta here.

>>Chris: Well worth the stop.

>>Rich: Let's go.

MUSIC >>Chris: From Pete's Summit, we head down the east side of the Toquima Range to Monitor Valley.

The valley gets its name from a large rock that resembles the Monitor warship from the Civil War.

>>Dave: Our destination is an area on the east side of the Monitor Range called the Miniature Grand Canyon.

Sounds intriguing, doesn't it?

Well, unfortunately, we have conflicting stories about how interesting this area really is, but with a name like that, we can't pass it up.

The drive across the valley is filled with one fantastic scenic after another.

First is Potts Ranch, a little bit of heaven tucked neatly away in the curve of a small hill.

>>Chris: Then as we head into the Monitor Range along West Dobbins Creek, we're greeted by another picturesque location.

Last year's winter has left this little area lush and beautiful.

At the top of Dobbins Summit, which sits as 8600 feet elevation, we are treated to more fantastic sights.

>>Dave: Coming down the summit is slow going.

This is a steep slope that requires a high clearance vehicle.

>>Chris: Just when we think we've been misled, we arrive at the Miniature Grand Canyon.

Even if it doesn't live up to its name, the drive alone is worth the trip.

>>Rich: Yeah, well, welcome to the Miniature Grand Canyon.

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Dave: It doesn't look too small to me.

>>Rich: No, it is a... >>Chris: That's dynamic.

>>Rich: I know, it's, it's kind of a misnomer.

>>Dave: This intriguing area was formed by erosion.

We can see a trace of the water that still runs through it and we speculate that the strong Spring runoff would explain how the erosion happened.

MUSIC >>Dave: Not much of a chance this will become as large as the other Grand Canyon, the really Grand Canyon?

>>Rich: No.

>>Chris: Now, you talked about hiking it.

Can we get down there or?

>>Rich: You know, there is a way.

And, actually, there's a more spectacular, uh, view of the canyon... >>Dave: Really?

>>Rich: ...at the other end if you wanna drive down there, we can take a look at it.

>>Dave: Yeah.

Which way?

Farther down?

>>Chris: That'd be great.

>>Rich: Okay.

All right.

>>Rich: You know, as nice as the canyon is up at the top, there's really a spectacular view over here.

And, if we just go down this, uh, kind of shale here... >>Dave: (Chuckles) >>Rich: ... anywhere from the road, uh, we'll be able to go to the mouth of the canyon which is really quite, quite beautiful.

>>Chris: After doing a little look-about, we decide to approach the canyon from the back.

So we hike down a steep slope and make our way to the canyon's end.

>>Rich: Okay, we're gonna climb over these rocks and then we'll drop down to a dry creek bed on the other side.

>>Dave: It doesn't even look like, uh, there's any, any creek bed on the... >>Chris: I know.

>>Dave: ...near here.

>>Chris: From this side of it you can't really see the canyon at all.

>>Rich: Not at all.

>>Chris: Can we get all the way up into the canyon?

>>Rich: Um, uh, no.

There's a waterfall that's in the way.

( >>Chris: Oh, okay.

>>Dave: (Laughs) >>Rich: But, we can get k great view.

>>Chris: Okay, sounds great.

(Birds chirping) >>Rich: So, as you can see, we just finished a little semi-circle where we followed along that dry creek bed.

>>Dave: And, once you hit the creek bed you just... >>Rich: Yeah.

>>Dave: it's pretty easy.

That makes a path for us.

>>Rich: Exactly.

And, then, now we go right to the, to the mouth, the gates of the canyon.

>>Dave: Oh, yeah, okay.

>>Chris: Oh, wow!

That's a great view.

>>Rich: Yeah.

>>Dave: Tall walls.

>>Rich: Yeah, this is really... >>Chris: From this angle you get a much better perspective of how tall it is.

>>Rich: Oh, yeah.

I'll bet this is really spectacular when the water's flowing, when... >>Chris: Oh, yeah.

>>Dave: Can you imagine, we'd be walking in the creek.

>>Rich: Yeah.

>>Dave: We couldn't walk through here if it was in the middle of the wet times.

>>Rich: I know.

>>Rich: Uh, that's true.

>>Rich: Well, we'll just take our boat.

(Laughs) >>Dave: Oh, sure.

See you were smart enough to wear your long pants today.

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Rich: And, I'll try not to whack you with any of these bushes.

>>Dave: I appreciate that.

>>Rich: (Laughs) >>Chris: Yeah, I think I'll give Dave enough room so he doesn't do the same to me.

>>Dave: They may be thorny, but the colors are really... >>Rich: Oh, yeah.

>>Dave: ...really brilliant out here.

Wow.

>>Chris: Well, there's a lot of rose in there so it's probably gorgeous in the summer.

>>Rich: There you are.

And then, as you can see, voila.

>>Dave: Oh, wow!

>>Rich: Isn't this amazing?

>>Dave: That is great!

>>Chris: Oh, wow!

Look at that!

>>Rich: It's spectacular.

>>Dave: Whoa.

>>Rich: It's like a little Garden of Eden.

>>Chris: That's gorgeous!

>>Dave: I've never seen anything like this here before.

>>Chris: That's amazing.

>>Rich: Yeah.

>>Chris: And, there is a waterfall!

>>Dave: Yeah, there's three waterfalls!

MUSIC >>Dave: This is amazing!

The small creek that runs through the canyon drops three levels to where we're standing.

This would be a fun place to climb, but without ropes all we can do is enjoy this great canyon area.

MUSIC >>Dave: The, in the really wet time it's gotta just pour down through and down this little, this little creek bed.

>>Rich: Well, you just don't expect this kind of little oasis, you know, in Nevada.

>>Dave: No.

No way.

>>Rich: It's a dry desert.

And, then here we have this, so, this is amazing.

Yeah.

>>Dave: How cool is this?

>>Chris: Makes the shale hike worth it.

>>Rich: (Laughs) True.

>>Dave: This is the miniature Colorado River.

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Rich: In the miniature Grand Canyon.

You're right.

>>Chris: While this is not really a miniature version of the Grand Canyon, this area is a fun place to visit.

We'd like to spend more time here, but we have another stop to go on our trip through Monitor Valley.

MUSIC >>Dave: Retracing our route, we head back to Monitor Valley.

This makes for an enjoyable time because we are able to revisit the beautiful sights along the way.

MUSIC >>Chris: To the east is Diana's Punch Bowl which is sometimes also called Devil's Punch Bowl.

There are a number of legends associated with it.

One of them is that a young native couple came here searching for bird eggs when they saw a nest down in the crater.

The maiden held her brave's feet as he reached for them and then an eagle landed close by.

The maiden reached for the eagle and lost her grip on the brave, sending him into the scalding water from which he was never seen again.

>>Dave: Now, there are many variations of that story.

Sometimes the brave is a wayward husband whose wife takes her revenge, for example.

But, at any rate, the Punch Bowl is an impressive sight.

MUSIC >>Dave: It's a straight shot down State Route 425 to Belmont, maybe about 25 miles.

Along the way we pass some interesting areas.

Dry Lake, which is very wet this year, Northumberland Canyon, Waterfall Canyon, and Barley Creek.

All places for future exploration.

Music.

(Dog barking) MUSIC >>Dave: Belmont is one of Nevada's most popular ghost towns.

It was a mining town that had a brief but brilliant life.

Born in 1865, Belmont produced more than $15 million in silver and lead.

MUSIC >>Chris: The Belmont boom created wealth and status for many of its residents.

The town became the county seat for Nye County.

It boasted a palatial music hall, a stunning courthouse, three newspapers and more than a hundred businesses.

MUSIC >>Chris: But in 1878, signs began to appear that Belmont's fortunes were fading.

In the early 1880's, mining equipment was shifted to newer, more profitable locations.

And by the late 1880's, many of the businesses and most of the people moved on.

MUSIC >>Dave: Today there are a few hardy residents still here.

The sole business is the Belmont Inn, a well-kept bed & breakfast with an old fashioned saloon attached.

Even in its faded status with remnants of buildings still visible, Belmont is the queen of Nye County ghost towns.

MUSIC (Dog barking) >>Chris: After a night's rest at the Belmont Inn, we head south on the Belmont Road for about six miles.

We then turn left at the Hunt's Canyon turnoff onto a well-graded dirt road.

MUSIC >>Dave: This turns out to be a much more scenic drive than we expected.

As we head east, we pass the historic Camillo Ranch.

A short while later we pick up State Route 162.

MUSIC >>Chris: We head into the mountains.

From the summit we have a brief glimpse of the white spires we're aiming for today.

The drive down from the summit is a very careful one since this is a very steep grade.

>>Dave: Following our driving instructions closely, we find our turn and head into the overgrown area.

The remnants of a four-wheel track can be discerned, but in a short time we're forced to stop.

>>Rich: Yeah, look at this white, uh, spire over on this side.

It kinda looks like a giant termite hill.

>>Chris: Oh, wow.

>>Rich: (Laughs) >>Chris: It does, actually.

>>Rich: Yeah.

>>Chris: Great shape to it.

>>Rich: So... >>Chris: And, I bet... >>Rich: Now, this is, uh, we're off of McCann Canyon.

>>Chris: Uh, huh.

>>Rich: Uh, and these are some formations that I've been told about, but I've actually never been here.

So, uh... >>Chris: Well, then it's about time we go see 'em.

>>Rich: Yeah, let's go check them out.

>>Dave: So, how far do you think it is up to the end?

>>Rich: Well, it looks to me at least a half-mile, maybe a bit more.

But, uh... >>Dave: That's not bad.

>>Rich: I hope, I, I think it'll be worth it when we get there.

>>Dave: Yeah.

>>Chris: Make a nice little hike.

>>Rich: Yeah.

>>Dave: Well, it looks like we've, uh, exited the road portion and we are really walking just in a wash right now.

>>Rich: Oh, yeah, it looks, uh, like we wouldn't have wanted to drive too much farther.

>>Dave: Yeah.

>>Rich: So, now, you'll notice as we're walking through here, we've moved into what I think is classified as a pinion juniper forest.

And, so a lot of pinion trees, sagebrush.

And, one of the real unusual things I saw back there was that there's cactus here that's growing out of the sagebrush.

You just don't see that very often or I've never seen it.

>>Dave: I wouldn't think they, they could survive out here.

>>Rich: Yeah, so.

>>Dave: Wow - Hello!

Look at this.

>>Chris: Oh, wow!

>>Rich: That's pretty amazing.

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Dave: That is spectacular.

>>Chris: Now we know why we're hiking.

(Laughs) >>Rich: That's cool.

Yeah.

Well, now you'll see over here a little rougher looking rock, uh, but they're pretty interesting, too.

Some spires, uh... >>Dave: That almost looks like it was, like an old chimney that was >>Rich: Yeah.

>>Dave: that was made out of stone and it, and wore away.

>>Rich: Yeah, it does.

It does resemble that.

>>Chris: Now, what would form the shapes?

>>Rich: Um, well, this is basically, I think, the, the result of erosion.

Uh, you'll have the softer rock gradually worn away and the harder rocks remain behind.

And, so that's what, why you're left with these.

They're these, uh, kind of harder rock.

I don't know what rock material they actually are 'cause I'm not a geologist, but... >>Dave: (Laughs) >>Rich: um, you know, I think it, it leaves some real fascinating shapes.

>>Chris: Oh, yeah.

>>Dave: This is, that's the toughest of what was here millions of years ago and we're walking on what washed away.

>>Rich: Right, and, and that may be why sometimes they call it tuff .

(Laughs) >>Dave: That is tough.

MUSIC >>Rich: Look at, look at these behind here.

Aren't these just great.

>>Chris: Oh, yeah.

We've got - we're surrounded by 'em.

>>Rich: Yeah, we're, now we're kind of at the, the head of the canyon, I guess, and, and, uh, the horseshoe.

And, you'll see formations on all sides of us.

MUSIC >>Chris: These are huge when you're up close to 'em.

MUSIC >>Chris: Good place to take in the view, huh?

>>Rich: Oh, look at that.

>>Dave: What a view.

>>Rich: Yeah.

>>Chris: Oh.

It's gorgeous.

>>Dave: It is incredible.

>>Rich: Yeah.

When you look over here on the right you can really see these grey rocks and the, and the little spires that have the points.

>>Dave: Yeah.

>>Rich: I think the more you look at it the more you see things there.

>>Chris: Oh, yeah.

>>Dave: It's all made up of other smaller rocks.

>>Rich: Yeah.

It almost looks like concrete.

>>Dave: All pressed together.

It really does look like concrete.

>>Rich: Yeah.

>>Dave: And, you've got this entire shelf of white... >>Rich: Yeah.

>>Dave: ...from the, from the mouth of this little box canyon all the way up and then it stops.

>>Rich: Yeah, abruptly ends.

>>Dave: But, I bet it's still there underneath all that.

>>Rich: Mm, hmm.

>>Chris: So, if we come back in a million years you think we'll see more of it?

>>Dave: (Laughs) I bet we would.

Yeah, it would be exposed all the way over here 'cause this looks like the same stuff.

>>Chris: And, these are absolutely gorgeous, this white.

And the shapes are -- they, they looked so smooth from down below, but you can see all the other rocks caught inside the softer.

>>Dave: Yeah, it's real pitted.

You can actually see striations, horizontal lines through it as it's been packed over the years.

>>Chris: So, the big question is, do we go down one steep side, that steep side or that slightly less steep side?

>>Dave: Let's look for... >>Rich: The best way... >>Dave: There might be a... >>Rich: ...one where we don't kill ourselves.

>>Dave: ...there might be an easy way down.

>>Chris: What a great place to hike.

>>Dave: Yeah.

>>Rich: Oh, yeah, this is, isn't this a wonderful place?

>>Dave: It is.

Bizarre and really fun, and now that it looks like we've found the exit... >>Rich: (Laughs) >>Dave: I want to say thank you to Rich Moreno from Nevada Magazine for... >>Rich: My pleasure.

>>Dave: ...taking us on this great trip.

I saw things I'd never even heard of.

>>Chris: It's been wonderful.

>>Dave: I had no idea they were there.

>>Rich: Well, I think this is a great trip.

We saw petroglyphs, we were able to enjoy some wonderful waterfalls and these great hoodoos behind me.

>>Chris: If you want more information about this adventure or any of our trips you can visit our website, knpb.org.

While you're there, send us an e-mail and tell us about some of your journeys in Nevada.

>>Dave: Until our next Wild Nevada, you get out there now and enjoy this beautiful state for yourself.

MUSIC Major production funding for Wild Nevada is made possible by the Nevada Commission on Tourism, who encourages everyone to explore the Silver State's hidden treasures.