(bright upbeat music) -[Male Narrator] Support for Wild Nevada Memories is provided by the William N. Pennington Foundation.

(bright upbeat music) - [Female Narrator] Millie Hoppe and Millard Reed.

- [Dave] Gail and John Sande.

- [Female Narrator] Margaret and Charles Burback.

- [Male Narrator]And by individual members.

(bright upbeat music) It's been 20 years since Wild Nevada first appeared on public television.

Over the years, many people have asked, "What's it like to travel around to make the show?"

So let's celebrate the 20th anniversary, by reliving one of our favorite adventures and sharing some Wild Nevada Memories.

(bright upbeat music) - Welcome to Wild Nevada, I'm Chris Orr and I'm in Nevada.

- And I'm Dave Santina, and I'm in Utah.

We are right on the border.

They had an actual state line stripe, right down the middle of the road.

So it seemed like a fun way to start the show.

It took us a few tries to shoot that, because cars would drive by and we would have to get out of the way.

- [Chris] From West Wendover, in Nevada, we drive only a few yards into Utah.

And turn South, where it's only a couple of miles to the Historic Airfield.

(gentle guitar music) - [Dave] Here we meet Jim Peterson, who has been the driving force behind the restoration efforts, at the Airfield for years.

- Well, welcome to Historic Wendover Airfield.

- Thank you, this is quite a place.

I'm looking at the Service Club Building, and I wonder it feels kind of like we're going back in time a little bit.

- You know, that's our whole objective with this whole Airfield.

- We always think of escapism and recreation.

But when you visit historical sites, there's also important things to remember and learn.

And Wendover, and the military history at this location was one of those kind of destinations.

- [Jim] Wendover was really founded as a railroad town, for the Western Pacific Railroad.

That came through on its way to California.

- Those heat waves emanating over the airstrip, were really profound.

And I was wondering if they were gonna show up on camera.

So it was really nice to see that they came out.

- People can come here, and feel like they've kind of walked back into the 1940s.

- I'm ready.

Let's go back in time.

- All right (chuckles).

(harmonica playing) - My mom and dad were teenagers during this time, when all of this was new.

And I think about that when I'm looking at these things.

It was right around World War II.

And I can't even imagine what it must've felt like, to have your world include such a massive event, that went on for years.

- [Jim] We've come at the end of the entry way over there, at officer's club.

And one of the big areas is this event hall.

This is where they would have had a Christmas party, a thanksgiving party.

They would have done a Change of Command ceremony.

- For the most part, we were shooting an empty room.

You know, ways to keep it interesting looking to the viewers is by, you know, constant motion and pans with the camera.

- [Jim] Everything you see here, all the roof and the structure, and the railings along the side, that's all original.

We tried to keep it much the same as it was.

And they would have had bands in here.

You know, doing the 40s music, USO singers.

So they would have had those kinds of events here.

- When you're in that location in Wendover, you really feel like you've stepped into history.

- [Jim] You can almost feel the veterans, walking around here.

- I'm hearing Glenn Miller, in my head, (Chris laughing) as I look across the floor.

- [Chris] Being in this hall is like a time machine.

You feel like you've walked into, some of those old black and white photos, that your parents or your grandparents have.

Next, Jim brings us back to reality, with a sobering display.

I remember looking at that replica of the bomb, and those signatures, and feeling a lot of different emotions.

- [Jim] We took this bomb to a reunion of the 509th Composite Group, in 2005 in Wichita.

And these are all original signatures of the flight crew.

So this signature right there of Paul Tibbets.

- [Dave] I recognize that name.

I got to meet Paul Tibbets once.

Very briefly, he came to PBS Reno to do an interview for our show, many years ago.

And it was, not something I understood really then.

I didn't really know- I didn't feel the way I felt this day, looking at this equipment and thinking about what it meant.

And what it did, and how it changed the world.

- [Jim] Each bomb had four radars.

Those holes are six barometric sensor systems.

The wires pulled out, they were four clock mechanisms, electrical safeties.

And all of that had to be tested to work together and work properly.

So that's really what they did at Wendover.

They weren't working on the nuclear efficient part.

They were working on all the mechanical and electronic components of the bomb.

- It can be fascinating as an exercise, as an academic exercise, talking about this equipment and the manufacturing and the science behind it.

But then it all just gets wiped away when you think about what they do, what those bombs do.

- [Jim] Now we're coming in to the mess hall area.

And of course the bar area.

They were typically flying missions, 24 hours a day.

And so there's a full kitchen bag in the back there.

When the crew was done, the officers could come into here and get a hamburger, get a meal.

They probably would've gotten a drink first.

(Jim chuckles) - [Dave] I can understand that.

- [Chris] Gotta have your priorities right (chuckles).

(gentle piano music) - There I was in the back of the truck with a camera, trying not to fall out.

And, still get the shot.

And (chuckles), it worked.

- [Dave] Jim has been fundraising over many years, and the work is being done in phases, as the funds come in.

if you wanna contribute to the restoration, you can, at the Airfield website.

We made it look like we walked all that way.

- Why did they pick Wendover?

- We just walked into the frame.

- To build the base?

- We had driven in a truck.

- Well Wendover, is on what used to be like Bonneville.

Which was a huge, huge flat area.

From here to Salt Lake, it's almost flat.

It was easy to go out on this old playa bed, and build targets.

And then of course the planes had a lot of room to maneuver.

And it was not near a populated area.

- This was a learning experience for me.

I really was ignorant as to what this space was.

I don't think I even knew it existed until it was suggested to me, by a couple of our big funders who are friends of the show and support the show.

And they suggested that we check this out.

And it turned into this segment.

- [Jim] And I'd find out that you were my pilot.

You were my radio operator.

I was the co-pilot.

This is where we develop the team.

And then we practiced as a team.

And then from here, 19 of the 21 bomb groups, would fly east to the European theater and they fought in Italy, Germany and the European theater.

- So the vast majority of the people who were here, who went off to fight, went to Europe rather than Asia?

- Exactly.

(bright upbeat music) - [Dave] This hanger is in the process of restoration now, thanks to Jim's efforts.

When you learn its history, you might agree that it deserves the effort.

- [Jim] So this is the hangar, that was built specifically for the Atomic Mission project.

- You really wouldn't think that an empty airplane hanger could be that interesting.

- Like stepping into a sports stadium that is totally empty.

- [Jim] So when the B-29 is in here, the wingspan is 141 feet.

There's only 20 feet from wing tip, to the edge of the building.

- [Dave] You gotta be good at parking to get in here.

(Jim chuckles) - [Jim] Another interesting thing about this hangar, the bottom of the windows, are seven feet high.

When they were modifying the B-29s in here for the Atomic Mission project, they wanted the light, but they didn't want anybody seeing what was going on.

- [Chris] That makes sense, right?

If you wanna have the light, but you don't want people to see you, you put your windows up.

(chuckling) - So no basketball players were allowed near the hangar.

(Jim and Chris laughing) And is this all original?

- Yeah.

- [Dave] It seems to be in pretty good condition.

- [Jim] This is a 70 Year old concrete, and it looks better than my 10 year old driveway.

- [Dave] Yeah, right.

We're walking on the same floor that the Enola Gay rolled on.

- Yes.

- That's kind of mind blowing.

(Chris laughing) - Yeah, this is where that all happened.

- Wendover is an example of the history that this state and our region, holds that I know I didn't realize.

- [Dave] From Wendover, we join Interstate 80 West, for 60 miles to Wells.

We're going on the hunt for a hot spring that we know is somewhere near here.

- It's always fun to get different shots of the car as it's driving by or stopping.

So on that particular shot where the car pulled in, and the wheel stopped right in the middle of the frame, we had practiced that a few times before we actually got it right.

- From what we've read, this is the turnoff that we take to find the hot spring.

This road is not always passable by vehicles like this one.

So we're gonna take a try at it.

And if we can't drive all the way, we'll get out and hike.

We're going to a place that is known to hot spring enthusiasts, but it's not promoted.

So, we weren't ever gonna show exactly how to get there.

- I look at this, I think it's better that we not try to drive across it.

- [Dave] (chuckling) Yeah, let's not even mess with it.

- [Chris] And especially when there's car parts, next to the creek crossing, it's a good indication to start walking.

- Fair enough, you see a piece of a car lying on the side of the road, let's just not play with it.

- I'd rather walk any day, than deal with a broken vehicle.

(Chris chuckling) That's just me.

(bright upbeat music) The rock formations are really, pretty.

- [Dave] Really cool.

This would just be a nice hike by itself.

- [Chris] You know one of the things that's so interesting about hot springs, is how people have favorite ones.

And they tend to protect them.

- [Dave] They really protect them.

They don't like giving away their locations.

- Every time I got down to the ground and stick that camera down for that low angle shot, I was just swarmed with bugs.

Whether it was some sort of flying insect or ant, it was one of the more insect ridden shoots that we've ever done.

- But, and still, I respect the desire to keep these for the people who really wanna use them, in the right way.

And not make it too easy to get there.

(bright upbeat music) Oh, cool.

(water burbling) How sturdy is that?

- [Chris] (chuckling) You'll be okay.

- I'm carrying a lot more weight than you.

That was a little nervous time.

I wasn't sure that was gonna hold up.

Can't trust every rotten piece of wood you walk over.

- Sounds like we have a little major water source coming up.

- [Dave] (chuckling) Yeah, this is really cool.

We got a little mini waterfall to enjoy.

(bright upbeat music) - [Chris] Look at all those snakes.

- [Dave] Oh yeah.

- [Chris] There's like four or five of them.

- [Dave] A bunch of little fish, and a bunch of snakes.

(gentle guitar music) This is what we're looking for.

Because my understanding is, it's a cemented in, 30 foot long, pool.

And that's this looks like.

(Chris chuckling) So I think we found it.

- [Chris] We walked about a mile, so that would make sense.

- Yeah, so we're able to reward ourselves, even though that was not the most strenuous hike.

We still get to enjoy this.

(gentle guitar music) (water burbling) One of the things that has been suggested to me is to take one of these digital infrared thermometers.

Anytime you go to a hot spring, check the temperature.

Every once in a while, we provide a public service.

(Dave chuckling) It's hard not to keep, checking the temperature of everything.

Probably wanna get one of these digital thermometers.

Just to be sure that you're not stepping in something that's too hot.

Because you don't wanna hurt yourself.

(gentle guitar music) - [Chris] So I think we head over there, and enjoy the water for a few minutes.

I have this image of me just misstepping and, feeling like putting both feet in the water.

- Sometimes you will come up on a hot spring, and there are people there.

Sometimes, they've chosen not to wear any clothes.

(Chris laughing) That can happen.

So, you know, other people are gonna come in and enjoy it the way they want.

You can enjoy it the way you want.

But if there's somebody already there, and they happen to be skinny dipping, that's okay.

They don't expect you to do it, but you don't need to expect them to not do it either.

So- Well that was awkwardly explained (chuckling).

The hot spring's fans like to keep in mind.

We're not gonna go that far.

But I do wanna get my feet in, at least.

There's a lot of good information on hot springs etiquette.

at the Travel Nevada website.

Check it out, before you go searching for a new place to soak.

- That shot where Dave and Chris's feet entered the water.

We had them do that over and over and over till we felt like we had got the right shot.

You have to capture that moment just perfect, when two people's feet go inside of a hot spring.

- To our, hot spring adventure.

This is a really beautiful spot.

One thing that is important to note is what we're carrying and why.

- No glass, 'cause you don't wanna leave any glass, broken glass.

And of course, all the good etiquette of exploration, leave no trace.

So pack it in, pack it out.

- And if anybody else left it in, pack it out for them.

It's not your favorite thing.

And it's not exactly fun, but you wanna protect these areas, and make them friendly for the next people to come along.

So keep it nice.

- And that way, everyone can enjoy it.

And I think it's time we enjoy it.

- Cheers (chuckling).

- We ended up a little later in the day than we really wanted to be there, and so- We navigate our way back to Wells, and from there, it's about 50 miles to Elko, and the end of our day.

I don't think the crew even got to enjoy the hot springs.

- [Dave] We were up early the next day, and headed south out of Elko towards Lamoille.

It's about 20 miles along State Route 227.

- [Chris] At the town's park, we meet Gerry Miller.

A long time resident of Eastern Nevada, who has worked to create and improve trails, all around the state.

He calls himself, a friend of the Ruby Mountains.

- Good morning, good morning, how are you doing?

- Great, thanks for meeting us out here.

- Oh, it's a beautiful day.

Rented community of Lamoille, at the Lamoille County Park is just gorgeous here.

I mean, the trees are all nicely trimmed and well done.

And it's just lovely day.

- I know we could spend the day here, but you have plans for us.

Where are we going today?

- We have a plan of starting here at Lamoille, at 5,800 feet.

It'd be about a 10 mile drive up to the end, and we will stop at Power House Thomas Creek Campground, the nature trail.

And then, the road's end.

- We've talked over the years about Alvin McLean who did more shows with us than anybody.

We felt kind of the same energy, and the same enthusiasm when we were with Gerry.

- So here we are at the newest trail in the Ruby mountains.

This is called the Power House to Daubert Creek, where the Ruby mountain heli-ski operations, are based out there.

'Cause this area has beautiful skiing all winter long.

So it's a real nice trail, where it has mountain bikes.

It has horseback, and it's walking.

And this is real nice.

You see a nice, sagebrush Pinyon-juniper, and the quaking aspens.

You know, the Moraine.

Terminal Moraine here, where the glacier came down, and ended and dumped all the rocks into the beautiful farm fields.

It's just lovely site.

- Up there in the Rubies, is just a videographer's dream.

I've always seen photos of it, and had never been there myself.

So, when I found out we were going to this spot to film, I was beside myself.

And when we got there, it was, it stood up to every expectation that I had had for the place.

(bright upbeat music) - [Chris] It is breathtaking up here.

It is gorgeous.

- So most valleys are V-shaped.

This one happens to be U-shaped.

This is a glaciated valley.

And so you had one glacier coming down through Lamoille Canyon.

And one on the right foot, of Lamoille Canyon.

That's what makes this canyon so fascinating.

- How high are we right here?

- We're about 7,000 feet right here.

- [Chris] So, we're already starting to climb.

- [Gerry] Yep.

(Gerry and Chris chuckling) (gentle piano music) - [Chris] Years ago we drove to the canyon, and looked around a little bit at the roads end.

But today, we have something more significant in mind.

- [Gerry] Beautiful, blue sky Dave.

It's nice clouds over this.

We hit Dollar Lake first, then Lamoille lake, then Liberty Pass.

There's lots of sweats but, it's really enjoyable.

- [Chris] I'm excited to get going.

(bright upbeat music) - [Gerry] Feet, don't fail me now.

- [Chris] Exactly.

Lungs do your part.

- This is a good year for wildflower.

- That's gorgeous.

- [Gerry] My senses are overloaded with all the colors.

- It's taken me a lot of years, to get even halfway knowledgeable about wild flowers.

And I've finally gotten to where I can identify a few of the Nevada flowers.

- [Gerry] White Clover.

- [Chris] Oh, that Monk's hood is gorgeous there.

- [Dave] Oh, yeah dark purple.

There absolutely is.

Yep.

- [Gerry] That's better than most of my students.

- We had to keep reminding ourselves that we had a long hike ahead of us.

And we had to keep trekking along.

So the challenge was, being able to continue the hike without, stopping every two seconds to get more shots.

- [Gerry] 1985, to reprint all these railroad ties then, it just gets really marshy and sobby in here.

- [Chris] Makes for a fun little, obstacle in there.

- [Gerry] Yeah.

And protects the trail from getting rot.

There was no fun holding these up here at the horse.

(Chris laughing) - [Chris] I can imagine, it's a lot of labor putting in trail.

(gentle guitar music) - Watch out for the trails.

(Dave laughing) - He was a little bit silly, which is really fun and helpful.

- [Gerry] So we had a big bridge here.

- I like a little bit of silly.

So Gerry was great to work with.

(gentle guitar music) - [Dave] Really love the colors everywhere.

- Love that little bit of natural humor and conversation that we had on this hike.

- These are Daniel lime, look how beautiful- - Oh, yeah.

I don't mind them in my yard, but they're even pretty right here.

- [Gerry] Where can you have a Daniel lime salad?

- [Chris] Every few steps, it just gets better and better.

- [Gerry] Beautiful, beautiful.

- [Dave] Lots of Indian Paintbrush.

Embarrassing, but true.

That's the only flower that I really can immediately identify when we're out there, is Indian Paintbrush.

(gentle guitar music) - We like to do those point of view, walking shots sometimes.

We'll just hold the camera down near the ground and walk behind them.

- There's a group called Friends of the Rubies, and they do come out and pick up trash as long as the forest service- And just general people, who pick up stuff as they see it.

You know, pack it in, pack it out.

So that's very nice.

- [Chris] Yeah I don't think that "leave no trace" can be said enough.

- [Gerry] Yeah.

(gentle guitar music) One fascicle and five needles coming out of it.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

So that's Limber Pine, Bristlecone Pines and White Pines.

So the five needle pines.

(bright upbeat music) - It was a pretty good test of endurance for all of us.

- But right to the right of us here, is Thomas Peak.

It has a nice view over there.

(bright upbeat music) - [Chris] Then we've been climbing.

- [Gerry] Slowly up, up, up.

That's what we do, we go up.

- You can see as we get higher and higher, and further up the trail, there's a little bit more camera movement, and camera shake to those shots because we're breathing and trynna catch our breath while at the same time, trynna hold the camera steady.

And it got pretty hard to do.

- [Chris] (chuckling) Escalator, right?

- [Gerry] One foot in front of the other one.

- [Chris] Yep.

Oh, wow.

Look at that.

- You almost don't need us, at all in this.

Just show the beauty.

Show the scenery and the views, with music, and you have a show.

(bright upbeat music) - Dollar Lake right there.

You see it, kind of hidden in there.

- Oh, nice.

- I didn't even see it over the wills.

- No, it just kind of appears.

- [Gerry] For the Dollar Lakes, looking from up at Liberty Pass, just look like blue, silver dollars.

Just spread out, out here.

- I just wanna jump in there and swim a little.

(Chris laughing) (bright upbeat music) - [Gerry] Here we are, Lamoille Lake.

- [Dave] This is gorgeous.

- [Gerry] Nice snowbank to take, do a slade down right into the lake.

- Seeing the snow at this, on a day that was warm and beautiful, really strikes you.

You know, you realize the elevation you're at.

So this is Lamoille Lake behind me, Lamoille Lake.

And this, is snow.

It's August 16th, and we have snow.

And it may not go away until next year.

It may not go away at all.

It may just snow, on top of the snow.

That's life in the Ruby Mountains.

It feels like a pretty fair accomplishment, to reach Lamoille Lake.

And it would make a good destination by itself.

But our goal is Liberty Pass.

And we're only one mile away from it.

So we press on.

One piece of trail etiquette here.

Don't cut the switchbacks, stay on the trail.

- So now where do we go from here?

- We go up.

- We get to test out our quads and our thighs.

- [Dave] And calves.

Feeling like a mountain goat.

Shaggy like a mountain goat.

- [Chris] By the end of the trail, you smell like a mountain goat.

- [Gerry] I think, I'm already there.

(Chris and Dave chuckling) How you not love that guy.

He's just fun.

He's just so fun and so knowledgeable.

Look at that.

What a beautiful shot that is.

Sometimes I forget how pretty these places are because by this point I'm huffing and puffing, and just concentrating on going up this hill.

(bright upbeat music) - [Gerry] So we can go see it on our way down off the trail over there.

You guys got the ski poles, you're ready to go?

- [Dave] (chuckling) I could fall down there maybe.

(Dave and Chris chuckling) - We'll just roll you down there.

- [Gerry] We want to see some real nice turns, Dave.

- [Dave] Well I might try to turn.

But as I'll be rolling, it might be difficult.

(bright upbeat music) - [Gerry] This is where that little (indistinct) has nice, cute areas called the Pika lives.

The Pika is really interesting.

Is this a mammal?

And so it stays, doesn't hibernate.

And numerous times, it has to harvest grass and forbs.

It makes little hay bales, just like it was- - The Pika conversation, is always my favorite part.

- [Gerry] They're little farmers, and they're cute.

- [Chris] Yeah, they make a real distinctive sound too.

Don't they?

- [Gerry] Yes they do.

And hopefully we'll hear that distinctive sound, when they chirp away, as we hike up here.

(Pika chirping) - [Chris] Oh, that was them.

- [Gerry] That's the sound.

(indistinct) (Chris laughing) (Dave laughing) - [Chris] At this point, we can really see a change in the trail.

- We all love that.

And we kept replaying that for ourselves, when he made that little sound effect.

(indistinct) - So here we are, at Liberty Pass, around 10,500 feet.

Here we coming over.

We're coming right over.

The first thing you'll see, is Wines Peak in front of us.

- [Dave] Just absolutely gorgeous.

- [Chris] So we made it to the top.

- Yeah, we are with the mountain goats.

- That's a nice little climb.

I feel like I did something today.

- [Dave] Yeah feels great to make it.

(bright upbeat music) - [Gerry] Right here, there's no mechanized equipment.

So no so sticky snowmobiles, or your motorcycles or chainsaws.

- I expected to reach the top and have a view, but it's not a drop-off on the other end.

You gotta walk for a while, to get to a viewpoint.

And that's where we were going here.

So worth it though, because when you get to this viewpoint.

- It is pretty spectacular.

I did get a photo from the top of that view.

One of my favorite places in the world, that I just love.

- That lake over there- North Furlong Lake over there.

(Dave chuckling) There you come up, and you hike right up to Wines Peak.

And you keep on going down to Overland Lake, and then finally at Harrison Pass.

That's what they call the Ruby Crest Trail.

- [Chris] That is so amazing.

- Doing a time lapse of water comes out really cool, 'cause you could see the wind moving across the surface of the water, that you normally wouldn't see with your naked eye.

- [Dave] Gerry, thank you for bringing us here.

We're not gonna do the whole Ruby Crest Trail today obviously, but the fact that we've gotten this far, is a really beautiful and exciting introduction to this area.

It's hard to talk about beauty sometimes, because words don't do it justice.

So we just have to be quiet, and look, and absorb it.

This is probably the right place for us to end our trip.

So we're gonna stop here, as much as we'd like to continue.

- [Chris] It's fitting that we in this trip with a view like this.

Since this is personally one of my favorite places, in the whole world, the Ruby Mountains.

And of course a view that is, the Nevada Alps.

- Yeah, I can understand more than ever why you feel the way you do about this place.

And it's a great capper to this trip after yesterday, when we got to see the Airfield at Wendover, learn that history and then our semi secret trip to the hot spring.

So it's been a really a lot of fun.

I hope you enjoyed it like we did.

- And until our next Wild Nevada adventure.

You get out there, and enjoy this beautiful state for yourself.

- Our camera guy is goofed around it.

Once we finished shooting for the day, we couldn't help but get like silly photos of them, pointing cameras at each other.

They were having fun.

We all posed for photos.

There's one shot I took of everybody laying on the rocks.

That, to me it looks like an album cover from the 70s.

Some band could have used that pose.

Then the guys were having fun on top of the rocks.

We were all kinda giddy that we made it, all the way up.

Then we had to go down.

- And this one of those hikes where, I had physically drained myself from all the running up and down the trail.

And I went up actually banging up my knee on the way down here.

And I went up limping most of the way back down that trail.

- Well, that was a very memorable trip for us.

And I hope that you enjoyed watching it, as we relived it.

And we'll do this again.

See you later.

(gentle guitar music) (bright upbeat music) - [Male Narrator] Support for Wild Nevada Memories, is provided by the William N. Pennington Foundation.

(bright upbeat music) - [Female Narrator] Millie Hoppe and Millard Reed.

- [Male Narrator]Gail and John S - [Female Narrator] Margaret and Charles Burback.

- [Male Narrator] And by individual members.