After driving through Nevada last year in March, I knew I wanted to return.  I left Seattle the first week of April and had a generally plan to make a counter clockwise loop of the state.  But plans are made to be broken.  A cold weather forecast keep getting colder and the high winds warning area grew and the projected wind velocities kept increasing.  Snow entered into many forecasts.  I ended up at Kershaw Ryan State Park to hunker down for the bad weather.  

And then the weather got better.  Off I went exploring for the next few days.  I would do my exploring by truck on this trip – no hiking.  I have an old dog that can no longer go on walks.  Here is a sampler of some things I saw while staying at Kershaw Ryan State Park.

These kilns are out in the middle of a valley with no trees by them.  After visiting the kilns I read that if you search you can find large stumps, the remains of what was harvested for the kilns.  The trees never grew back.

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This mine was on the Silver State ORV trail, so I felt it safe to poke around.  There was a lot to see include equipment still in the headframe mechanical room.  

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The stonework in this building was charming.  Colorful stones carefully organized to give it a pleasing look.

Some Facts

BLM Caliente

The people that work here are wonderful  They happily shared all they knew about the area.  

Ramhorn Springs Campground, CA  close to 395

This is a small BLM campground with a middle of nowhere feel.  I liked it.  As a bonus you might see UFOs.  A fellow traveler told me he has seen UFOs three times in the area and he had found a local that had also seen them.  The current sighting consists of three objects flying fast to the area then they stop and hover in place.  Red and green lights flash.  

Davis Creek Campground, NV  South of Reno

I got there at 11:00am on a Friday and got the last camp site.  The ranger says the campground usually fills up on Fridays and Saturdays.  The campground has small spaces crammed together.  But as a bonus there is heat in the restrooms and showers.  

Kershaw Ryan Campground, NV  close to Caliente

Sites crammed together in a canyon and somewhat protected from the wind.  My neighbor’s picnic table was about twenty feet from mine.  No heat in the showers but for $0.25 one gets four minutes of hot water.