Miscellaneous western wanderings by seniors in a 5th gen 4runner

[DAW89446]

After nearly two decades in a Tacoma TRD, and after over a decade as an AARP member, I decided arthritic white knuckles were no longer fun. For sure, I had a blast putting my Tacoma over rough trails, especially in its early years when I lived in the region between the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada and the depths of Death Valley. But in 2008 I moved to north central Nevada, the topography seldom requires the rear locker to be engaged, and so the Tacoma spent more and more time soft roading instead of off roading.

Other factors also came into play. Two small dogs fought for space on my wife’s lap, refusing to take turns behind the seat on the jump seat cushions. My wife and I both found it more painful using the clutch of the Tacoma’s manual transmission. And since there was a camper shell on the truck, I used it less as a pickup truck and the bed was perpetually empty. If I needed to haul, well, I have a handy old utility trailer.

So, in July 2019 I bought a used 2018 SR5.

So here, I will continually add trips to this thread as I take them. I have a few that I’ve already taken and will place them here as well. Don’t expect white knuckle off roading. Being a senior citizen, they just hurt too much.

Most of my travels center around my Nevada home, occasionally branching out further. The vast majority are within the Great Basin, but I’ll keep its scope as “western” because I have and will likely continue to occasionally leave the land where the rivers do not reach the sea.



Midas > Willow Reservoir > Hollister Mine
July 7, 2020
Note: I focused more on taking video this trip than photos, so there are few of this trip. My photos are supplemented by images taken over the years; some for comparison of then and now, others to illustrate various places that are not covered by images from this trip.

The COVID-19 blues. Need to get out of the house. My wife and I took a 185.0 mile drive that took us away from the house for seven hours. But first, we topped off our gas tank; we picked up a couple sandwiches, chips and cookies at Port of Subs; we picked up a cup of McDonalds coffee; then we hit the freeway for 16 miles east to the small hamlet of Golconda.

It is 29 miles of dirt roads from the end of the pavement some miles north of Golconda to the semi ghost town of Midas; Midas being situated about 65 miles from my home. Starting off in the valley bottoms, the road gradually starts to climb as it approaches the Owyhee Bluffs and the countryside gets more interesting.

Spring Creek emanates from springs visible on the side of the Owyhee Bluffs.

Shortly after passing Spring Creek, a summit is topped, then the byway drops into Squaw Valley. Shortly after reaching the valley bottom, a signed road indicates that Midas is three miles north into the hills.

Midas is a tiny, historic community. It dates back to about 1907, an outgrowth of the frantic mining booms of southern Nevada. The town was originally called Gold Circle, but because the post office was beginning to frown on so many towns in Nevada with the name “gold” in them; so townsfolk started calling the town Midas, because they felt the town would be so rich it had the Midas touch. Today, Midas has approximately eight year round residents, which swells to about 50 or so in summer months. The town has a tree lined main street about a mile long stretched along a shallow gulch, with homes older and new. A couple of side streets lead to properties east and west of the main street. About the only structures from its earliest days are found in a tiny gulch near the north end of the main street, but not accessible because they are on private property.

Upon arriving in Midas, my wife and I stopped to visit a friend who lives year round in Midas, appropriately distancing ourselves outdoors for mutual protection. I didn’t take any photos of the main street of Midas this trip. Included are a few from a May, 2008 visit to town for continuity.

One of the few places in Midas dating back to the boom period is found back in this gulch and on private property.

View west along one of the few side streets in Midas toward the Owyhee Bluffs. This is taken from in front of the site of the Midas schoolhouse.

North of town a couple miles is the Miner’s Gold mine and mill complex. We set our sights there. The trail is narrow above the town’s water supply enough so that the 4Runner got some nice pinstriping by the sagebrush. Along the way, I spotted several of Midas’ huge dandelions. They are the largest I’ve ever seen, about the size of a large grapefruit.

Over the years and on numerous visits since my first in 2001, I’ve seen the Miners Gold slowly submitting to the elements.

The Miners Gold mine and mill complex, about a mile and a half above Midas.

This is the small mill building at the Miners Gold, as taken in 2011.

The southern part of the complex once had standing structures, but are now collapsed.

A similar view in 2001. The structure was feeble but still upright.

The primary mine adit at the Miners Gold. Ore cart tracks still exit the now collapsed adit tunnel.

On my first visit to the Miners Gold, I stood inside the adit, which was solidly wood lined and had very cold air rushing out of it; refreshing on that hot day. I don’t know the reason the tunnel is collapsed today – blasted shut on purpose or simply collapsed. Due to the solid look of those timbers in 2001, I suspect the latter.

After visiting the Miners Gold, we head back into town. In the middle of town, we turned left on one of Midas’ few side streets and visited the site of the school.

On my first visit in Midas, in June, 2001, myself and two others camped at the schoolhouse with the permission of one of the town’s leading residents. The mining company and townspeople chipped in on funding and labor to restore it. On my 2001 visit, I found it pristine. One half was set up as a museum, with all the furnishings of the school during its prime, along with a mannequin of a female teacher. The other half was set up as a community hall. A lush sod lawn surrounded the building. Myself and two others camped in our respective vehicles in a driveway on the left side of the property.

The site of the school house in 2008. It had recently burned down. The foundation was still intact on this visit. I’ve never heard what the official cause.

July, 2020. Note that between 2008 and on a visit in 2010, the foundation had been removed.

The schoolhouse at the time of my 2001 visit.

Leaving Midas, my wife and I head east through Squaw Valley. Our sights were set on lunch at Willow Creek Reservoir. There are no trees on the lake, but the large tailgate of the 4Runner makes for a fine awning for sitting on the spacious back bumper. I hadn’t thought of bringing my camp chairs for comfort, but the back bumper is comfortable enough for a short time.

Willow Creek, about two miles below the dam of Willow Creek Reservoir.

Reaching Willow Creek Reservoir, I pulled down onto the lake shore next to the concrete boat ramp. My wife and I set up the 4Runner so that the back end was facing the lake. The lake is approximately 2.2 miles long and 0.9 mile wide. A few years ago, water managers went to release some water from the lake in preparation for the spring runoff and the spillway gate failed open, completely draining the lake. We found the lake close to full, with a bathtub ring indicating the water level was maybe five feet below maximum.

[

It was breezy, but our 4Runner was parked in such a way so as to block the wind but still allow the breeze to swirl around the back keep us cool. It was about 85°. Our lunch consisted of Port of Subs sandwiches for each of us (a roast beef & provolone on sourdough for me, a turkey on wheat for my wife), chips and cookies.

While we were eating, we found two men directly across the lake. My wife said she saw one of them in a canoe or kayak, who was out of the boat and on shore when I sat down to eat lunch. We noticed both were walking the lake shore within a small bay to and fro, likely checking on their fishing poles. There are no roads on the north shore of the lake, I saw no vehicle parked in sight along the lake or on the dam.

CONTINUED BELOW

 

[DAW89446]

CONTINUED

After lunch at Willow Creek Reservoir, we decided to tour the hills south of our byway back westward. Ten years previous I had been on a wintertime upland game hunting trip out this way. In years past, the Hollister Mine was quite active, but had grown quiet in recent years but still operating at a reduced scale. The sign indicating the mine looked new and the road looked to have been recently bladed so we turned south.

Our byway slowly meandered and climbed into the hills and in about eight miles we came to a set of faded directional signs that I had gotten to in 2010. We pushed on to the very entrance of the Hollister Mine. Unlike most mines, there was no security man post nor anything indicating that the public could come no farther. There was only an opening in the fence and a cattle guard and a sign indicating that one was entering Hollister property. There was a large turnout immediately inside the entrance so we decided to call it quits here. There was some nice views and I took some photos and video.

July, 2020.

The same sign on a winter’s day in 2010. There’s more sage and less paint today.

I was a bit bewildered as to exactly where the Hollister Mine was. The countryside looked to become increasingly flatter and more gentle southward. Looking at Google Maps another day, I found we were maybe a hundred yards from the main complex; hidden just out of our sight around a slight rise. The Hollister, being an underground mine, leaves a small footprint on the land; in contrast to open pit mines, which can create quite a huge hole on the land.

The Hollister gate. I wondered where the mine was. Checking Google Maps after getting home, I found that the mine portal and support complex is about a hundred yards over the hill behind the 4Runner. I gave thought about going to the top of the hill to look for the mine, but then I thought about rattlesnakes …

The view southward from a point on the road just before the Hollister gate. The mine is hidden by the small, descending ridge in the foreground left.

From the Hollister gate, we made our back down out of the hills to the main Midas-Tuscarora road.

Willow Creek, where it crosses the road to the Hollister Mine.

Hitting the main byway, we made our way home, arriving home at 3:30 PM. We had traveled 185.0 miles; according to the 4Runner’s trip computer, actual time the truck was moving was five hours and forty-three minutes; and we got 20.9 miles per gallon of gas, using a third of a tank. It was a fun day.

 

[DAW89446]

Short Day Trip
October 1, 2019
Home >> Unionville >> Home via Dun Glen

Sometimes, even a short jaunt brightens up one’s day. No need to worry about gas, food and water; just put the key in the ignition and go. This jaunt is one of those kinds. Easy, quick, painless. Three hours and about 100 easy miles. And a brighter day.

Unionville, Nevada, is a semi ghost town tucked in a idyllic canyon on the banks of Buena Vista Creek, situated on the east slope of the Humboldt Range, about 38 air miles, over one mountain range and across one valley southwest of my home. The town popped onto the scene not long after wild and wooly Virginia City far to the southwest as a prospecting and mining craze swept northern and central Nevada in the early 1860s. It was big enough to attract Samuel Clemens for a time before he became better known as Mark Twain. The community is home to around 30 or so permanent residents. Old, dilapidated ruins are found with simple homes up to and including opulent modern manors. There are no services except a quaint bed and breakfast on a large, shady property.

Unionville can be reached entirely by paved roads, with exception of three miles of bladed dirt from the end of the pavement of state highway NV400. There is a way to get there from my home that is almost entirely dirt, but has a stretch of several miles that is very rough with large holes and almost entirely covered in a fine, axle deep, flour-like dust. Since I was still running the OEM street tires, and I wasn’t in the mood for a colossal cleaning project, we chose the paved route over Interstate 80 and NV400. However, to extend our time away from home, we chose to return via Dun Glen Summit over a county maintained dirt byway.

At Unionville, we worked our way to the end of the maintained road up the canyon, then back down where we visited the historic cemetery.

Star Peak, 9,836’ high, dominates the northern Humboldt Range, as seen from Buena Vista Valley north of Unionville.

The dirt road below the main Unionville townsite. Scattered homes and ranches dot the landscape below town and in the valley. My 4Runner is still wearing it’s OEM street rubber. Not long after this I replaced the tires with E Range B.F. Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO’s.

Lower Unionville and Star Peak.

Deer are abundant in the canyons; they are frequently seen sampling the grassy meadows along the creek or on lawns.

At the top of the town, and at the end of the maintained road, the canyon splits. Looking south up Wilson Canyon to a large set of mine dumps. A rough trail probes up into the mountains. The aspens are starting to turn their autumn gold, and some bits of a recent light snow can be seen around the mine.

Looking down Unionville’s main drag as seen from about midway back down. The view is across Buena Vista Valley and into the East Range.

Unionville’s cemetery. It is a large cemetery with a dozen or so old, grand headstones and ornate iron fencing. There are unreadable wooden headboards found in various stages of decay; as well as graves from the 20th century.

On the way home, instead of heading back north to Interstate 80, we turned off onto a signed dirt road a few miles from the interstate. My map showed a cutoff that accessed the county maintained Dun Glen road, which didn’t pan out due to gates and eventually deteriorating to the point it wasn’t worth the trouble. So we went back to the interstate frontage road, cut under the interstate near the truck stop, then up the road to Dun Glen summit. That road has been rerouted slightly over the years due to active placer mining activity.

Buena Vista Valley and the East Range.

Looking southward along the Buena Vista Valley to the Humboldt Range from our aborted attempt to maximize dirt road travel.

Star Peak from up the Dun Glen road.

The ghost town of Dun Glen is found in a meadow a mile or so above the placer mines. Looking around the sagebrush one can find stone walls and remains of a mill foundation. The town had a two part history, originally popping up in the latter half of the 1800s, and again in the first decade of the 20th century. There is a small cemetery plot just before reaching town a hundred yards off the road or so, but the headstones indicate a family plot with burials long after Dun Glen became a permanent ghost town.

The road continues to gently climb toward the summit, which is at just over 6,000’; then the road plummets down the steep eastern side through a series of looping switchbacks until hitting the bottom of Grass Valley. Dirt and paved roads carried us the remaining 18 miles or so home.

The view across southern Grass Valley from a point below the east side of Dun Glen Summit. Mt. Tobin, 9,775’, dominates the view at the right.

The view northeast to Winnemucca, from the Dun Glen road.

 

[Asilomar]

Short Day Trip
October 1, 2019
Home >> Unionville >> Home via Dun Glen

Sometimes, even a short jaunt brightens up one’s day. No need to worry about gas, food and water; just put the key in the ignition and go. This jaunt is one of those kinds. Easy, quick, painless. Three hours and about 100 easy miles. And a brighter day.

Unionville, Nevada, is a semi ghost town tucked in a idyllic canyon on the banks of Buena Vista Creek, situated on the east slope of the Humboldt Range, about 38 air miles, over one mountain range and across one valley southwest of my home. The town popped onto the scene not long after wild and wooly Virginia City far to the southwest as a prospecting and mining craze swept northern and central Nevada in the early 1860s. It was big enough to attract Samuel Clemens for a time before he became better known as Mark Twain. The community is home to around 30 or so permanent residents. Old, dilapidated ruins are found with simple homes up to and including opulent modern manors. There are no services except a quaint bed and breakfast on a large, shady property.

Unionville can be reached entirely by paved roads, with exception of three miles of bladed dirt from the end of the pavement of state highway NV400. There is a way to get there from my home that is almost entirely dirt, but has a stretch of several miles that is very rough with large holes and almost entirely covered in a fine, axle deep, flour-like dust. Since I was still running the OEM street tires, and I wasn’t in the mood for a colossal cleaning project, we chose the paved route over Interstate 80 and NV400. However, to extend our time away from home, we chose to return via Dun Glen Summit over a county maintained dirt byway.

At Unionville, we worked our way to the end of the maintained road up the canyon, then back down where we visited the historic cemetery.

Star Peak, 9,836’ high, dominates the northern Humboldt Range, as seen from Buena Vista Valley north of Unionville.

The dirt road below the main Unionville townsite. Scattered homes and ranches dot the landscape below town and in the valley. My 4Runner is still wearing it’s OEM street rubber. Not long after this I replaced the tires with E Range B.F. Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO’s.

Lower Unionville and Star Peak.

Deer are abundant in the canyons; they are frequently seen sampling the grassy meadows along the creek or on lawns.

At the top of the town, and at the end of the maintained road, the canyon splits. Looking south up Wilson Canyon to a large set of mine dumps. A rough trail probes up into the mountains. The aspens are starting to turn their autumn gold, and some bits of a recent light snow can be seen around the mine.

Looking down Unionville’s main drag as seen from about midway back down. The view is across Buena Vista Valley and into the East Range.

Unionville’s cemetery. It is a large cemetery with a dozen or so old, grand headstones and ornate iron fencing. There are unreadable wooden headboards found in various stages of decay; as well as graves from the 20th century.

On the way home, instead of heading back north to Interstate 80, we turned off onto a signed dirt road a few miles from the interstate. My map showed a cutoff that accessed the county maintained Dun Glen road, which didn’t pan out due to gates and eventually deteriorating to the point it wasn’t worth the trouble. So we went back to the interstate frontage road, cut under the interstate near the truck stop, then up the road to Dun Glen summit. That road has been rerouted slightly over the years due to active placer mining activity.

Buena Vista Valley and the East Range.

Looking southward along the Buena Vista Valley to the Humboldt Range from our aborted attempt to maximize dirt road travel.

Star Peak from up the Dun Glen road.

The ghost town of Dun Glen is found in a meadow a mile or so above the placer mines. Looking around the sagebrush one can find stone walls and remains of a mill foundation. The town had a two part history, originally popping up in the latter half of the 1800s, and again in the first decade of the 20th century. There is a small cemetery plot just before reaching town a hundred yards off the road or so, but the headstones indicate a family plot with burials long after Dun Glen became a permanent ghost town.

The road continues to gently climb toward the summit, which is at just over 6,000’; then the road plummets down the steep eastern side through a series of looping switchbacks until hitting the bottom of Grass Valley. Dirt and paved roads carried us the remaining 18 miles or so home.

The view across southern Grass Valley from a point below the east side of Dun Glen Summit. Mt. Tobin, 9,775’, dominates the view at the right.

The view northeast to Winnemucca, from the Dun Glen road.

Thanks, great area!

 

[Sonoran_Desert]

Nice camera and eye for photography

 

[mbm112]

Awesome post. I've always wondered what it's like to live in those small towns.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[08TxRunner]

Beautiful pics man. Thank you.

 

[MeefZah]

Nice reports.

Sub'd

 

[Blue 4ever Runner]

This is a great post. Thank you, I love seeing and reading about these old mines and areas around them. There are some good You Tube videos of people who explore deep into these abandoned mines.

 

[TOYO74]

Wonderful travel report Dave! As you show, it is not always necessary to grind along the goat trails to see great places. I can tell when the trail becomes "white knuckle" when my wife says "let me out, I'll walk it".

You have given me some ideas for a future adventure....Thanks.

 

[Teamoatmealpie]

Fantastic post- glad to see peps using their rigs for fun stuff in beautiful country.

Been thru some of those areas via dualsport motorcycle and have 3 questions.

1. Is the Bar still open in Midas? for a barley pop or water etc.
2. I'd bet money there's no gas in town, but figured I'd ask.
3. If none of the above are possible, what's the status on willow creek, is this cow water or is the stream clean enough to filter for consumption.

We usually cross N. Nevada from Paradise to Jarbidge via a route North of the mountains that Midas and Tuscarora sit below.

If you have never been to Jarbidge, I highly recommend it. They have 2 small hotels and a bunk house, plus the bar, well worth the trip.

North of Paradise there are some cool mines and cabins in the Santa Rosa mountains. Buckskin mine in particular is worth a look and some incredible views as you can drive up to the summit

We're hitting the trail a month early this year. August 17th, so I expect to battle the heat versus our normal September trip. Which will make water sources more important.

Surprisingly there is water out in many places you would not expect. But if the stream is fouled by cows aka cow water then we don't touch it even with a high quality filter system.

Awesome trip report, keep 'em coming.

 

[DAW89446]

Nice camera and eye for photography

Cheap cell phone camera and an old version of Photoshop.

 

[DAW89446]

1. Is the Bar still open in Midas? for a barley pop or water etc.

Yes.

2. I'd bet money there's no gas in town, but figured I'd ask.

No.

3. If none of the above are possible, what's the status on willow creek, is this cow water or is the stream clean enough to filter for consumption.

I don’t know. Below the dam it’s running fairly deep and strong. But cows can and do get into creeks. I haven’t been east of the reservoir in a decade, so have no comment on the rest of the watershed.

If you have never been to Jarbidge, I highly recommend it. They have 2 small hotels and a bunk house, plus the bar, well worth the trip.

Many times. Camping and in later years at The Barn.

North of Paradise there are some cool mines and cabins in the Santa Rosa mountains. Buckskin mine in particular is worth a look and some incredible views as you can drive up to the summit

Many times. It will be a future TR. I know Woody Bell, owner of the property above Windy Gap. I last visited Buckskin Mine and ghost town in 2001. The scenic flywheels at the Paradise Mine above Woody’s place have been undermine and pushed over, probably for a silly You Tube moment, but didn’t roll but maybe 30’. At the Paradise Mine, on my drive last year shortly after getting my 4Runner, I pushed my truck through thick mountain mahogany, forgetting it was nearly a foot wider than my ‘02 Tacoma. Got some serious and deep pinstriping. I finally topped Buckskin Mountain for the first time a few minutes later. Last time I went, they didn’t have the signs and a designated loop trip, though I knew a road topped the summit.

 

[Teamoatmealpie]

The Woody Bell cabin is a true treasure. We stumbled across it in 2010 or so and slept in it several times when is was clean. Then the pack rats got in and spoiled it after people left food out = not good.

Took my sons there in 2017 and there were two younger guys backpacking at the cabin when we rolled up. So we opted to give them space and went to the mines. Rolled to the cabin later and saw in the sign in book that the 2 backpackers were I think grandsons or nephews of Woody and they had hiked in from Paradise over 2 days. We were sorry that we missed the opportunity to speak with them, as I would have like to learn more about the mine and cabin.

Most likely we will be rolling thru there again in a few weeks.

Keep up the good work on the trip reports.

 

[DAW89446]

[MENTION=119513]Teamoatmealpie[/MENTION]: Forgot to mention in my answer about the Midas bar, that the building shown as the bar in my 2008 photo is now closed, has no signage and has lost its covered porch. The old dinner house a few doors up the street is the bar now.

 

[mrmike7189]

enjoyed the photos

I enjoyed the photos. I have a silver 4runner myself. Nice choice!
In these times , I always find that the lack of bathrooms on the road trips I've taken, angers me some....I can stop and buy a coffee, but no one wants you to use their bathrooms...because of...umm corona.

 

[JLTD]

Great thread, thanks and keep 'em coming!

 

[DAW89446]

I enjoyed the photos. I have a silver 4runner myself. Nice choice!
In these times , I always find that the lack of bathrooms on the road trips I've taken, angers me some....I can stop and buy a coffee, but no one wants you to use their bathrooms...because of...umm corona.

Out here in rural Nevada, you don’t need a real bathroom ... :becky:

 

[DAW89446]

April 20, 2020

April 20, 2020
Housebound

It’s a pleasant spring afternoon. My wife and I are housebound, getting on each other’s nerves. It’s been a month since the governor of Nevada told us to quarantine at home, so we haven’t done much of anything except getting out of the house when necessary for our needs.

Fortunately, we live a few miles out of town and in a few miles we leave civilization behind. Roads turn to dirt and if desired we can crisscross northern Nevada over maintained dirt roads without touching pavement. But today all it took was a slow drive of less than two hours, traveling 35 miles south then return the way we came, which left us in a better frame of mind.

Southbound a few miles from our home. Mt. Tobin, 9,775’ high, dominates the view.

On the return trip, stopped at the site of the small, early 20th century mining boom town of Goldbanks, out of view to the right. The Goldbanks Windmill, shown on topographic maps, used to be here about 150’ off the road beyond the 4Runner; it has been replaced in recent years with a solar powered pump and metering system to water cattle.

 

[DAW89446]

1. Is the Bar still open in Midas? for a barley pop or water etc.

Don’t know if you left yet, but thought I’d pass along this. Called my buddy in Midas and inquire the days the bar is open. He said that Page is open Thursday - Sunday.