Life, travels and other interests
It’s a bit of a drive from Reno — around 700 miles — but Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, is worth it. My husband and I spent a few days in October hiking around the park’s red stone arches as part of a longer road trip through Nevada and Utah. It definitely was a highlight.
Continue reading “Explore a colorful landscape, amazing rock formations at Arches National Park”
Walker River State Recreation Area opens later this month near Yerington, about 85 miles southeast of Reno – the perfect excuse for a road trip through this rural northern Nevada region. Road trip map here.
Anchoring the road trip is the Walker River State Recreation Area, set to open to the public Sept. 22. Scheduled activities include Dutch-oven cooking, archery, fishing clinics, hay rides, kids’ games and a barbecue. The Walker River park consists of four properties along a 28-mile stretch of the East Walker River: the Pitchfork, Rafter 7, Flying M and Nine Mile ranch properties. It’s the Pitchfork Ranch section that opens Sept. 22, along with a seven-mile section next to the river. Continue reading “New state park to open Sept. 22; make it a road trip adventure”
Interstate 80 through northern Nevada is a roadway made to get you somewhere fast. It’s designed to move you from Reno to Salt Lake City in a seven-and-a-half hour drive, factoring in a quick pit stop. And that’s how it’s often driven: pedal to the metal. It’s a shame, because there’s a lot to see along I-80, including Main Street Art Park in Fernley, home of the “Bottlecap Gazebo” sculpture once featured at the Burning Man festival in the nearby Black Rock Desert; and Roller Coaster Fireworks Outlet in Battle Mountain, where the Cassorla brothers expound on pyrotechnics in a shop stuffed with taxidermy.
Continue reading “East on I-80: look for quirk, history and cowboy culture”
Caving is a short person’s game.
I learned this on a recent trip to Lava Beds National Monument in Tulelake, California, about 216 miles from Reno. It’s possible to do this as a day trip — a really long day trip with about eight hours of drive time — but it might be more fun to overnight in Klamath Falls, Oregon, about 47 miles north of Lava Beds, and head back the next day. Lava Beds is open year-round; the visitors’ center is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in November. During winter, snow can temporarily close park roads until they are plowed.
Apples at Rainbow Orchards in Camino, Calif., are seen in this October 2017 photo.It’s fall, and many Renoites will be making their annual pilgrimage to Apple Hill, the ag region on the western side of the Sierra Nevada dotted with apple orchards, pumpkin patches and vineyards. About 122 miles southwest of Reno, Apple Hill — in California’s El Dorado County — can be done in a long day trip, but we really enjoyed our long weekend with family at a rental house on Busby Cellars winery.
Reno
The Sierra Arts Foundation gallery in Reno (17 S. Virginia St.) is displaying a Banksy piece through Oct. 19!
Home of the famous Hoover Dam, Boulder City also has some interesting outdoor recreation and wildlife viewing spots that make it worth an overnight or two.
Continue reading “Kayaking, rafting and more in Boulder City”
Nevada’s desert climate and soil is conducive to growing melons, according to Jennifer Ott, project director at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Desert Farming Initiative. Fallon, Yerington and the Moapa Valley in southern Nevada are some of the areas where the fruit is grown. They’re also on the 4-acre plot in Sparks where the Desert Farming Initiative cultivates melons and other crops for research and community education.
I got to visit the farm today (Aug. 29) because the Desert Farming Initiative is launching its Nevada Melons campaign to encourage economic development in the state’s agricultural industry. The goal is to draw national attention to Nevada’s “Sinfully Sweet” melons, which include the Hearts of Gold and Sarah’s Choice varietals, as well as watermelons, honeydews and more. If you’re in northern Nevada, you’ll recognize Nevada Melons in the grocery store by the orange-and-green sticker.
Upcoming melon events:
If you’re searching for the mythic West and you want to find it on a weekend road trip, your best bet is Elko. Two hundred ninety miles east of Reno on Interstate 80, Elko is home to the Western Folklife Center; J.M. Capriola, where saddles still are made by hand; and the Northeastern Nevada Museum, which features a collection of work by Western artist and writer Will James. Those places reflect the area’s history as a cattle-ranching region, and while the local economy today is heavily based on gold mining, family-owned ranches such as the Glaser and the Maggie Creek still dot the landscape.
Outside of those pockets of Western culture, Elko offers plenty of recreation in the nearby the Ruby Mountains, part of the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest. Popular draws are the Lamoille Canyon and Angel Lake scenic byways.
Continue reading “Cowboy up, road-trippers: it’s 290 miles to Elko”
Slot canyons and spring-fed ponds don’t typically come to mind when picturing the Nevada landscape, but both can be found — separately — in the southeast corner of Nevada, in Lincoln County. This rural region also has ghost towns, a fossil site and more.
Continue reading “Explore Nevada’s southeast: Lincoln County state parks”
Chris in Nevada 