At the beginning of the Fort Churchill road just after turning of US 50. This view is to the West. The Carson River along with the tree line in the background. The road is unpaved and almost all the distance the road full of powdered fine dirt from all the vehicles traveling up and down the road.

But then again the SMOG that coats my vehicle after just 1 day in Los Angeles is far nastier. Smog residue has a slight glue content plus copious amounts of Pigeon & Raven droppings. So do not let a smattering of Nevada dust discourage you from taking this route!

Looking around the east end of the Dayton valley I spied this man-made scar to the north of US 50. Simply ugly. But I guess it is the price we have to pay for thousands of miles of freeways, strip malls and multi-storied parking structures! The Scar is at 39.339250,-119.521708.












The Carson River flows along through this small valley and a portion of it's flow is diverted by a couple of irrigation canals labeled ditches on the Google Maps that I used. This diminishes the flow of the Carson River but also provides some of the water for the alfalfa fields that can be observed throughout the trip.

It was the July 4th Weekend and yes it was hot. Hovering at around 98 degrees during the day. Warning! Always take plenty of water when traveling in the deserts and mountains of the American West ! Nuff said?









Nevada is one of those states that has open ranges. What this means is that at times and especially after you see a road sign as the one above, you might very well encounter cattle, horses, sheep and politicians grazing on the range so beware they are NOT fenced in and can thus cross the road at any time and ask for your vote and a dime.

Unfortunatly I did not see any open range cattle on this portion of the trip. Below are 2 images of the same rocky hill the one on the right is simply a close up with a telephoto lens. Rugged terrian indeed!


This portion of the Fort Churchill road was across the fields from the Carson River. The 2 photos is montaged together would form 1 image. You can tell by the looking at the fencepost with the crossbeam on the bottom right and left of the photos. I do love my Nikon 5500 DSLR camera but it did not come with built in GPS. I chose the slightly cheaper model and now I am paying for my decision.

















I was able to come up with an approximate coordinated position by using some creative Sherlock Holmes deduction techniques. By looking at the above left image and comparing the road, fields, hills to the left and the telephone pole off to the left side of the road with the single telephone pole in the center of the photo on the right and then finding that exact same location on Google maps (satellite).

I finally came up with this GPS:  39.295627,-119.474040. All that work and time to do what a $150.00 to $250.00 GPS addon will do. The red circle indicate the location. I am saving my quarters now!


I love this photo on the right as it reminds me somewhat of Sicily in the 1980's. I cannot rememer where on the road I actually took the photo except it was on within the first couple of miles from the begining of the drive. The Carson River is still on the other side of the fields.

The photo below is the same time and direction as the photo on the right. The photo on the right was using the telephoto lens. This was a clear sunny day without much haze or dust except when vehicles drove by.











The Carson River does not have a high capacity flow of water. I believe it's maximum flow in spring is around 1,000 cubic feet per second. The rest of the year it probably flows around 200 to 300 cubic feet per second. Some of the farms probably supplement their water allotments with well water. This farmers irrigation water pipe was leaking badly, but this sound of the water gushing out, a slight breeze blowing and the birds singing gave a very peaceful moment of solitude. Fairly easy find on Google maps. GPS:  39.299872,-119.488240.

Below we again can see the amazing contrast between the green fields, tan hills and the darker mountains in the far background and that all topped of by a light blue sky.

















Next, as the Carson River meandered closer to the road I got a closer look at what is called a Riparian Zone or Riparian Woodland. This is  simply a zone where a river or stream flowing through a desert, savannah, plains or a steppe allows plants, trees, bushes to grow that the desert environment would not otherwise support. These "green zones" are a very important portion of many of the animal life in these parched environments. The Nile River in North East Africa is a prime example of a Riparian Zone on a huge scale though.

















Continue the journey along the Fort Churchill road. I promise you that we will get to the fort eventually no matter what is thrown in my path. The image at the bottom of the page will take you to another page where you can choose what portion of the road trip you want to view.

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