Overton, NV (3/21 & 3/22/2018)

I left Callville Bay after three days and moved to the little town of Overton, only 47 miles north, to be closer to some of the things I wanted to see next.  Also, being in a town made it easier to get fuel and groceries.  The RV park in Overton is very nice and has all the amenities I need.  In particular, having WIFI and cell service is much appreciated.

One of the "attractions" in Overton is a state wildlife management area, the first place I visited after moving in.  Getting there in the afternoon, I learned they lock the gates at 3:30 pm, so I had little time to look around.  Nevertheless, I was able to get a few bird photos.  A nearby pasture had a white burro, which seems unusual to me.

Black-throated Sparrow

Gambel's Quail

Red-winged Blackbird

Burro

Overton is also home to the Lost City Museum featuring the history of local Anasazi Indians.  The museum is actually built on the site where ruins were found and excavated.  While photography is not permitted inside the museum, here are a couple from outside.

Mormon Mesa is a large formation, 150,000 acres of mostly sandstone, just north of Overton, between the Muddy and Virgin Rivers.  It has been designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern as the home of the desert tortoise.  Moreover, it is where "land artist" Michael Heizer completed his first "land art" project, called Double Negative.  Anyone can drive up on the mesa and view the art, as long as they are prepared for rocky "roads" at the end.  I was, so I did.


Double Negative is essentially two long trenches facing each other with a gap in the middle that is actually a canyon on the rim of the mesa.  Including the open space of the canyon, it is 1500 feet from end to end, each trench being 30 feet wide and 50 feet deep.  Some 244,000 tons of rock and soil were removed to create the "negative space" for which the art is named.  Of course, some walls of it are now crumbling since it was created in 1970.

It was donated to the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art with the stipulation no maintenance be performed, allowing the work to be re-claimed by nature over time.  Now the artist feels differently, but the museum is abiding by the original desire.

Heizer started another "land art" project in 1972 that will be finished in 2020, according to his announced schedule.  It will feature numerous complexes of structures in a piece of Nevada desert 1/4 mile wide by 1 1/2 miles long.  For more info about the artist and his works, click on Michael Heizer.

The mesa had other interesting tidbits.  For example, someone created a competing piece of "land art" and called it Polish Negative.

 Nearby, I found a mysterious container wrapped in WalMart bags and covered with stones.  This could be a Geo-cache, which some folks enjoy placing and/or searching for others.  Or, it could be the remains of Jimmy Hoffa.  No way was I going to open it to find out.

 There was also an old school bus, decoratively painted, that appeared to be the current living quarters for some "free spirit".  I didn't get too close for fear it may be the person who placed the blue container on the mesa's rim.

 Then I came across this old boat, high and dry some 1400 feet above the canyon floor, far from the river.  I don't know who Gracie is, and I don't believe the boat floated there in the last Virgin River flood.

 Post Scrpt: I decided the word on the boat might be "Gacie" not "Gracie".  If so, it is Polish for "undies" or "panties".

 At the bottom of the mesa, near the river, there is a gravel quarry in operation and the foundation remains of some building from long ago.  No clue as to why it was there.

On a lighter note, here are photos of a recent sunset in Overton following an overcast, windy day.