Overton, NV (10/29/2018)

After a week-end of relaxing in front of the TV, watching football games, I was ready for some adventure on Monday.  My plan was to drive a back road I had learned about last Spring, but didn't get around to on that visit.  But first I drove by the local reservoir looking for waterfowl.  The only ducks were too far for photos, but I took a couple shots of the reservoir.  The water level is extremely low, just like all others in the region.

Next, I drove by Stewart's Point on Lake Mead, another seriously depleted reservoir.

You may notice an automobile parked on what appears to be an island.  Wondering how it got there, I went down near the water's edge and saw the "land bridge" that was hidden from view up above.  Still, what a cool spot for a family picnic.

Finally, I finished the 35 mile drive to the eastern end of Bitter Springs Scenic Backcountry Byway, part of the Lake Mead NRA.  This 28 mile trail goes through/over the Muddy Mountains and comes out near Valley of Fire State Park.  I drove eight miles from the western end last March.  It was very scenic, but also very rocky, so I turned around at that point.  Now I wanted to try it from the opposite end.

The first mile was pretty muddy from the downpour just a week earlier.  Right away, I encountered four wild horses drinking from the puddles.

As I drove along, the "road" alternated from very rough to fairly smooth, much of the time in a rocky wash.  In a fit of compassion, BLM had placed trail markers periodically to keep me on track.  There were plenty of "optional" trails created by the ATV crowd, some of which looked better than the official trail.  After about eight miles, I noticed there had not been any signs for a while, and the trail was getting significantly worse.  Eventually, I could go no farther and saw that the ATV tracks I had been following had also turned back.  Thankfully, the ATV driver had broken a new trail back, avoiding some of the roughest parts. 

Once back on the official trail, I had never seen where I went astray.  I did see some BLM trail markers lying in the bushes, obviously swept away by the recent flood.  Maybe the trail had been washed away by the same flood.  I really didn't mind too much that my trip had been cut short.  While the scenery was pretty good, it wasn't as good as other back roads in the area.

There were quite a few places where recent flooding had undercut the walls of the wash, causing the walls to collapse into huge piles of boulders.  Glad I wasn't there when that happened.

On my way back to Overton, I looked for side roads that I have not driven.  Mostly they led onto mesas where free camping is available, and many of them had RVs parked there.  People camp in such places as a way to quickly get their ATVs into the desert.

Nearing town, I spotted a road that looked interesting, so I turned in.  This was a very smooth road, making me think it led to an old mining operation.  Soon I noticed two flexible pipelines, about a foot in diameter, lying along the road.  For five miles, that's all I saw, other than pretty red rock the road had been cut through. 

 

Then I came to obvious active mining facilities and knew I shouldn't be there.

I tried to find a shorter way out, and I could see the highway about 1/4 mile away.  Unfortunately, every road in that direction ended at a washout too deep and steep for me to try.  Finally, I headed back the way I came in.

When I saw the white truck approaching, I knew I was caught.  Someone had called Security and they were coming to get me.  I stopped alongside the truck and let Bubba lecture me about violating private property, and worse yet, taking pictures. 

Back in camp, I did some research and found the mine is removing silica sand, 99.5% pure, for use in making glass, product packaging and other items.  I had seen their distribution facility on the highway, where tanker trucks and railroad cars were being filled.  Now I knew they were hauling sand.