Conspiracy Theory???

Before we left Mina this morning, Russ went out and got a few last minute pictures.  We truly enjoyed the Sunrise RV Park in Mina and would not hesitate to recommend it.


While we were having breakfast, Poppy decided she needed a nice cozy den and so she managed to wiggle around and get down on the floor of the front passenger seat.  It was tight but she liked it!  Yes, she was able to extricate herself without help.



We took off headed for Fernley but saw many interesting sights on our journey.  Our journey today was so enjoyable.  I told Russ I feel like seeing things I have never seen before somehow makes me appreciate life and feel more alive.  There is an odd excitement that comes from being able to say, “I am somewhere I have never been before, seeing something that is totally new to me.” 

These are the sights we observed on our way out of Mina.  I have never seen such a sad state of disrepair as I have seen in Nevada.  It is everywhere.  I am not casting aspersions on these folks…I don’t know their story.  Perhaps it is the lack of employment, perhaps the collapse of the mining industry, illness, or other misfortune.  But it just seems so pervasive.



Hawthorne is the next town of any significant size.  I didn’t realize the military connection to Hawthorne, but it is a big one.  As we began to near Hawthorne, we started seeing hundreds of humps of earth, which upon closer inspection, appeared to be some kind of bunker.



We immediately went into conspiracy theory mode and started thinking of all the ways those bunkers could be connected and what they might mean.  Roads into the hills became secret paths into the center of the mountains.  Those mountains could hold anything, from secret weapons to space ships.  The Alien Highway is in Nevada somewhere.  There could also be underground tunnels, secret hiding places for military or government officials, testing facilities for space aliens…it boggles the mind.  This is a fiction writers PARADISE.  The ideas just rolled off our tongues faster than we could spit them out.

There were also big buildings which we theorized were storage facilities for bombs and other explosive devices.



The possibilities are endless…you decide!  I do know we got a little spooked when we started seeing signs advising motorists that they could not bring explosive devices into town…and then we saw signs advising which way to go if you were hauling hazardous material!  Watch the slide show for more on Hawthorne.



At the outskirts of Hawthorne is a nice RV park called Whiskey Flats.  We had other plans for tonight but it did look like somewhere we could spend a night.




And for those of you who remember the photo of Rusty with his nose in the air vent hyperventilating at the start of our adventure, I am happy to report he has settled down nicely and now sleeps most of the trip with only occasional looks out the window.



As you leave Hawthorne, you are on the shores of Walker Lake.  Many have theorized that the military conducts secret tests on experimental submarines in this lake.  The lake used to be 500’ deep but it sure looks like it is shrinking.



As we got closer to Fallon, the landscape began to change.  Suddenly there were green fields, and cattle, and nice houses.  Apparently there is a reclamation project in Fallon that has turned it into a little oasis in the middle of the desert.  This is where I found the nicest Wal-Mart I have ever been in.  On the outskirts of Fallon we stopped at the county fairgrounds and had a nice lunch in Therapy.  Donna’s Deli was the order of the day and boy oh boy, does she make a mean sandwich…on Original Sheepherder Bread no less.  YUM!





 
Camping is available at the fairgrounds…$7 for boon docking and $12 for water and electric.  I would not hesitate to stay here for an overnight, but we had other plans for tonight.

From Fallon, it was only about 25 miles to our destination for the night, Desert Rose RV Park in Fernley, NV.  Since it is right before you get to Fernley, I can’t tell you much about the town but the park is great.  Although it is right on the highway, they have a concrete block wall that acts as a sound barrier.  You could definitely hear the road but it was not overly obnoxious.  This is a nice CLEAN park with concrete pads and grass at every site.  There are two rows of pull-throughs and back in slots at the outside edges.  The sites are not overly long so if you are driving a big rig and pulling a toad, you would likely need to unhitch to fit into a space.




The facility itself is great.  No picnic tables or fires but there is an excellent club house with laundry, games room and the best shower rooms we have seen.  There are about 50 cable channels if you like TV and internet is included but it is a bit on the slow side.  I am wondering if I will be up all night uploading this blog!!  Watch the slide show for more information.  The cost was $31.65 with an Escapees discount and a $2 charge for the dogs.  Internet in included.  They also honor 50% off Camping Club and Passport America…gonna have to look into that.

And so ends another exciting and wonderful day in our journey in Therapy.