Plans Don’t Always Work Out Exploring

Thursday September 21, 2023 Nevada Desert

Plans

I made plans last night, so headed down this road, state route 447 that went down around where the Burning Man thing is held.

If I’d gone north to get on highway 140 east, it would of been three more  hours and a lot of miles so I choose the south route

Going east

Just below where they hold the Burning Man thing, I turned east on a mine haul road that ended up in Winnemucca, but I had a road planned to turn north before I got to that town.

The haul road east was about sixty miles and the first fifteen miles were real rough with very bad wash-boarding. I was thinking I made a mistake choosing that route.

The Burning Man thing is off in that direction.

I was looking for a road to get off this bad road so stopped here to see where it went, but it didn’t go in the right direction, so I continued on.

Sulfur

There’s a huge old mine at a place called Sulfur just up ahead and the road finally improved where I could travel about 35 miles an hour or so, at least sometimes.

Lunch break

I stopped here by the old mine for lunch.

I spied this white looking smoke stuff out the side window while having lunch and it appeared it was some kind of steam thing shooting jets into the air all which ways.

The haul road got even better as I traveled east.

But the road that I was going to turn north on was a bust. It was a real old very narrow road that didn’t look like anyone had used it in years, so that meant I was going to end up at Winnemucca instead, which was ok as that’s the way I used to go to where I’m headed and I know the roads without maps.

Winnemucca

The haul road improved as I got close to Winnemucca, just up ahead.

Golconda

I got gas in Winnemucca and then got on highway 80 east a few miles to a place called Golconda which has a haul road out to a lot of big mines and that’s the road I needed to head northeast to where I was headed.

I was able to make 45 miles an hour on this haul road as it’s well maintained.

They had equipment taking care of this road.

It was a little over an hour to Willow Creek Reservoir where I planned to camp on the dam. There’s just one little flat spot there and I took it. The road is a dead end on the dam top. No one else was in the area, but me, even around the reservoir.

Willow Creek Reservoir from the top of the dam.

This is Willow Creek at the bottom of the dam where I sometimes camp, but it’s getting a bit overgrown with brush. It’s not used much anymore.

I’m in for the night and will make plans to continue on up the road to the north east tomorrow.

Nice day.