Pine Valley, Eureka, Ruby Hill and Other Awesomeness

My last post left off in Elko on April 5th (well, by the time it was posted it was the 6th, but...minor details).  Traveling I-80 East has been fairly routine over the course of my life so, in having all of Sunday ahead of me and with no other pressing obligations at home, I decided I would take the road somewhat less traveled home.  And while the weather wasn't quite as bucolic as the forecasts had prognosticated the journey remained a placid saunter down Nevada's scenic byways.

Starting strong!

Pine Valley greeted me with gray skies occasionally breaking to a gently warming sun.  The first point of interest was the sad remains of an old Eureka and Palisades Railroad trestle gently submitting to the ravages of time.  And while all of Sunday was my oyster, there were several points of interest ahead in which I was keenly interested, so rather than hike down the modestly acute slope I had to settle for a rather pathetic photo.

The next goal for the day: Nevada's second-largest oil field.  Nevada doesn't generally come to mind as a great oil producer, but they were out there, pumping away, thus the proof is in the pudding.

It's crazy active.

Having admired the petro-glory for a full two-and-a-half minutes the next stop was the forlorn site of Mineral, an old station on the Eureka and Palisades Railroad.  I took a lot of pictures, but most of them are unremarkable, serving only to feed into my unrelenting nerdiness.

These are the ones that make the cut, including the original

gray graniteware pot, the obligatory 130+ year old tetanus 

farm, and the turnoff to the site of Mineral City in the 

Sulpher Springs Range.

Aside from a smattering of minor historic sites and interesting mineralogy Pine Valley does provide for some very nice scenery.  A rather broad valley, it straddles between what would be considered Northeastern and Central Nevada; those bastions of the rural Nevada economy, mining and agriculture, can all be found in the immediate area (area 141 if you're a hunter), as well as five different mountain ranges: the Roberts Mountains, the Simpson Park Mountains, the Cortez Mountains, the Pinion Range, and the Sulphur Spring Range.

The Roberts Mountains

The Cortez Mountains

The Sulphur Springs Range

The Sulphur Springs Range

The Pinion Range (and the oil field)

After Pine Valley we come to the Diamond Mountains and Eureka.  I don't get to this stretch of the Lincoln Highway nearly often enough, and this time I decided to dedicate the bulk of my time to visiting Ruby Hill, just above the town of Eureka.  Ruby Hill dates back to the early 1870s (I readily can't find a more specific date) and while most of the remains are far newer there are still two structures from the early days.

The two older structures (in the background)

Found these gems behind some falling wallpaper.

These structural elders aside, however, the newer remains make the visit wholly worthwhile of their own accord.  It would be amazing indeed if it were able to be turned into a sort of living museum, but...

No, this is not a set of a Paul Anderson film.

Those signs are not uncommon at the site by any means, and certainly the point was taken when approaching the buildings.  Traipsing around the grounds was more than reward enough for the excursion and expenditure, though, deer mice droppings and associated pathogens aside.  (Please don't let that scare you off, just stay out of and avoid crawling around the vacant structures.)

Retreating to Eureka I took a little time to look around this placid town as well.  Being a Sunday the museum was unfortunately closed; with a walking tour map and my fancy smartphone in hands I let the town be my museum for an hour or so.  

Tannehill Log Cabin, believed to be Eureka's first home.

Eureka County Courthouse

Methodist Church (1880)

Bateman St, Looking Toward the Eureka Sentinel Museum
(Jackson House, Left; Ryland Building, Right)

The New Firehouse

Main St.

Eureka Cafe, 1873

Main St.

Heading Into Town (or, in my case, out of town)

I had just one other semi planned stop before reaching Austin a the Hickson Petroglyph Site; US 50 is rather unremarkable between Eureka and Austin (as far as the road itself goes - I believe Jeremey Clarkson spoke disparagingly of it on Top Gear in fact).  But with cruise control, a steady hand, and exemplary peripheral vision it gives a great opportunity to see a part of the country few people get a chance to enjoy.

Monitor Range

Antelope Range

Lone Mountain

Diamond Range

Simpson Park Mountains

Roberts Mountains (from the South)

The glyphs at the Hickson site often don't lend themselves too well to photography (at least with my modest "equipment"); for one thing the vantages are fairly poor when it comes to snapping photos, and for another thing, a seriously unfortunate fact, many of the glyphs have been vandalized - often with crude, lewd imagery. 

Big Smoky Valley

Nascent Baby Pinion in Sandstone

And, photographically speaking, the day ended within view of the Toiyabe Range.  A quick stop, a brief interview by a stolid NHP officer who pulled off to check on my well being, and I was hamburger bound.  I can't go through Austin and not eat a burger at the Toiyabe Cafe, I just can't.

Noms for my eyes before noms for my stomach.

Happy traveling!