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Our Expeditions Of La Plata/Dixie Valley NV & Middlegate Station - 2/28/16

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AngelOfThyCosmos:
Our Expeditions Of La Plata/Dixie Valley NV & Middlegate Station - 2/28/16
 
Sometimes as a paranormal investigator we can be as thorough on an investigation as we can possibly be and still never get to see it all. The paranormal is all around us however I do also believe in the right time and place effect. You might go to a haunted house it may be quiet as ever a follow up might reveal a change in opinion if for example that house was only haunted certain days or times of the week.

Although we would visit some new locations in the La Plata/Dixie Valley area we would also wanted to make return trips to both areas to follow up on our investigations. I was excited you never know what you might see. With Spring around the corner the mountains in Nevada are starting to flourish with nature. Everyone thinks that life lacks in the desert here and that is just not the case. The frontier in Nevadan is like a world in itself full of gems if one is willing to seek them out. When I was heading out to Fallon I did seen a craft in the skies the sunrise was gleaming off it some kind of government covert craft not a UFO but rather a covert craft traveling at a high rate of speed it was gone in a few seconds. It would not surprise me the military has a large base in Fallon we know someone who worked on base and they have other areas surrounding it they been buying up. I have even heard of giant winged creatures being sighted in the region I think that if you truly explore enough or pay attention your going to see some things in the heart of Nevada.
 
I was a little discouraged and had to revisit the area perhaps because I wanted to know more I want to believe. Others have asked me if I am scared to return to Dixie Valley where I found these dinosaur like tracks and came across a real scarecrow that literally had left its post begin to walk around no lie! I supposed inanimate objects can be haunted can take on a life of its own. Their is no room in my field of the paranormal for those who are fearful to do the research its takes to get to the truth. If its paranormal I will walk up to it not run this is because I cant properly study anything if I cant face it head on so we have to be fearless in our work.
 
Dixie Valley for me was full of excitement and even some danger. I did not find the cemetery my first visit so my second one would focus on that and some of the ranches nearby. While the ghost town of La Plata and Mountain Well were also up for a return agenda considering I had gotten a flat tire two weeks ago falling short of it. We would even throw in a few other locations in the area such as an old Overland and Pony Express Station known as Middlegate which today is more of a rest stop in the area.
 
I happen to adore this area its one of my favorite places to offroad and chase the paranormal. Not only is it scenic and very vast but its a very strange area of Nevada. At one time a giant sea covered submerged these canyons and valleys. Around the same the sea was receding there was a race of giants that lived not to far from here. Besides the giants there are others tales of giant flying creatures and definitely UFOs in the area. So you never know what you might find or see much is explorable including all these little ghost towns which remain long forgotten and perhaps even haunted!
 
There is nothing like it then loading up the jeep with firewood, food, beer, guns, paranormal gear and just taking the road less traveled. The problem is most folks should not be going into the wilderness unless you A. Know what your doing and B. Are prepared as these locations are so remote that you can easily be 90 miles from any time let alone gas station. So once you start traversing valleys, expanses and go up into these mountain ranges your at the point of no return.
 
I read a story about a family who went out near here rolled the vehicle and was stranded a couple of days. So we do not take it lightly if I take my team or even myself out to these locations its with great preparation and years of experience that have gotten me to this point. I never thought years ago I would be journeying over mountains near where the oldest North American Mummy was discovered. These are ancient lands and will test every single bone in your body. If you do not believe me come on out with us even for a day and you'll understand the work we do here.
 
Its more then just thrills but its about preservation, history, bonding with the ones we love, sharing memories and sometimes even the paranormal. I never know what I might see going out but I know I will not see anything if I do not put in the time and effort. When I head off into the mountains I realize that we are in a vast land where we might find anything. Their are places that no man has ever stood on or discovered so for me its extremely excited to get out exploring these places.
 
I have to say over the past couple years its been exciting visiting this region of Nevada. I have been to ghost towns like Stillwater, White Cloud City, Rochester, Hercules, Wonder, Berlin and Grantsville. All of them very well worth journeying to and checking out. Some even have really awesome mines to explore if your not afraid to go underground. The one thing I learned about these remote ghost towns is that most of them have a resident ghost or at least some energy remaining from its past. To get to Mountain Well Canyon you have to drive through the historic semi ghost town of Stillwater out to the range then turn off at Mountain Well Canyon and from there take this horseshoe route over the mountains to La Plata which means
 
Our morning would take us to the mining and ranch camps of Mountain Well and La Plata. Its hard to believe two weeks ago my jeep had a flat just outside of them both as the sun was going down. I was so frustrated because as an explorer each time I go out I set goals for our group so its important to achieve them. We never want to miss something relevant or not to get to see a location after working so hard to get there! We would head back out into wild horse and cattle country this time hoping to put out another epic journey.When the pavement ends the adventure begins.
 
Mountain Well & La Plata Nevada
Expedition 2
 
La Plata Canyon is one of Nevada's best kept secrets although its one of the very many canyons that go up into the Stillwater Mountains this one is full of Springs. It also has some nice views to go with it and gives you access via jeep to getting over the range to journey into Dixie Valley which is this old ranching ghost town.All the routes through the area are old wagon and mining roads there are no amenities here let alone services. Actually you have to enter Mountain Well Canyon to get up into La Plata but most folks including me consider it all in the same since the boom towns border one another just as both canyons.
 
Along the way we seen allot of cattle roaming the ridge lines and hill sides. I did not see any wild horses or antelope though I thought this was a bit odd. The last time I was up near here I seen a herd of 25 plus antelope and over 100 wild mustangs. This time around more cattle then I could count just watching us as we drove through the canyon.
 
Our journey would take us deep into La Plata Canyon where we would make our first pit stop at Mountain Well. Id like to think Mountain Well as a suburb of La Plata but more or less it was the ranching district. Most of the people who lived here lived here because there are natural springs. Therefore when we pulled up onto the site we found a corral, springs and a windmill. Actually there are three springs found here and I located them all.
 
Today the springs are fed with pipes that drain into troughs for the local cattle to drink from. When I pulled up onto the site I seen a mine on the hill side there was also a broken windmill by the corral. There was also two bulls, many calves and many female cows just grazing in the canyon. I had gotten out of my jeep Tammy stayed inside but stood up through the jeeps moon roof. It was kind of hard to hear one another because there is a pump house with a motor running.
 
The reason is that there were bulls nearby with some very large horns. I left the vehicle slowly approached both of the bulls. I wanted to see if they were aggressive there are ways to tell and no I did not wave a red cape. The two bulls let me get about 30' from them and they were very skittish. But they let me hike around with them which was pretty cool. To be honest with you in the past few years of journeying around Nevada I never seen bulls on the open range anywhere this was a first.
 
I really did not have a choice because I had to do EVP, take photos and do some filming. You really cant escape the cattle here because the canyon in these parts gets narrow. Therefore you share it with the bulls because this is one of the only areas water can be found for miles. Therefore cattle come down off the hillsides just to drink from the various springs found nearby. A black cow crept up behind me to get a drink while filming and it caught me off guard.
 
The bulls were younger so they were not aggressive yet so I was okay with walking around. However at anytime I was ready to hop the old wood fence if things had gotten hairy. Some calves and mommas crossed the old road to have a drink I stayed behind them filming quietly.Then some dude in some beat up pick up truck pulls along side to me and said do not stop them from drinking. I kind of took a bit of offense to that because it was obvious that my jeep was on the other side of the trough and I was just standing around waiting for them to finish drinking.
 
These ranchers sometimes think they own the land and they don't. They pay taxes to use it but also have to understand that they have to share this land with campers, offroaders, hikers and ghost town enthusiast. I was letting the cattle finish drinking as my jeep was on the other side of the trough with the cattle between us. I was not going anywhere for awhile then this guy drives by and has to open up his mouth. I generally never run into a single human and I try to avoid people considering last year a group of guys almost killed me.
 
I may look like I do not belong in the wilderness because of my wicked T-shirts or black nails or long hair and tats but nobody knows the frontier more then I do that is the truth. I have more experience adventuring in Nevada then probably the general population. But its easy for others to judge or assume things out of fear. I have nothing but respect for wildlife, history and these mountains. As a matter in fact most of you who know me also know how greatly I love Nevada hell not just the silver state but the entire west as a whole!
 
My time spent at Mountain Well was short its not a very big place but at one time ranchers did provide the miners in the area with livestock and food. These springs were so important to the Pony Express, Overland Station and other ghost towns. For years in the 1800's many pioneers used this as a watering hole for there horses. Those passing through the area after journeying across the forty mile desert or traversing the Overland route which is today the loneliest road in America needed a place they could bunk down for the night. The Springs were like an oasis for those who traverse La Plata Canyon so it was an important site.
 
As a matter in fact the residents of La Plata harnessed some of the water from the springs but keep in mind they had to travel quite far to get the water. This is one of the reasons the town may have been short lived not sure totally though just a theory. Further past the springs and corral we found a massive open pit mine. At the bottom of the pit was a spring with a fence around it and a motor running. The motor appeared to push the water out of the pit through these hoses which led to troughs for the cattle. I read that Mountain Well had three individual springs. If you search the area enough you can find old rusty tin cans, pieces of metal, glass, bricks, stones etc. Although very few remnants remain of Mountain Well these remnants of the past signify what life probably was like here. Certain tracts of land appear to have once been the site of perhaps a homestead most corrals are just falling apart as the elements have done a number on the cottonwood fence post.
 
Not to far from this area is another location we found which was this canyons third perhaps forth spring This is actually another natural spring with a windmill as well most of the time I found out that the windmills stood above the springs therefore maybe they used wind energy at one time to get the water moving through the hoses to troughs found nearby. There is also a corral here which today is still used believe it or not. You can bring your horses here while you camp or ready them for horseback riding in the canyon. I seen all sorts of tracks up here that were fresh in the mud ranging from cattle to horses. There was some green grass growing here as well perhaps the canyon was a little more lush here. More then likely springs like this were used by the natives for thousands of years. If you listen carefully you can hear the springs trickling up from the ground. If you pass the springs there appears to be possibly a rusty safe and this mangled pick up truck cab which looks like it fell from the cliffs.
 
I really enjoy to explore when I am off in the frontier there are just so many roads that go to nowhere. You can go up into a canyon then find another dirt road that takes you to other hidden smaller canyons or even to historic remnants. There is no way to see it all in one day let alone a lifetime if you ever been to Nevada there is nowhere you will not go without the ability to see mountains for miles. These mountains are a mix of desert and forest while some even have streams or natural springs found within them. Canyons can be lush with meadows, grass, trees etc. The Stillwater Mountains are one of Nevada's best kept secrets not allot of folks dare take them on the ones that do are far from disappointed.
 
Tammy and I ended up taking quite a few roads back in La Plata Canyon there are quite a few. Honestly I thought La Plata was on the main wagon road through the canyon sadly its not. I passed this road earlier which veered off to the left of the canyon to the east. You could tell the road went over the range and trust me driving over any mountains in Nevada is a daunting task. You have cliffs, narrow roads, big boulders to deal with, dry sharp brush and once you take such a road there is no turning back. I kind of figured this road would take me to the town as La Plata was designed or platted to loop around starting off in Mountain Well then climbing up to the town then back around into Mountain Well Canyon. Many of the roads connect most you have to have a jeep for if you do not you will get stuck and help may never arrive just to let others know!
 
This area was well platted its easy to see where streets once were or even homesteads.But not allot remains if you continue to journey through mountain well canyon without veering off to La Plata Canyon you will end up at a place I call the crossroads which meets up with a better road to NE with La Plata without having to climb the mountains. I sure did not know this at the time so I told Tammy lets go back up the road for eight miles and take the road over the Stillwater Range. I had no idea where the town site was I did not want to miss any important sites so it was important to take the entire loop over the mountains and to the town site.
 
There was a herd of cattle when I came out the mouth of Mountain Well with some calves and a pretty pissed off bull. The bulls I was walking around with earlier had a much more timid temperament but this bull he was agitated and you could see he was getting ready to charge me. I pulled along side of him to take some pictures when he tail began to flop around tall tail signs he was pissed at my presence here. His hooves were stomping on the ground and he had his eyes locked on me. He also had a nice set of horns that I am sure would piercing my jeep door and I could be gored to death. So I did not stick around as a matter in fact I went up the road then turned around speeding pass him to go back up into Mountain Well Canyon. I found this massive mining district there was entire mountain sides gone, dump piles, debris files of bean cans and rusty remnants of the past. Although the district offered a great view nothing really remains of its extensive mines or the operation that once transpired here. Today there is just heaps of ore, rocks and piles of wood beams on hillsides.
 
If you go up to Mountain Well there is a road behind the main corral where it takes you to the top of the foothills of the Stillwater Range. Is so wide open up there and you can see the Carson sink of the forty mile desert. You can also see many of the wetlands of the Stillwater Wildlife Refuge. I believe what I seen is Foxtail Lake but cant say for sure since Pyramid Lake is also off to the west. Whatever body of water I seen it was large but if you study maps there is at least six other lakes that connected to Foxtail and the Stillwater Reservoir thus from above it all might look like one giant body of water. The views of the snowcapped peaks of the Stillwater Range are also breath taking such as seeing Table, Slaughter, Job and Lincoln Peaks. I had to be very careful these old wagon roads are rough allot of rocks, holes in the road, drop offs and narrowness. I found some hot springs back here as I was heading up to the top of the mountains its not uncommon in Nevada especially in this region since its still very hot under some of these ranges and valleys.
 
I turned around after thinking the views could not get any better then went about two miles past Mountain Wells this time though I decided for sure I would take the road up and over the range to the ghost town of La Plata. The first time I took this road I went about two miles. There is national forest up here its not very dense but trees to grow here and they kind of consume the road at times. This is not a good road believe me large rocks in the road, cliffs everywhere, trees nearly growing so close to the road you can barely squeeze between them and parts of the road are just gone. I have maps to various ghost towns some of them tell me where mines, mills or what kind of roads there are. The road on my book says two wheel drive only and shows a dotted line. What that line fails to show you is that it switchbacks and ascends right to the top of the mountain range then back down into La Plata Canyon. If you take La Plata from Dixie Valley to the town site its a very nice dirt road no bumps but since I took the back country road from Mountain Well it decided to take me over the range to get there from the top of the canyon then descend down to it. So take my advice if you do not want to risk your life ascend to the town from the south portion of the road without having to climb the Stillwater Mountains.
 
I did a great job producing footage on my trek over the mountains. I have always wanted in the past few years to stand on top of this mountain range. As I was climbing the cliffs with my jeep a few times I pulled over to take some scenic photography. How could I not? From on top of the range you can see Dixie Valley, Fairview Peak, Forty Mile Desert, Alpine Clad Mountains, Sand Mountain, Numerous Peaks, Valleys and lakes. To be honest with all of you its probably one of the best views I have ever seen since my time living in Nevada. I could see for almost 200 miles 360 degrees of nothing but mountains, deserts, snow capped peaks and scenery. It was well worth climbing with my jeep to the top of the range believe me when I say this but not an easy feat. I also was blasting Rammstein and some classic rock while offroading in the end I had a blast pipe in mouth just enjoying the back country .Nothing like opening up the moon roof and just enjoying your freedom!
 
The road to the top of the range hugs the canyons cliffs and multiple peaks above it. Its so narrow that my tires were only inches from the cliffs and well there are big rocks in the road which can cause you to tilt towards those cliffs which were to our right. Sometimes I had to hug the side of the hills to prevent me from getting to close to the cliffs. In turn my jeep was tilted at an angle along the cliffs till I was able to get to the top of the mountains. It was a good trek a few miles to the top and into the canyon where the ghost town resides. I thought to myself it must had been a huge pain in the ass for the residents of La Plata to journey to Mountain Well just to get some water here.

Literally this road is a death trap and extremely rugged due to rock slides. There are parts of the road that were washed out other parts that had gashes in it so trying to navigate through it over the range was a bit tedious and I filmed most of it. I had Tammy do some out the window filming as well looking down the side of the Stillwater Mountains.We were leaning to our right when I looked out the passenger window I was looking down the cliffs. Every time we hit a divot or had to hug the side of the mountain the jeep would lean at an angle it was quite harrowing for sure. There was kind of a feeling of relief once we reached the top we had no idea how the road would be up ahead but we could not turn around it was either do or die for us.
 
As most of you know I am an avid toker so to burn one at the top of the range was well deserved. Its not an easy task to offroad in Nevada these roads provide a challenge. You have to work hard to get to the good stuff I conquered this range so when I descended down into La Plata their was a sigh of relief. You have to be thankful for not getting a flat, flipping the jeep or going off a cliff. You never realize how small you are till stand somewhere where you can see for hundreds of miles. Even when you stand on the range you can see dirt roads for miles going basically nowhere. When I arrived at the La Plata site it was good to just shut down the jeep and go hiking change it up a little.
 
I could tell I was at the town site there was a few dump piles, couple corrals and stone foundations. The town site was not very extensive very little remains but still its a must see and a very beautiful location. The canyon is a bit narrow here nothing like where we just traversed where it was this massive canyon. Such canyons get very deep and narrow the further you decide to travel in them in these ranges. Trust me I know just a couple weeks ago I was cliff climbing above White Cloud City in the canyon and it was steep. Many of these canyons are very lush, overgrown, full of foliage and sometimes even have creeks in them. This part of La Plata Canyon seemed to hide its secrets very well it was overgrown with sage brush and the canyons walls were very steep. I did some research finding other canyons which run perpendicular to this one including Sheep, Wild Horse and Eleven Mile Canyon.
 
Downtown La Plata has nearly been wiped off the map I found two foundations one of them had a fireplace the other one was divided into two rooms. I thought the two room stone foundation was the courthouse I mean I did not really know at the time! You hear that all that remains of the town is the courthouse well this statement is false. Their are three stone foundations at the town site two smaller stone ones then a few hundred feet up the road the courthouse ruins. Of course the courthouse ruins are many times larger then any foundation that remains at the town site. As a matter in fact the old courthouse ruins reside at this old junction its pretty cool because the canyon splits off right there where it heads off into the forest or Wildhorse Canyon. It does not get anymore wild west then this and therefore you have allot of diversity when exploring the La Plata townsite area.
 
I felt very cozy back at the junction found a couple fire pits its obvious people come here and camp. That is all great if you come in from Dixie Valley but if you decide you want a jeep adventure go ahead climb right over the Stillwater Range its fun. The ruins at La Plata are in peril though they are crumbling you can tell people are hauling the stones off for their own use which is sad. The courthouse and one of the foundations up the road are truly masterpieces as each rock was fitted into place. As a matter in fact some of those stones are huge that they used in constructing these buildings. The one thing that was missing from the townsite is remnants of the past. Most ghost towns you see piles of wood, metal, broken glass, few bricks, rusty cans etc etc not here though. The stone work of the structures were beautifully done every rock was fitted to lock into place.  This is not a big ghost town but it has relevant history which we will be talking about more on our website in the future like we do with all locations we take on.
 
The courthouse was a two story stone building it sat on the hill between the two canyons that being Wildhorse and La Plata. I did go inside to take some EVP and readings was doing an experiment with my phone on this trek. I hate phone apps so ill be picking up more gear off our site and you should too. I just put up some new EMF detectors one of them also takes temperature read outs. Anyhow back to the courthouse one of the walls was built right into the hill or up against it. I am not sure if they held any prisoners here but it is the wild west therefore they made due with whatever they had. When I was in Belmont I found out they put prisoners in the basement of the bank due to a lack of a jail. There was a plaque in front of the courthouse on a rocky memorial which someone removed. I cant stand vandals the whole reason I do these ghost towns is to teach others to preserve these locations. Also in front of the courthouse was a massive pile of stool when I say massive it was about 6' x 2' in size which whatever made it must had been bigger then an elephant or either that some cow had some massive diarrhea lol. 
 
I worked hard to get here as a matter in fact I did the entire full loop which starts at Mountain Well goes up into La Plata Canyon then back around some of the mountains meeting up again further SE in Mountain Well Canyon. I did this because I did not want to miss anything for example further down the road from La Plata there is this area that was strip mined. I seen manmade cliffs because entire hillsides were sheered off or rather mined not to far from the town. There was pieces of aluminum also you could tell at one time back when the town existed this area was probably being mined on the hour all day long. SE of the town site is also another spring with a corral and windmill. By now most of you are getting the idea that were in cattle country but some of these corrals and springs are very old. They are the sites of some of the first ranches in Nevada and the springs itself been used by the natives for thousands of years.
 
Out of curiosity I did end up journeying a few miles down Wildhorse canyon to do some filming of the back country beyond the town of La Plata. Well the other reasoning behind it was to find the mill remnants as the town did have one. I never found the mill I figured it might be further down the road behind the courthouse at the junction leading into Wildhorse Canyon. I have a guide with maps it states it being near the courthouse so either I did not find it or vandals hauled it off like most of the towns remnants. I did see some pictures of it but they were not taken recently so its hard to know for sure. I was trying to find it some do some don't others such as ranchers in the area claim it does not exist while other historians say it does.
 
I find out with most ghost towns that I never find everything I am looking for or find things I am not looking for lol. I will say that Wildhorse Canyon is an adventure all in itself as soon as I begin leaving the town site or rather junction where the courthouse was I had entered a woodsy area as it begins to ascend deeper into the Stillwater Range. I found this massive corral biggest one out of all of them all in the area however it was falling apart but you could tell was built out of native trees found in the canyon probably used to house wild mustangs at one time. It was scenic back here rolling hills with a mix of trees and desert fauna at times the dirt road became very narrow. Behind the corrals were some dump piles so you could tell mining went on just a 20 minute walk from town. The canyon is a bit overgrown so if there are any remnants of the past you may not see them from the canyons road so I tried to get out and look around.
 
Trying to turn around in Wildhorse canyon was very difficult I wish I had more time to explore it. Within the canyon we found another split in the road the entire area appears to branch out. If you offroad down a canyon you come across a split. Take a road down a split like this and come across more splits. These old wagon roads were streets where ranchers and miners had homesteads at.The pioneers back here built there corrals and structures out of native materials found here particularly this canyon. They were able to harvest the rocks to build the structures along the canyons walls while lumbering some of the wood found back here from tree growth. The wood was used to build the ranches and corrals today though all of it is long gone. This is such a remote area that I never ran into a human and as a matter in fact there was no recent vehicle tracks. Its just you and the mountains for 80 miles till you get to the nearest town.
 
I eventually made my way out of Wildhorse Canyon said my goodbyes to the courthouse which may not even exist in a few years then continued my trek SE heading out of La Plata Canyon. The further you head out of the canyon the more open it gets. Eventually you come out into this huge expanse which overlooks all of Dixie Valley and the Alpine Clad Mountains before your eyes. The Dixie Valley expanse is enormous as you leave the mouth to La Plata Canyon. I was relieved I had made it over and through the Stillwater Mountains so I gave myself a pat on the back. This was not an easy trek many miles of jeeping and since its such a vast area it took allot of effort to find various little sites that I could investigate or check out. I worked very hard on this project I wish I could have seen more there are allot of little canyons and roads I took as many as I could. Sometimes we just have to be thankful for not getting a flat tire or lost as our first trip to La Plata this simply was not the case.
 
We would get ready to shut down the jeep it was getting hot we had been four wheeling for hours on rocks, steep grades, along cliffs and through rocky canyons. I could not wait to smoke a bowl of some of my girl scout cookies bud, eat a sub and drink a couple brews. Our adventure was completed with La Plata after our second attempt was a success but our journey was far from over we had plans to descend from the overlooks at the mouth of La Plata Canyon into Dixie Valley where we would take on this Nevada gem for a second expedition! The view from on top of the foothills of the Stillwater Range were breath taking we had Eleven Mile Canyon below us to our left, views before us of Dixie Valley and the Alpine Clad Range to the east. It was time to just sit on the hood of the jeep park it above the expanse and just feel blessed for the beautiful 60 degree weather we were having. Isn't life about the memories we make even the simple ones? You have not experienced freedom till you really experience something like this. Sure we did not find much of the paranormal in La Plata but we found history, adventure and before our eyes seen timeless scenic views!

Dixie Valley Nevada
Expedition 2

We had just finished up visiting Mountain Well and La Plata. To be honest with you I was glad to get out of these rugged canyons most of the time you could not see where you were at and really its like a maze in this mountain range. So we started off our second expedition of Dixie Valley having beers and subs in the foothills of the Stillwater Mountains. I parked the jeep just below the mouth that way we had views of Dixie Valley, Alpine Clad Mountains, Fairview Peak, Chalk Mountains and many other geological landmarks. There are quite a few ghost towns across this valley believe it or not including Hercules, Victor, Wonder and of course Dixie Valley below. Not to far away is also Rochester, Rawhide and Sand Mountain all areas I also been to or seen to an extent. If you pay attention you can also see the fault line which many years ago was caused by this countries 7th largest quake.

We had a nice lunch I had this limited edition Sierra Brew called Celebration it was so good full of hops. You see folks here in Nevada we love our bud and beer especially when your adventuring. I could not wait to drink a couple brews sit back and just enjoy the view. We were parked above Eleven Mile Canyon which also goes up into the Stillwater Range or exits right into Dixie Valley below. Where I parked at we found what appeared to be some surface mining or some pioneers dumped some of there ore wagons  here. We found pure quartz crystal rocks here some of them had some mild silver and gold particles in them while at times I find out more then often its just pyrite which has no monetary value other then it looks cool lol. But we had some fun gem hunting found even some copper ore and it was a way for us to pass time to cool down the jeep.Hell I even found some gems one of them looks like it has silver in it the other gold!

For miles you could see rolling hills eventually leveling off within the valley. From where we were at you cant really see the ghost town of Dixie Valley or any of the old ranches found there. Its just so vast when you can see a 100 miles the only thing you see are ripples of mountains, valleys and snowcapped peaks. From on top it looks just like a vast expanse little would others realize it but some of the oldest largest cottonwood trees in the state of Nevada grow in this valley. Its one of the most beautiful valleys as well in the state and there are numerous springs. In the winter it does not look so green but in the warmer months this is all grassy ranch land.

I was excited to return to Dixie Valley as my first expedition I found what appeared to be these giant three toed tracks of some creature, cattle mutilations and had an experience with a physically moving scarecrow. The scarecrow was to our right when we parked on the other side of a military vehicle minutes later it disappeared off the fence or post staring at us from the other side of it. Eventually when I grabbed my gear I ran across the desert floor in full operation to study the phenomena and when I arrived it was apparent the scarecrow had moved to another part of the fence. I cant explain the things that occur in this valley but I wish I could try. Dixie Valley begin as a mining town then it transitioned into a ranching community that had at least 50 plus ranches which provided livestock and crops for all the mining towns in the region at one time.

Today the US Military owns most of Dixie Valley back many years ago they used it as a giant video game grid or simulation for bombing or practice drills. I have found dud grenades here and there are military signs everywhere. The US Navy and Airforce do own the land however you are allowed to be here which is fantastic on there part that way others like me can enjoy some of the history sites found in the valley. There are tanks and some military vehicles that have been abandoned you can climb on its allot of fun. There are also many springs, picnic areas, ponds, shady areas to rest at and scenic views that will really wow you here.

After our break and admiration for the great outdoors we decided to descend into the valley leaving the Stillwater Range behind us that we just climbed over. There was a huge herd of cattle right in the road some were laying down others standing up. Tammy asked me what I was going to do and I told her slowly drive up to them as they generally will move. It was funny because one of the heads of cattle never moved at all but rather sat in the road as I drove by. I could have literally reached out and petted it right on the head driving by if I wanted but instead I filmed the experience. Eventually you will meet up at a three way junction one way leads into Dixie Valley while the split will take you to two different Canyons in the range one called La Plata other is Mountain Well which I totally conquered earlier that morning.

There supposedly is an old Overland Station not to far from the junction but I heard in the 1800's it was relocated therefore it probably no longer existed because I passed the site in my jeep and did not seen a single stone wall. These Overland and Pony Express Stations are found everywhere in this region the problem is they are in ruins or they simply have vanished over the years due to vandals taking the stones. While other stations were relocated then rebuilt nearby so we could not find it therefore we continued to descent off the range into the abyss of Dixie Valley.

Eventually we would begin our trek through the valley north which is very scenic you can see snowcapped peaks from afar, red cliffs to the NW, forested mountains to the east known as the Alpine Clad's and behind us the extinct volcano known as Fairview Peak. Its so quiet in this valley you could hear a pin drop trust me when I say that. Its full of eagles, jack rabbits, wild horses and cattle nearly around every single turn. Its very vast though and it would take me a half hour driving north to get to the cemetery. As most of you remember I could not find the cemetery on our first trek here but was able to get better coordinates, compare maps and get a better handle on finding it this time around.

I was very disappointed when I arrived at the cemetery its extremely large yet there is one concrete slab, concrete frame with two marble stones and a little white plastic picket fence with a mound of dirt..Other then that either most of the graves were vandalized therefore the graves are gone/unmarked or very few are buried here. I seen what appeared to be a father and son buried here but that was about it. There is a metal cross that has been welded to the gate made out of rebar but other then that you would not even know this place was for burial. As a matter in fact it looks like a corral from afar when your driving down the dirt road approaching it. You can miss it easily I know I did my first time and was frantic about it but now that I had it on my mind for months once finding it I was led down a path of disappointments.

I spent awhile in the cemetery looking around found this 10" hole in the ground that looked deep. I dropped a small piece of wood down it that took a few seconds to hit the bottom. It sounded like it opened up into a well not sure why one would be here unless it was used to harness water for those who might have put flowers on the graves. The problem is there was only three gravesites in total while you have this huge open space that is about 300' x 200'. I read that the residents from the ghost town of Fairview buried some of there loved ones here just as some of the ranching families who lived out there days in Dixie Valley were said to be interred here as well. But with only a couple burials its hard to research the names and find out if this is true or not. Today I cant get into the ghost town of Fairview the US Military bought the town site then fenced it off as its now part of the base. The dearly departed may have not been the only ones found here as two jack rabbits were also stuck inside and could not get out. More then likely they went through a small hole or under the fence forgetting how to get out the way they came in.

The cemetery was a bit more rural yeah it sits a few miles from the town site or historic ranches but its so easy to miss. It sits out in the middle of nowhere on some unmarked dirt road consumed by brush therefore finding it was quite the feat. I was happy to just walk around the cemetery that was one of my goals if I were to revisit Dixie Valley for a second time. From the cemetery I would make my way deeper in the valley to the heart. The heart of this valley at least the historic part of it is an area full of old historic ranches most dilapidated but still some of these were lived in up until nearly 1970! The original dirt roads leading to all these ranches still exist and most of the patches of cottonwoods also do. From afar wherever you see dozens of cottonwoods are remnants of the town or ranch sites. There is multiple patches of trees found in this area and country roads. Patches of growth signify natural springs which in turn meant ranch sites or historic structures.

My goal really was to see a couple new ranches or find anything I may have missed. You have to understand there is no way to know all that is out here you just have to urban explore. There are at least thirty dirt roads each one leads to a ranch or spring. Other ones lead to various springs and ponds. Some of the barns, homesteads and corrals are collapsed. Other sites are just piles of aluminum, farm machinery, furniture and rusty cans. Honestly no matter what road you take or where you decide to pull off to your going to see all sorts of things left behind when Dixie Valley was an operable ranching community. Its easy to tell where the ranches are most old roads lead to where they once stood while other roads offer long driveways which will take you to a patch of cottonwoods where a few foundations might be. There are chicken coops, abandoned vehicles, troughs and anything else you would find on a typical farm. The problem is the military did so much training in this valley that they literally destroyed most of these farms. There are only a few homes you can go explore inside and barns my first trip I had gotten to visit them.

On this trip my goal was to at least visit two ranches because I knew I missed some places you cant see all of this place on one trek. There is to many ranch sites, roads and history tucked away back in the cottonwoods. I just drive around and find new sites to check out some of them are strange. You never know what you may find back in here of course the military trains so its hard to say what experiments run loose. There was a truck running down one of the dirt roads the driver was gone a bit weird because it was a tanker of some kind. There are a few military personnel who live in this valley but other then that its quite desolate. You have to wonder what a huge tanker is doing on some dirt road sitting there. I know this sounds grim but this is the type of place that might be behind some folks never been seen again. When I was here my first time some guy speeds ahead of me gets out of his truck pulls a gun out serious! I am not sure you want to come across certain people in these parts. Although I did smile when I seen a father and his little boy riding dirt bikes on the main rural route in its apparent that very few people ever journey deep in these parts.

I seen much of Dixie Valley even offroaded to a canyon where I found a wild horse and some springs. But road after road it gets to be confusing therefore finding any ranches I missed from our first time this time around would be quite a feat and daunting task. You cant really see every structure from the road these are ranches so each one may sit away from the road which may require some hiking around. I found a few more springs there are dozens of them in this valley and water here is more abundant then other regions of Nevada. Every time I found a spring there was a ranch or some remnants of one nearby. Most of the locals back in the day built wells some of them hooked up some pipes to redirect the spring water in troughs so that the cattle had a means to drink. Cattle are very abundant here its a free range therefore no matter where you drive or hike you may run into them and yes even bulls!

We came across this ranch but the military had been using it for some training grounds. They had these camouflaged little outposts all covered in netting and canvas. There was also a workshop perhaps a small barn on site or shed that was red in color door wide open oh wait it did not have a door. There was also some building made of brick it was boarded up I did manage to get inside where I found what appeared to be some kind of nook, large room and a fireplace. I am not sure if this was a homestead or if a rancher used it as a guest house. It appeared that the military may have used it for training exercises being that it is abandoned they could do drills inside or just use the fireplace to keep warm in the cooler months while training.

By this time the skies were looking wicked we had what appeared to be a storm coming in over the Stillwater Range. The first time I was here the same thing happened the blue skies went dark real fast and thunder clouds came in from the west. It did not rain but the sun ceased to exist lol however on a good note it was warm in Dixie Valley. Both times I came here I have seen nothing but awesome weather where I could wear shorts or dress light. I mean the creepy dead cotton woods or dark skies with ranches in the foreground make for some good photography I wont lie. Some of these ranches I been to are creepy and you find weird things. Many of the ranchers who lived here had big families with allot of kids life here was remote over 60 miles just to go to the nearest town which was Fallon while in Dixie Valley's earlier days they could make the journey to Wonder City which at one time was a major boom town in the area which has been long since abandoned.

I drove around for awhile past many of the sites I visited my first run through but this time around I had gotten to do a really large ranch before I left the valley. I seen it my first trip but there was vehicles parked there and I thought someone was living there. But this time I tried to pull up on the back side of it and seen that the ranch was abandoned. The homestead was made out of native stone, wood and the storage shed next to it which appeared to be the pantry which matched the home. There was also three corrals, two abandoned trucks, chicken coop, tree house, work shop and an old trailer from the 70s. I hopped the gate to get onto the property and I have to say it was mangled. Almost every steel gate surrounding the corrals and property was in peril. What could bend and twist steel like this? I did touch up on that during my filming as these were not dents but the rungs in these giant gates looked like they melted then were reshaped.

I could have sworn back in October of 2015 this place was an active homestead I believe there was people here and everything. Was I seeing ghosts? campers? squatters? Again Dixie Valley is a strange place overshadowed by huge peaks, forest and high desert. Just northbound of Dixie Valley is the Cave Of The Red Haired Giants. So would it surprise me if some of these ranches are haunted? NO! Sometimes when I think of Dixie Valley I think of little green men flying in there UFOs swooping cattle up. This ranch has an eerie feeling to it I did not know who or what I would come across. I thought what if the creature that made that track lives in one of these farm houses. I left Tammy the keys to the jeep I said here you go ill be back that way if I get eaten or killed she at least can get the hell out of dodge lol. But I have no plans on dying as a matter in fact I live for this so off I went into the old stone homestead.

The homesteads windows were broken there was a kitchen with a fridge, bathroom which looked bat or rat infested, one small bedroom and a den with a woods stove. The wind at times was picking up so it howled through the home. One thing I love about doing abandoned places here out west is that I get to go in these places and looked at the beautiful mountains while inside. So I get a room with a view what more can a man ask for? Besides good beer and weed? There was this seat sitting on the back porch that was horseshoed shape perhaps it use to be inside the kitchen. It kind of reminded me of something you would see in maybe a 50's diner. It was a bit creepy here I just never felt alone but could not pin point it. Tammy was not very comfortable here as most of you know many of our investigations I take on by myself. I have to say it was awesome to discover this place its very much in tact.

There was an area where the wall had a portal so that you could come up to it and have your wife for example hand you dinner while you were in the den keeping warm. The view from the den is quite sweet of the mountains. All the cupboards in the kitchen were wide open there was also this wooden cabinet built into the wall and just across from that a pantry room with wooden shelves. I did go inside to check it out it appears nothing remains and nobody has lived in this house in awhile. I am thinking that this is a much older homestead and gradually it was renovated as the kitchen appears to have been remodeled. Just as the front of the home is made of stone which is the den area you can tell the wood portion of it came later which then a kitchen and bedroom could be added. You see back in the boom town days if a miner build a cabin it generally was just one room in some cases that applied to ranchers also. I have found with Dixie Valley is that you will have structures that date back to different eras for example a wood house next to an older ranch house. In this case someone had a one room cabin on this ranch then extended onto to it with a wooden portion which led to a bathroom rather then an outhouse, bedroom, kitchen and pantry.

There is a pantry next to the homestead outdoors as well I am assuming this was the original one and they built it out of stone that way it could stay cool or a cooler temperature then the surrounding landscape which is often very hot in the summer here. The pantry smelled really bad its not a pantry anymore someone put two rusty sets of shelves in and it was loaded with junk. For example bolts, screws, cans and parts typical stuff you would see on an old ranch. I also saw at least 100 beer cans and it smelled really bad in here really really bad. It almost smelled like someone died in here or as if something at one time or still was decomposing. I did look around I did not find anything but you could tell this was the original pantry before the ranch house had one built inside years later.

Adjacent from it is this workshop I opened the door went inside it smelled bad there also perhaps people are coming up here drinking maybe its just booze or puke who knows. I was very careful on the property did not know if anybody was hiding in this place. Its troubling but we need to start making it known that many people are vanishing in Nevada particularly middle aged men. Tammy knew a woman who said her brother in law came up to the region for work never showed up for the job a couple days later and vanished. No trace of his cards being used all things left behind where he was staying etc. This kind of thing is real and it has to be taken seriously so I am extremely vigilante when it comes to investigate these locations and well prepped. The workshop was newer made out of wood much bigger then the pantry house. The workshop had a ton of leaves inside almost a foot high with a few work benches and dusty shelves. Not to far from here was some old rusty bed springs which is very typical to see in these old ghost towns.

Behind the homestead was a old chicken coop its original you can tell and their are a few of them in Dixie Valley. Next to it was an old trailer it had broken windows and the door kept slamming sometimes making this creaking noise. I did not go inside but it had a door in the front and the back. I peered into both doors just to look up and down the hall. Nothing unusual here a tea pot, ripped blankets, magazine, chairs, few VHS tapes, bed broken in pieces and some clothes. Its not odd to find something like this sometimes people might by some ranch land it might be in despair so they put a trailer on the land. Sometimes living in the trailer while tending to the property. The trailer had to come from the 1970's you could tell just looking inside of it that it was old school maybe early 80's at most.

Behind the trailer was a couple old rusty trucks one of them had bullet holes in the windshield while other bullets never made it through. I had noticed that bullet holes were quite common on this ranch from those who may have went shooting or military exercises or perhaps the ranchers who lived here themselves. One truck was a flat bed an International the other truck was a Ford maybe Chevy its hard to tell with the rust and towing rig in the very back. It also had a few tanks not sure if this truck was used to spray pesticides as well or what its use was for. Nearby was also a set of tractor trailer wheels attached to some metal frame perhaps just the undercarriage of the rig itself. Obviously the rancher who lived here must had did towing he had two kinds of tow trucks each one from a different era. Its also possible the military left it here they had to tow some of there equipment in such as junked vehicles to be used in combat training scenarios.

There really is allot of junk on the property I came across railroad ties what is strange is on my first expedition I came across them as well on another ranch. I am wondering if when they dismantled some of the short lines in the region if the ranchers took the ties to be used in constructing fencing for there property line or corrals. I am a bit curious to say the least! There is also a huge birds nest up in one of the cottonwoods as a matter in fact there are a few nice trees that surround the homestead and the corrals which kind of reside in front of the homestead by the road. There were three corrals they had horses and cattle as I found a cattle ramp nearby. Each corral probably had different livestock perhaps one for some cattle, another for horses and maybe they had some goats. The corral is wood while it looks like they lost most of it and tried to remedy the situation with steel gates all secured together. Its not a work of art and some of those are mangled not just from the inside but like something was on the outside causing it as well. Not to far from the corrals is a natural spring the water was just spewing out of this pipe into this trough then trickling across the valley floor for dozens of feet.

I really enjoyed this ranch I cant say for sure what secrets it holds but any chance I have to expand upon a previous expedition that is a positive thing. I achieved my goal and had gotten to visit some new locations within the valley. I am not even sure I seen it all there are so many little dirt roads that take you to various ranch sites some areas are so overgrown you could miss them in a blink of an eye. When I left this area I did some major offroading down this back country ranch road that was washed out. This is caused by multiple things perhaps the springs which run across the valley floor, recent winter and thunder storms. Their were gullies, grooves and areas that were very deep you get one tire in one of those your not getting out. The road was very soft but I managed to carefully work my way around the washed out sections which took us to an abandoned tank which also has antennas and even a radar dish mounted to it. I stopped here briefly if you search hard enough in the valley you will find abandoned military vehicles as a matter in fact I found sitting up on some blocks an old military rig.

I had to get going though it was getting to be sunset and I still had to get to Middlegate Station. I was nearly 32 miles away and had to up the ante therefore it was time to take an unforgiving shortcut depending on how you look at it. I took this road south in the dead center of the valley and expanse. This area was like a beach nothing but soft dirt and sand for nearly four miles with no way but forward. This was just a road to nowhere but I knew that if I went south their is a better ranching road that intersects with it but being we were in a sea of sage brush climbing sandy hills we really could not see how far ahead this road was. This was a primitive route through the valley perhaps even the original wagon road. Springs run under the valley therefore when I had gotten out my feet were sinking in the soft earth. I had to stop because I took this road to find more foundations and ranch sites. Instead I found burn barrels, rusty cans and an old rusty skeleton of a truck in the desert. I was hoping to find more but the road no less was fun we were riding up and down sandy dunes. I did not have many strange experiences nor did the paranormal scarecrow get me this time but I had enough adventure back here on these rugged country roads to last me awhile for sure.

 Ill tell you what this road had me sweating just a hair because parts of it was washed out. Its as if these seasonal creeks or floods flowed right through this road thus it had very deep gashes, grooves and pot holes. One part of the road had a 3' deep gash by about 3' wide I had to maneuver around it you drive through that your going to bottom out or get both front tires stuck. I had no choice at times to drive over areas that were washed out angling my tires just right and going slow. I did succeed it was a flawless offroading experience one I could not afford to bottom out on or get the tires stuck or we would be spending a long night in this valley. I generally film my experiences but not this wagon road I had to have both hands on that wheel because the road was full of quirks that could have led to getting stuck in soft mud or tipping the vehicle into a ditch since some ditches ran across parts of the road. When I had made it out I grabbed my pipe toking one with some relief woooo! I had a good reason to celebrate there was no turning back I just had to get er done and hopefully the short cut would take me to a better rural route out of the valley.

I actually came on out near some ranch not even sure if I visited it last time I was here but I did get a photo of its old corral and next to it this homestead made out of wood in peril. In the foreground was Job Peak covered in snow. Life out here was not easy many children perhaps as many 150 kids lived in this valley and helped on these ranches. They may have even shared a one room homestead with there parents and when epidemics swept through the area they had gotten there siblings sick thus death was an ongoing problem in northern Nevada due to this factor. I would have loved to see the school but the military removed it when they took over Dixie Valley country. I read that when there was no school or when the old one closed the kids would have to take a two hour bus ride to Fallon there and two hours back. That would include not only the drive through the valley but also many miles down Highway 50 the Loneliest Road in America. All these old washed out country roads I am driving on the school bus had to do the same to pick each kid up on each ranch. Its quite the humbling experience to say the least to try to sense what life was like on the range!

I headed out of Dixie Valley as the sun was getting ready to set this is a gorgeous area some of the most beautiful mountains in the state. I was on a lonely road through no mans land but eventually we would reach the Lincoln Highway heading off to our final destination known as Middlegate Station! A perfect close to a day of adventuring as beers and food were awaiting thee!

Middlegate Station

I love the Middlegate Station area the views are absolutely gorgeous and its not to far from a place called Sand Mountain Recreational Area. Just as the name sounds its a massive mountain of sand that you can ride four wheelers on and everything so much fun. Middlegate Station is really the last of its kind I mean it served the Overland Stage Company and Pony Express. Most stations in the west are just piles of rubble and stones meanwhile this one stills stands and today is open to the public. But not much has changed back in the day it handled freight, provided a place for pioneers to rest, water down horses and perhaps get a hot meal. Today same thing you can get gas instead of water for your horses, eat a meal they are home to the Nevadan Monster Burger which has been on some food shows and you can bunk up for the night.

The last time I was here I did not go inside I was kind of here to chill between ghost towns last year ago. I remember last time I was here I walked up to this old carriage and there was this cat sitting in the seat being all lovable with me. It was very quiet last time I was here but this time around this place was bustling and people were drinking in the saloon. I was about to join them believe me it was a rough day when you can live nearly die and have a chance for a cold drink by the end of sundown that is a damn fine day lol. When you get to the station there is a big sign in the front its about the only thing in over 75 miles believe me when I say that nothing is out here.

From the highway when you turn in you can see in the distance allot of trailers behind the station and a couple ranch houses. The station has a porch that kind of wraps around you can sit on it smoke a cigar maybe have a drink outdoors. Across the highway is a couple abandoned houses actually they are mere skeletons or perhaps just a couple of prefabricated structures. They were not historic but probably built 30 years ago and abandoned. I did not have time to check them out because my main focus was on the station but one thing it told me is that this area is more then just a station. Some folks have came here to camp or permanently make this area on route 50 there homes! Back in the day when the government wanted a safe sure route west they had a pioneer establish this route therefore before the station was built emigrants would camp here in the mid 1800's. Three pass on the route look like gates you have western, middle and eastern gate. The station was built right near what James Samson thought looked like one of these very gates.

Not much remains this station has been in peril twice as most of you know most of the old Pony Express and Overland Stations were dismantled by ranchers and miners who hauled the rocks away used to in these stations construction. Twice it was abandoned and twice it was renovated I really do not want to see it become abandoned because its a piece of American History. The station today is an oasis in the desert honestly its a great place just to take a rest at if your going ghost towning or your out adventuring in that region. I did not have to get gas my jeep was actually good for the entire day then again I had premium in there and I paid 140 for premium  gas a gallon that morning I left for the Stillwater Range.

I parked at the station then we had gotten out to have a look around the sun setting was gorgeous it made the mountains look various sheds of brown, red, orange and pink afar. I was happy to be here all I had on my mind at this point is to get a cold brew maybe a bite to eat. I also was working on this project because we really want to promote it on our site bring in other adventurers, friends, members and that sort of thing. We can bulk up the tourism here because I have read some newspaper articles that a few times the station almost closed recently due to the lack of customers. Highway 50 is the loneliest road in America the owners I am sure have made many friends but really most folks are just passing through or fail to stop here.

The station is made out of native stone other parts of it wood it is over 150 years in age. There is a picket fence around a portion of it while adjacent is a hotel where you can get a room for the night. There is an old phone booth on the property, rusty vehicles, farm and mining equipment. Their is al

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