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Great Basin On my first trip as a member of the Wild Nevada crew we went to Great Basin National Park. Adventure 1: A trip clear across the state of Nevada to the park which is just a stone’s throw from the Utah border. Before this trip it would have been fair to say that I didn’t have a clear picture in my head of what the rural west actually looks like. I really couldn’t believe how much open, untouched land is in this state. There was talk of snowshoeing; we even brought snowshoes but alas, due to the unusually heavy snows last winter, snowshoeing was ruled out. I started out on this trip with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Could I physically make the trip; the hikes, the climbs, could I carry the equipment? There’s no question that this trip was a challenge. The newness of everything for me, the fear of the unknown for sure and being the new kid on the block, as they say. But more than anything, the trip turned out to be far more than the fears and the challenges I had built up in my head. In addition to seeing some amazing parts of this state, I witnessed, and participated in, the great production team that is Wild Nevada. By the time we were packing up to leave Baker and the Great Basin National Park all my uncertainties and hesitations with enthusiasm and anticipation for the next Wild Nevada adventure! * * * Sheldon National Wildlife RefugePosted Sunday January 15, 2006 by Jack Kelly This trip took us to one of the most remote parts of Nevada – the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. This was our second trip to the area but much has changed since the last time. The most significant change was there are no nearby services – that means no gas, no motel, no restaurant. We camped out at the Royal Peacock Opal Mine campground. This is for folks who a) have an RV or b) like to tent camp in a primitive location. We, of course, belonged to the “b” group. On our last trip we stayed in Denio Junction, but since then the little oasis of gas, motel and food went out of business. Luckily there was Fields, Oregon,located about 23 miles north of Denio. Great place, wonderful people, good food. BUT it is 58 miles from our Royal Peacock camp ground. More later. Jack * * * #403 Pahranagat ValleyPosted Friday January 13, 2006 by Dave Santina Monday, May 16 Once again the Lil’A’Le Inn provided us with a lunch worthy of Mulder and Scully. Our arrival in Pahranagat Valley coincided with a hellacious wind that made it tough just walking around at the National Wildlife Refuge, but I had a great (but wet) time taking pictures. Jack shot video that should make a dramatic appearance in this episode One of the best things about Wild Nevada is the fact that we often stumble upon great restaurants in unlikely places. Dinner at Alamo’s Windmill Ridge Restaurant was fantastic! It’s a small operation, obviously, but what great food! Homemade meals – you can’t beat ‘em. Highlight: A tie between the windstorm and Windmill Ridge. Lowlight: We’re getting up at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow, so, early to bed then, right? We thought so too. How, then, is it that Ethan and I ended up watching “About A Boy” on TV until the wee hours? Idiots. Tuesday, May 17 The BLM guys, Mark and Nate, were very cool. It’s always a bit of a crapshoot when we get people to meet us somewhere in the middle of the state. Some are nervous about being on TV, some extremely relaxed. Mark and Nate fit squarely in the latter category. Petroglyph sites like Mount Irish are great places to take pictures. I went a bit crazy with them today, but some of the shots aren’t bad, I think. After dinner tonight, it’s official: Windmill Ridge rules. Highlights: Alvin quietly coveting Jack’s bag of Doritos and then bogarting it the moment Jack leaves the car. “Gimme that sack of chips!” Cracked me up. Lowlights: Ethan falling in love with an old abandoned car and then struggling miserably to take a good picture of it with his nice expensive camera while I run around taking ten quick pics with my puny little Olympus auto focus. Wednesday, May 18 The other eventful moment during the hike was the period when we paused for a break and Chris decided to invent Desert Yoga. I don’t think she knew I had a camera, which is a good thing or she might not have done it. “About A Boy” resurfaced in a disturbing way today as I was hiking the canyon and realized to my chagrin that “Killing Me Softly With His Song” had been playing in my head for the better part of an hour. We had some free time in the middle of the day while we waited for the sun to drop a bit and give us good light, so Alvin took us on a side trip to a place he had wanted to see. Pah-Roc is a few rough and bumpy miles north of highway 93 between Crystal Springs and Caliente. Alvin was searching for some petroglyphs he had heard about, but the rest of us just enjoyed the cooler temperatures that came with the elevation gain and scrambled around on the rocks. I almost made a bad decision while climbing alone, but sense got the better of me and I ended up finding a cool little cave. Highlights: Ethan tries again to photograph the object of his obsession and as a result a woman who lives across the street sees us roaming around and comes out to investigate. Her name is Susie. She invites us to her house, and while we’re there we learn that she’s been in Alamo for 41 yrs. after moving out west from Pennsylvania. She’s in a band that plays gigs in the Alamo area.(!) Susie’s house looks like a museum of mismatched Western paraphernalia. Lowlight: Jack’s monster sneeze terrifies us all as we tape a promotional spot for this episode. It’s not exaggerating to use the term “cannon-like.” We all need a minute to recover. Thursday, May 19 Lowlight: I got pulled over by the NHP on the way north out of Tonopah. You know what feels worse than getting a speeding ticket? Getting a speeding ticket AT WORK! * * * Sheldon Wildlife ReservePosted Monday November 07, 2005 by Katie Smith Although not officially my first Wild Nevada experience, I quickly realized that this trip to Sheldon Wildlife Reserve truly embodied the Wild Nevada shoot experience. I mean in no way to belittle the pristine landscapes and natural beauty of Great Basin National Park (my official introduction to Wild Nevada) as they were quite awe-inspiring to my virgin eyes, not yet accustomed to the sheer expanses of undisturbed land in the west. However, on my second trip out the conditions were a little less forgiving and the tasks entrusted to me were infinitely more challenging. The luxuries afforded us while on the Great Basin trip (clean motel rooms, television, a restaurant, even a pool table) quickly became a distant memory upon our arrival to the campsite in Sheldon. And an early morning trail-less trek through the canyon left us all with lasting reminders of the adventure by way of countless scraps and scratches on our arms and legs. Despite the marked contrasts between my first two Wild Nevada experiences I can honestly say both were pretty amazing. During both episodes I remember dealing with sensory overload from the beautifully foreign terrain around me while simultaneously processing the fact that seeing all this amazing stuff and exploring the state in such a hands on way is actually part of my job. I feel very lucky. -Katie * * *
 Major Production funding for Wild Nevada is made possible by the Nevada Commission on Tourism. |
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