Whoever said that it's the journey, not the destination, had to have been on the road to our country's largest national park (outside of Alaska). Whoa, such interesting stops along the way.
Our first stop was at Fort Churchill. An integral part of the history of Nevada and the American West, Fort Churchill was built in 1861 to provide protection for early settlers and guard Pony Express mail runs. Today the ruins are preserved in a state of arrested decay within the Fort Churchill State Historic Park, and visitors can walk designated trails to study the ruins. The park also features the renovated Buckland Station, an important way station in the 1800s for pioneer travelers on the Overland Route. With 3,200 acres along the Carson River, the park is an idyllic place for campers, hikers, bird watchers, canoeists and equestrians. And for us, Fall colors.
Goldfield, Nevada is one of those towns that demands further exploration. Today, we paused to visit the International Car Forest of the Last Church.
Yes, a unique forest indeed and one you have to want to find, nestled about the hills of this old mining town.
Sam McManis, of the Sacramento Bee, described this area as, "A few more twisty turns, past abandoned double-wide trailers, and the landscape opened up into a vast brown canvas. Cars, standing vertical like a post-apocalyptic skyline, dotted the rolling chaparral-laced high-desert rolling hills. Most were placed, hood-down, as if they did a “Thelma & Louise” swan dive off the bluff; some were buried trunk-down, as if awaiting liftoff."
In 2011, a local man and an artist from Reno joined together to create this vast landscape of 'trees'. It was rather surreal to meander through, and certainly a 'first' for us.
It just goes to show you, awesome things can be found where you least expect them.
Our home for the next six nights will be at Furnace Creek Campground.
How incredible to arrive as the sun was setting and the moon was rising.
We plan to explore more of this amazing National Park. Can't wait!
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1 comments:
Did you see those two asses in the picture! They make a cute couple!
Death Valley is so pretty! I am not sure if the car forest adds to it, but it adds an element of... something!
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