What a difference 12 hours can make! Saturday night, I attended a fundraiser with Sutro Tunnel, supporting the local animal shelter. Little black dress, heels, jewelry, purse, and makeup. Twelve hours later, I was leaving again, but this time in hiking clothes, boots, with a backpack. The fundraiser, Bark & Wine was fun, and I met great people and the sweetest group of sisters. It reminded me I need to book a sister ghost town trip. Being around that many people was as exhausting as the long day Sunday.
Mound House Pioneer Grave
Sunday, I headed out with friends Nevada Expeditions and Great Basin Exploring. I quickly stopped at a pioneer grave in Mound House as I left early. I had tried to locate the grave several times with no luck; thanks, Mark, for the help.
This marks the site of the Mound House Halfway station between Carson City and Virginia City, named after the grave of Maria A. Kennie Mclain, 1835 – 1871.
The overgrown grave of Maria McLain sits in a fenced area of an industrial yard. The wooden headstone has faded with time, but someone placed a sign at the grave.
Santa Clara
When we talked about heading to Pershing County and the Unionville area, Santa Clara was my top priority. Last summer, Santa Clara was planned for my trip with Stan Paher, but we ran out of time.
I struggled with the hike up the washed-out canyon. I am still recovering from the smoke last summer and Covid earlier this year. I got a new backpack and overpacked it with too much water. More importantly, I need to remember not to do leg day before a big hike!
It was a gorgeous day and the town was worth it. We had beautiful views along the way and the weather alternated between sunny and warm and feeling like it would snow. We had some not-as-nice views too, the Mormon Crickets had already hatched. Thankfully they were small, but it looked like the earth was moving. They had a disturbing crunch when stepped on, which you couldn’t avoid. I need to clean my boots and Honey Badger today, they smell worse than they look.
Unionville
We stopped a few places in Unionville, but out goal was an Oliver Filter outside of town.
A cabin in the park is referred to as the “Mark Twain Cabin,” but I have heard this might not be accurate, and the famous author’s cabin was at a different location.
Spring Valley/Fitting
We made a quick stop at Spring Valley, later called Fitting. Unusual for Nevada, placer mining and dredging occurred here, not hard rock mining. Chinese miners worked in the area in 1881. Dredging happened in the early 1900s, and a post office opened in 1905 and closed in 1915.
Rochester
The day was getting late, but we made a quick run to Rochester. Sadly, most of the town was lost to fire a few years ago. Miraculously, the headframe survived.
There were three Rochester: Rochester, Upper Rochester, and Lower Rochester. Mining destroyed the site of Upper Rochester, which you can see in the distance. The towns were active in the early 1900s.
5-2-2022
Follow me on social media:
Leave a Reply