Tunneling Back to Jurassic Times

A Mystery Tunnel  to where?
  

When I was a child, learning of a secret was always very exciting and I have never outgrown that thrill.  One of the things I love most when I am out photo-exploring is being drawn to look beyond what I might be focusing on.  I believe at times like this a secret is about to be revealed, if I stop and take notice.  This was certainly the experience on a mild winter day in February when I was venturing toward the Singatse Ridge, west of Yerington, Nevada.

I had stopped to photograph an unusual outcropping of rocks that reminded me of a Dimetrodon, the dinosaur with the large sail and elongated spines on its back.

Just as I was returning to my car,  in the distance I saw what appeared to be the opening to a large cave. 

 

 However, when I walked closer to the opening, I realized it was a not a cave but a tunnel cut through the base of the mountain.

 Entering the opening, I reflected on what it must have taken to tunnel out this 40 foot long, 10 foot diameter space through the massive rocks.  There was no evidence of signs or markings about this tunnel, just present day graffiti.  The tunnel was wide enough for a car or small truck but I saw no evidence of any road. 

Since the settlers moved in, this area known as the Yerington district has been a rich source of copper mining and I began to think that the tunnel had been constructed for usage with the mining or some type of flood control. 

An interesting granodiorite boulder, an intrusive igneous rock produced from lava flows lies toward the south entrance of the tunnel.  

Walking through the north end of the tunnel, what came to view was an intriguing outcropping of tan colored rocks.  These artistic creations of nature must have been emplaced from the Jurassic era and were just amazing.  A feeling of antiquity came over me as my eyes gazed at the lines and cracks etched by nature over eons of time.  

A family of raptors have been taking advantage of the overhangs and depressions in the rocks as was visible by their numerous white droppings. 

 The white paste that oozed out from the rock's edges took on interesting artistic shapes and designs. 

 

Lichens on a granodiorite bolder facing north create an array of abstract designs with the colors of the rock.

As I turned to go back through the tunnel, I noticed a sediment line in the bank rising up to the east.  Could this layer have been deposited from ancient Lake Lahontan during the Pleistocene epoch?   

To some, the desert may seem harsh and inhabitable, but the feeling of mystery is what draws me and when I walk quietly, the desert's secrets are often revealed. Standing and quietly watching, I began to see shapes in the rocks and then the slightest breeze lingers on my face as if the ancients are letting me know they are welcoming me to this mysterious area. 

---

What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

---

Exploring Nevada's Ghost Towns

Pyramids, hieroglyphics and 

Mayan Temple in the Great Basin Desert?

Driving through the desert will often turn up exciting and intriguing finds, like when I stumbled upon what appeared to be an excavation site of some ancient civilization. 

Huge stone boulders and columns that appeared as pyramids lined the entrance and were elevated above the large open compound.  My imagination began to run wild as I stood looking down from the dirt road. As with the ancient Mayan's, were religious ceremonies once held along these platforms and was  the desert wind finally revealing its long buried secrets?

As curiosity got the better of me, I left my truck and walked for a closer view.  That was when I saw a number of paintings on the 25 foot tall pyramid columns that resembled hieroglyphics. 

 At this point I was becoming even more excited about what I had discovered out in the middle of the desolate desert.  Was I caught in a time warp and standing somewhere between a Mayan Temple and an ancient Egyptian town?  Had this site been revealed through desert storms and by the Egyptian god of the wind, "Seth”?  With such dark red to orange sand, I could only imagine the presence of Seth, lord of the red desert lingering nearby as I clicked my shutter. 

After checking GPS coordinates, I found this was actually the site of what was considered a modern metropolis of around 1,000 citizens in the early 1900's.  The city of Ludwig was a large copper ore smelting operation that had the modern convenience of electricity. Unfortunately, around 1914 copper production began to decline and so went the town.  

Tall concrete pillars and some cement platforms that were used in the processing plant for the copper ore are all that's left to remind us of a once thriving community. 

 How the paintings were created on the pillars and by whom, is left to the imagination. 

---

What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

---

Wabuska, Nevada's New Ghost Town

Spirits Still Welcoming Bikers, Truckers and Avon 

Wabuska, Nevada was established near the Carson and Colorado Railroad in the early 1870's.  Wabuska served as the principal supply center for the Mason Valley area, which was dependent on mineral resources for their economic activity.

The town saw it's heyday around the early 1900's with the discovery of copper in Mason Valley and became the northern terminus for the Nevada Copper Belt Railroad.

Wabusk's name sake comes from Washo Language meaning White Grass due to the white alkaline crust on the soil and thickets of sagebrush and greasewood.

Unfortunately when the copper industry began to decline in the 1920's it also brought the demise to the town of Wabuska.

Like with the arid desert surrounding the small settlement, by the 1950's the town had begun to dry up and all that remained was a few houses and a bar with the two-story grocery store.

 
Until recently bikers, truckers and even Avon were welcomed in for a cold one to the lingering bar.

However today along with some deserted houses and buildings only the Nevada State Marker, a few spirits and a lonely train are what remain in Nevada's newest ghost town.

---

What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

---