Construction of the main parkway for the city.
Southeast Nevada
Leaving Las Vegas to head north, I usually take the route along the west side of the lake to Overton. It seldom has much traffic, has some spectacular scenery, and Overton is a good place to stop to eat and pick up supplies. To head up into the more remote parts of Nevada, I head west from Overton to I-15, south on I-15 to NV-168 at Moapa. Moapa has an older restaurant that always a fun place for breakfast. From there, head west on NV-168 to US 93.
NV-168 to US 93 used to be a desolate trip, but that's changing -- there's a whole new town being built at 168 & 93. Coyote Springs will be about 50 miles north of Las Vegas, in a fairly remote area. While I typically try to be understanding of development, I find the entire concept of Coyote Springs to be completely unfathomable. It is being built along a 2-lane highway 30 miles from the nearest Interstate (I-15), in an area where there is a limited supply of water, no existing industry, and no recreational potential other than high desert scrub and mountains. It simply seems to be an effort to take what was a relatively pristine natural environment and destroy it. Of course, because it is being built, it will also draw from the water resources north of it, causing damage there as well. It seem to be the epitome of irresponsible development -- but then, the West is famous for that.
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Construction of the main parkway for the city. |
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From about 5 miles east, looking over the area where it is being built. The area in the lower right of the picture (with the crane) is where they are building the sewage disposal plant. |
| The golf course is finished.. |
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I don't know what this building is, but it is the only structure currently being built. |
US 93
Trying to forget about Coyote Springs.... Heading up US 93, there's two different ways to get to the next destination, Caliente -- continue heading up US 93, or take the Rainbow Canyon route (next page). We start with the US 93 route.
The southern portion of this stretch of US 93 is 'pure Nevada' -- hot, dry, rocky, sagebrush desert. About 30 miles north of Coyote Springs is the start of a swampy area, the Pahrangat National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a good way to capture the experience of visiting the refuge. The pictures below are taken in the winter when the subtle contrasts of the leafless gray trees, the tan and brown swamps and grasses, and the frozen blue lakes, are melancholic but restful -- though hard (for me) to capture in photography. Here are my efforts:
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| The water seemed to be unusually low in 2007, with broad stretches of what appeared to be salt deposits. |
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Large portions of the lake were frozen over, with relatively small stretches (the area with ripples) that were open.
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Further north of the reserve is Alamo, and much further north is the Delmar area.
Alamo
Alamo itself is not spectacular, but there's an interesting historic point there -- the 'Alamo airport'. The pictures below of the Alamo airport will look to be of no interest, so a little explanation is in order. A couple of years ago I came across a webpage on abandoned and little known airfields (http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/). I found the site fascinating because the section on the West offered insight into how WW II and the Cold War had affected the desert parts of the west. It turns out that the military built many small airfields throughout the desert west that were used during WW II for training pilots, and during the Cold War as possible emergency landing fields for secret aircraft that were being tested. Alamo airport is one of those abandoned airfields (see also Delmar, below). Alamo is very close to 'area 51' -- an area in Nevada where the government continues to test top-secret aircraft (a web search on 'area 51' will turn up all sorts of interesting material.)
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The 'Alamo airport' is surprisingly well-cleared considering that it is probably 60 years old -- though it looks too rough (there are washed out sections) for use as a landing field. It isn't exactly secret, since there is an 'airport' sign on US 93 pointing towards it (though once off the highway, there are no signs or structures that would tell one where it is.) (Click on picture for larger version) |
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It even has two runways. (Click on picture for larger version) |
Delmar
Much further north, and not recognizable without detailed maps, are Delmar airfield (also labeled as Caliente Landing Strip) and the remains of the town of Delmar (also spelled as Delamar).
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The Caliente Landing Strip or Delmar Landing Field is simply a gravel landing strip that was built in the 40's, with no indications of there having been any other structures here. Access to it is over a rutted dirt road. From nearby US 93, you can't even tell that there was an air strip here -- it just looks like open desert. It is visible, however, in a Google satellite view. Considering the remoteness and condition of the field, it is difficult to imagine how it might have been used. However, considering the secrecy of government and military activities in the 1940's and 1950's, it is possible that this (or the Alamo field) were involved in training and/or testing of secret aircraft. (Click on picture for larger version) |
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