It was with the best of intentions that I planned a trip to explore the Pahranagat Trail in southeast Nevada. The very first trip where I'd be flying - rather than driving - to make the trek south, I'd work my way north from Las Vegas to explore three wilderness' that were once home to Native American Indians: Arrow Canyon Wilderness, South Pahroc Wilderness, and Big Rocks Wilderness.
With little more to go on than a series of roads that would take me to the edge of each wilderness, and the knowledge that there was lots of rock art to be found, I figured that I wouldn't see it all, but I'd surely find a good bit over my four-day adventure.
It was a classic example of counting chickens before they hatch.
By the time I was done, I'd seen some of the coolest rock art I've ever encountered (not to mention ghost towns and dinosaur tracks). Little of it, however, was in the places I'd expected to find it!
The Narrows of Arrow Canyon | Not the Rock Art #1 - It was with the best of intentions that I planned a trip to explore the Pahranagat Trail in southeast Nevada. The very first trip where I'd be flying - rather than driving - to make the trek south, I'd work my way north from Las Vegas to explore three wilderness' that were once home to Native American Indians: Arrow Canyon Wilderness, South Pahroc Wilderness, and Big Rocks Wilderness. It was a classic example of counting chickens before they hatch, but we'll get to that part of the story in good time. At the beginning, things were going quite well. Leaving…
Needle in a Haystack | Not the Rock Art #2 - Having gone to bed at a little over 6,000 feet above sea level and surrounded by snow, I was a little worried that I'd be freezing cold and that the tent would be covered in frost when I woke up in the morning. To my delight, neither came to pass, and as I climbed around on the rocks behind camp - looking for rock art - just before sunrise, I found myself hopeful for the day ahead. Good morning, sun! After watching the sun crest the horizon, I hopped from stone to stone on my way back to camp. Cereal…
Narrow Caves, a Gap, & a Broad Wash | Not the Rock Art #3 - From Rainbow Canyon, I'd planned to drive a couple hours east - through the darkness - to a fantastic petroglyph site that I could enjoy when the sun crested the horizon the following morning. But, as is often the case, I was easily distracted as I set up the navigation system and noticed that my route would take me right by Cathedral Gorge State Park. We'd briefly stopped at Cathedral Gorge for breakfast on a previous trip south to explore the eastern Mojave, but we hadn't spent much time there and I knew that what we'd seen at Miller's Point…
Little Black Mountain, Caanan Gap, and Paiute Cave | Not the Rock Art #4 - I'd pulled into my camp site just south of the Utah - Arizona border a little after 10:00pm. At an elevation of 2,700 feet, even with a little breeze, it was balmy compared to what I'd experienced the last couple nights in Nevada. Orienting the truck so the morning sun would act as a natural alarm - spilling into the tent as I slept - I soon drifted off to sleep, excited for the easter-egg-like hunt that I envisioned when I awoke. Little Black Mountain My wake-up plans were foiled when I awoke naturally before sunrise. Knowing that I'd have…
I would like to know how well your parking car--- fly home went--any issues?
Could you put a cost to parking and how much fuel savings to airfare was there?
Hey Mark, I plan to do a detailed review of that in the next rig review, but the quick summary is that it's working well (so far). I'm not saving any money (out of pocket) using this approach - I'd say that storage + airfare are generally a bit more than the fuel cost to drive down and back - but I am saving a lot of time, since I don't have to drive 20+ hours each direction. That means more time to explore, and a much happier companion, as she generally despised the day-of-driving aspect of the trips. Ballpark costs are - and again, I'll be sure to have some more details in the review - $275/mo for storage + flights (which vary) + $1-200 fuel when down there, vs. $4-600/trip for fuel when we drive the entire way.