We found the motivation to go see the annular eclipse. Of course, we didn't plan very far ahead, so we camped for a couple days, which worked well as the weather was nice. Our friend BJ came along as well. Apparently, she didn't plan far ahead either. We headed up to central, middle of nowhere Nevada. On the way up we stopped to see a pictograph site and petroglyph site that had been on my list of things to do for several years. The pictographs were amazing. The colors brilliant, vibrant, and alive. And the site had not been vandalized as there is a huge gate protecting it. It was so lovely, we will go again. The petroglyph site sadly is being desecrated by every moron with a pocket knife. It was heart breaking. The petroglyphs are estimated to be 10,000 years old. They will be lucky to survive another 20 years.
We headed up to camp at the perfect maximum eclipse viewing spot and had a great camp spot in the junipers. The weather forecast was perfect. No clouds until after the eclipse was over. The reality was different. We awoke to perfect viewing conditions and set up to enjoy the show. Then, the clouds rolled in. What to do? Stay and hope they moved on before the main event, or move? We ended up racing south to where we could see the edge of the clouds, and set up again along the highway. The clouds made for fun viewing as they were thin and would roll in and out. And life was good until about 15 minutes before totality, when another big cloud bank was headed our way. We rushed south again and set up 5 minutes later out of the clouds. Wonderful conditions for the finale! Again we were right on the highway, but as I said, this was the middle of nowhere Nevada, and not a problem.
After the eclipse we headed to Austin to see their museum. They are only open Friday-Sunday. We pulled up and a big sign said closed for the season. Oh no! A detailed sign said that if you wanted to visit the museum, all you had to do was call. Sure enough. A couple minutes later a very nice woman showed up and let us in. My highlights were the Singer sewing machines. They had one like my grandmother had, and then they had an older portable one. The portable one was amazing. The wooden box that protected it folded out into a table to be used while sewing. The patent label had dates around 1850, and Bob looked online and found it was being made at least until 1900. As it was portable, and I am sure meant to be taken by pioneers as they traveled west, it was small, half the size of the regular machine. It was also gorgeous. Mother of pearl inlays. Wow! A work of art. Definitely worth seeing. The museum is small, but worth a stop if you are in the area.
We were hoping to have a cafe meal in Austin, but the lady at the museum told us, not at the moment. I thought BJ was going to cry. Fortunately, she recommended a hamburger place in Middlegate. Said she had never been, but heard it was good. A woman after my own heart, drive all that way for a meal. Forget it. We did follow her advice and enjoyed real food later that afternoon. But before real food, we had to take a look at Stoke's Castle and wander the graveyard. Stoke's Castle was built in 1897 as a summer home from the silver riches in the area, It was occupied on and off for less than a year, before the family moved on. We would hear of Stoke again when we swung by the mining ghost town of Berlin. As for the cemetery, yes, BJ and I had a good time wandering through it, or should I say both of them, as the Catholics and the protestants were separated by the main road.
Our last stop on our whirlwind tour was Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park. It contains a mining ghost town and the skeletal remains of several ichthyosaurs. On the Berlin mining town side of things, there are several trails with interpretive signs. Most of the buildings are reconstructed or stabilized. Many of the artifacts were brought in from other places to give a fuller understanding of what the town would have been like. As to when Berlin was a a happening place, the very late 1890s to early 1900s. By 1911 it had been abandoned. And J. G. Stokes of Austin Castle fame, well he bought the Berlin property and a couple mills in the area in 1898. He used the equipment from the mills he purchased to create the 30 stamp Berlin Mill. The mines at Berlin produced less than a million dollars of gold and silver.
Now as to the Ichthyosaur part of the state park, they are fossils of Shonisaurus popularis. These ichthyosaurs died 230 million years ago during the Triassic period. Some of the latest findings on why the skeletons all ended up together can be found here research. They were discovered in 1928 and later Margaret Wheat convinced Charles Camp from Berkley to do the excavation. He had the vision to preserve the quarry for future generations to enjoy. And what was preserved is 8-10 partial skeletons. We walked around looking at the bones before the Nevada park ranger gave the tour. To us, it was simply a jumble. Ranger Jeff made it come alive. He pointed out things we wouldn't have figured out in a month of looking. We all really enjoyed the tour and recommend it.
