Hidden Cave (Churchill County, Nevada)

Last year, I had attempted to visit this ancient Native American site just east of Fallon, NV, but unfortunately, the tour guide was unable to get the locked door to the cave open. As the Churchill County Museum offers this tour free of charge on the second and fourth Saturday of each month, I decided to give it another go and hope for better luck.

Arriving at the museum just before 9:30, the tour starts with a short (but well-produced) documentary viewing, which explains the origins and history of Hidden Cave. It is believed that the cave was formed by the now long-dry Lake Lahontan. Around 21,000 years ago, waves from the large lake gouged out the cave, which remained flooded for much of its history. Then about 4,000 years ago, the local ancient Native Americans began using the cave, not as a shelter, but for storage. Archaeological digs inside the cave have yielded a wealth of information about the peoples living in the area, including an abalone, which indicates that trade was occurring with coastal peoples. 

After the short video, we caravan out to the site and begin the short hike up to the cave. All along the way, the well-informed tour-guide stops to offer insight into the regions history, geology and plant-life. Overall, it makes for a very interesting experience.

Reaching the cave, our guide sets up a small generator to power the interior lights and we begin to shuffle through the entrance, something of a task for those of us not overly vertically challenged. The cave is filled with a pretty strong smell of ammonia, which as the tour guide explains, is the result of bat and rat guano and urine over the centuries. The cave itself has been preserved in a semi-excavated state to demonstrate how archaeologists perform digs of this nature. Ash layers in the cross-sections have been tested and found to be from well-known volcanic eruptions such as Mount Mazama (which formed Crater Lake). By correlating the dates of these eruptions, a rough time line of the various artifacts found in the cave can be arrived at. The guide points out several items as he continues the tour. 

After about 15 minutes inside the cave, we head out and return down the hillside to the gravel parking lot. The area around Reno is filled with history like this. It's simply a matter of getting out there to see it, and like this opportunity, I try to take full advantage of it.

Tuzigoot (Yavapai County, Arizona)

Continuing the exploration of some of the national monuments near Phoenix with the last stop of this trip, I head to Tuzigoot. This monument protects a pueblo ruin set atop a small ridge above the Verde River floodplain.

Not know exactly what to expect, I hit the visitor center and then proceeded on the paved trail up the ridge line to the ruin. The structure itself, or what is left of it, is an entire complex of rooms, most of which have their own fire pit. The trail leads in and around pretty much the entire site, offering wonderful views of the remaining walls.

At the summit of the hilltop, a connected two-story structure is reminiscent of a watch tower. From the informational signs posted around the site, the structure was built in stages between 1125 and 1400 CE by the Sinagua people and has a total of 110 rooms.

There is so much history in this country and I'm so very glad that I get the opportunity to visit and learn about it. Well worth the drive up there, but alas, I have a plane to catch and it's time to head back home.

Montezuma Castle (Yavapai County, Arizona)

While in the Phoenix area for the weekend, I had to take a little extra time to check out at least a couple of the numerous National Monuments in the surrounding area. First stop - Montezuma Castle and its nearby, but disconnected portion the Montezuma Well. We stopped at the castle first. 

Having visited Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado a few years ago, I'm somewhat familiar with the amazing architecture of the Ancient Puebloan peoples and their cliff dwellings in this part of the country. That, however, does not make their legacy any less impressive. 

To get to the actual castle, one must walk through the Park Service's visitor center and then follow a short paved trail that passes through a grove of large sycamore's before opening the view to Montezuma Castle above. Five stories in height, the structure is misnamed on both accounts. It is not a castle, but most likely a multi-family dwelling and it had nothing at all to do with Montezuma. In fact, believe it to be have been built between 1100 and 1425 AD (probably in stages), which would mean it predates it's namesake Aztec leader by a couple of hundred years, at least.

Approximately ten miles from the castle, we approach Montezuma Well, which is a natural limestone sink hole. The ancient cultures built dwellings into the surrounding cliffs here as well. The sinkhole itself is water-filled and surfaces some 1.5 million gallons of water each day.

The ancient peoples, resourceful as they were, utilized this water to irrigate many of their crops on the surrounding plain through a series of canals draining water from the sinkhole. Still, it is amazing to me that an entire culture could develop and flourish here for so many centuries in this sun-baked desert climate. It's a true testament to their ingenuity and tenacity.

Arizona Renaissance Festival 2015 (Pinal County, Arizona)

After having a great time flying down for the Arizona Renaissance Festival last year, we decided to repeat the trip this year. We arrived in Phoenix on Saturday afternoon and just sort of relaxed at the Wild Horse Pass Resort and Casino for the evening. 

Waking early on Sunday morning, we stopped in for a delicious breakfast at one of the casino's restaurants. I had the most amazing blue corn pancakes . . . yummy! After we filled our gullets, we made our the hour or so east to Apache Junction and the site of the festival. We arrived just before opening and got to see the opening ceremony, in which the royal court makes their way through the gates and then addresses the waiting crowd, telling of the wonders within. All good fun. 

Making our way into the festival, we first stopped to see a performance of the well-known bagpipe and drum group, Tartanic. My ancestry being from Scotland aside, I just love the sound of good bag pipes. The performance was short, but spirited. For the next hour or so, we roamed the festival's numerous shops and vendors. 

In advance, we had purchased tickets to the Pleasure Feast, which we had also attended last year and was the highlight of the experience. This feast is a large five-course period dinner with several troops of entertainers parading in at various points during the meal. From comedy to music (including another visit from Tartanic) to belly dancers to a royal visit, the Pleasure Feast has it all. Oh, and did I mention the bottomless cups of wine or ale?

Immediately after finishing our feast, we headed to the jousting arena in anticipation of the next tournament. Unlike many other make-shift jousting arenas I have seen over the years, this one was a permanent structure with modern bleachers and a royal box overlooking the field. Four full-plate mail clad knights competed in a number of tests of skill, before the main event. As the lance clashed with shield, a champion arose. And while the jousting was top notch, it was a bit short-lived. I honestly had expected a bit more, but what we did get to see was outstanding.

Making a quick stop in to see a display of Falconry, we were awed by the prowess of some of these larges birds of prey. The festival provides a home to many rescue animals and uses them to educate the general public, which I have a huge respect for.

Finally, we sat down to see the Tortuga Twins final and naughtiest performance of the day. This trio of comedians (I know 'twins' vs 'trio'? Just go with it!) always puts on a rowdy and hilarious show. Much of their skit is based on making fun audience members, including Masturbation Boy, Masturbation Boy's Mom, Sasquatch, etc. It's all in good fun and leads to a hilarious experience. 

The day's events coming to a close, we headed back to the hotel. Both pretty tired, but well-satisfied with our time spent at at the festival.

Washoe Lake (Washoe County, Nevada)

For quite a while, I have wanted to visit Washoe Lake State Park, which sits between Reno and Carson City, alongside it's namesake body of water. As I just picked up a new pair of hiking shoes that needed to be broken in and having a couple of hours to spare this afternoon, it seemed like a great destination.

The park is easy to access from US 395, but once inside the small park, the maps are few and far between. Navigation is made all the worse by the vanishing lake itself. I had intended to hike about 2.5 miles up the Beach Trail and then cross over to the Dune Trail, but seeing a boat ramp with no water within half a mile of it, made me understand why it's difficult to find the actual trail heads.

Eventually though, I did manage to stumble across a trail head and began my stroll up the sand-covered former shoreline of the lake. Far in the distance, I can see that some water remains, but soon I think this lake will be a dry lake bed. Even now, the old shoreline is cluttered with shells of various water-dwelling creatures. I knew the drought we have been in for a few years now was bad, but seeing this level of effect brings a whole new understanding.

Sand is never an easy soil to hike in. It grabs one's foot and makes removing it to take the next step that much more difficult. After a mile and a half or so of this beach sand, I decide to try to cross-over to the Dune Trail, which sits slightly above the beach on a series of parallel sand dunes lining the desert perpendicular to the shoreline.

Trails up here are somewhat difficult to navigate and more than once I end up following a creature trail rather than something blazed by humans. This area is beautiful in it's own way, even with so little sign of green flora. The dunes are littered with the foot prints of smaller desert inhabitants and I even have the opportunity to see a few beetles and rabbits as I make my way back to the start. 

After just over an hour, I arrive back at my jeep. Today's was a short hike of only about 3.1 miles, but at least I got a little exercise and got to try out the new shoes.