Day 110, June 19 TWIN FALLS, IDAHO
Twin Falls city was founded in 1904 and has a population of 34,500. One of the major attractions in Twin Falls Idaho is the Snake River Canyon, where in the 1970's stunt man Evil Knievel attempted to jump the wide canyon on his motor bike but was unsuccessful. We will just be staying overnight in Twin Falls with no plans to explore the city. We have actually visited and explored this city already on a previous trip.
We missed getting drenched by a storm we saw on our way to Twin Falls. After 6 hours and 269 miles we arrived at Twin Falls 93 RV Park in Twin Falls, Idaho.
TWIN FALLS 93 RV PARK
This is a very nice RV park. Why is it that the nicest of the RV parks are only overnighters. This park is actually in the town of Filer, just outside of Twin Falls. It is a small park with only 21 sites. It’s laid out nicely with even rows. All pull-thrus that are spacious. The park is out in the open with only small trees and not much shade. There is cable TV with lots of channels and free WiFi with a good connection.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under IDAHO to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
Our next destination is Nevada. We will be spending four nights in Nevada. With 3 nights visiting family in Ely and an overnight stop in Reno.
NEVADA facts: Nevada entered the Union in 1864 as the 36th state. Nevada covers 110,567 square miles and has a population of around 2,414,807
State Motto: "All For Our Country"
State Nickname: Sagebrush State, Silver State, Battle Born State
State Capital: Carson City
State Flower: Sagebrush (1959)
State Bird: Mountain Blue Bird (1967)
State Animal: Desert Bighorn Sheep (1973)
State Tree: Single-Leaf Pinon (1953)
State Gem: Nevada Turquoise (1987)
State Song: “Home Means Nevada” (1933)
Day 111-113, June 19-22: ELY, NEVADA
Ely is relatively young as Nevada cities go, established in the 1870s as a stagecoach station and post office. Only after it was designated the White Pine County seat in 1887 did the population climb to 200. Most of the activity in the region was at the surrounding mining camps of Ward, Cherry Creek, Osceola and Taylor. First copper was mined then later tungsten, silver and gold.
After 5 hours and 249 miles we arrived at Ely KOA in Ely, Nevada
ELY KOA
This is a nice park for being out in the desert. It is located outside of town alongside of the highway going to Great Basin National Park. It is a good size with 80 sites and laid out in even rows. There are trees surrounding the property and there is some shade, but that is mostly in the rows were the permanent trailers are. The downside to staying here is that there is a fee for the cable TV and a $2 a day fee for the WiFi (which we paid). But the WiFi has a very bad connection despite having a strong signal.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under NEVADA to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
GREAT BASIN NATIONAL PARK
Dave’s mother’s family came from Ely and Elinor (Dave’s mother) was born there in 1916. Elinor’s parents (John Dixon Tilford and Sarah Overson Tilford) were pioneers in the Snake Creek Canyon area that is now part of the Great Basin National Park; about 60 miles south of Ely. They built a cabin, sawmill, a tungsten mine and prospected for gold and silver nearby and raised Elinor’s older brothers and sisters at this site.
The National Park Services history people want to do some archeological work in the area and wanted to meet with the family to see any photographs they have plus listen to and record the oral history. Dave and Elinor have cousins that live in Ely and we joined them to meet with the Parks people plus have a picnic and mini-family reunion at the site. We are hoping that eventually the area will be protected and restored and that some kind of monument and historical display or informational signs will be erected in the Park to commemorate the Tilford pioneers.
By the way, Dave’s mom, Elinor is 94 years old and will probably live past 100. Today she is healthier than all of us, lives alone, still drives a car and can out talk anyone in the Charleston family. “You can always tell a Charleston, but you can’t tell them very much”.
At the visitor center at Great Basin NP we met with 8 park personal that included park archeologists, educational specialist, a Native American that was an expert at reconstruction and preservation of structures, some trainees, and the park supervisor. We then drove into Snake Creek Canyon along this very long dirt and rugged road to the site where John Tilford had his mining camp. There were little red flags all over the place to mark areas that will be dug up and sifted through to look for artifacts and history. There the rangers stood with their digital cameras, video cameras, and note pads and listened to Elinor tell the history of the area and family stories. It was fascinating, and so exciting that the Tilford history at Snake Creek Canyon will finally be officially recognized.
This is the site of John and Sarah’s first home. It is not too far from the mining camp. It is now a campground site. The house’s stone foundation is behind the picnic table. The sawmill that John built was on the other side of this hill. It is no longer there.OCEOLA and HOGUM, NEVADA
Just outside of the Great Basin National Park boundries are the mining towns of Oceola and Hogum. Today they are almost ghost towns, but a few people still live in them and work the mines in the hills that surround these towns.
Twenty plus years after Snake Creek Canyon, John Tilford was still mining (gold and silver) and he was living alone in Oceola. His children were grown and his wife was living in the Bay Area in California.
This is what is left of the house he lived in.
Close by is Hogum. Dave’s great grandfather Thomas Boone Tilford and his wife Mary Cherry had a house here. Once upon a time the hills of Hogum was full of mines (gold) and Thomas Boone Tilford owned them all; he hogged them all. Thus the name Hog-um
This is a painting that was done by a friend of Dave’s cousin, Dave Tilford. Thomas Boone Tilford is in the middle. And the house behind him is what the ruins in the picture above looked like.
To get to these mining towns and historical sites, you have to drive in the mountains on primitive, steep, twisted, narrow, bumpy, dirty and dusty roads. I don't know how they did it back then, but today you definitly need a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Driving these roads was like a thrill ride. Very exhausting.
Dave’s family were American pioneers on his mother's father's side. Dave's mother's mother's side of the family were European immigrants. Remember the Mormon Handcart story discussed in the Wyoming posting (Matilda Hartley was Sarah Tilford's mother). It is so wonderful to be able to trace their history so far back. Can you imagine having documentation on your great, great grandparents. In fact, Dave's family history (on his mother's side) can be traced back to the 1500's. WOW. This is so thrilling.
On with the ‘tripping’. Our next and final stop will be an overnight stay in Reno, Nevada to break up the 500+ miles trip home.
Day 114, June 23: RENO, NEVADA
We made one stop on the way to Reno. Half way between Austin and Fallon near Middlegate on Highway 50 stands a lone Cottonwood tree on the desert landscape.
SHOE TREE
I don’t know how long this tree has been here and how long it has been growing shoes, but by the looks of it; a very long time. The tale of the Shoe Tree dates back to the early 1990’s; “A young couple camped there on their wedding night and got into a tiff. The woman said she was going to walk away and the man said, "If you do, you'll have to walk barefoot," and threw her shoes in the tree. Then, the man got in the car and drove to Middlegate to have a drink at the bar. The bartender talked him into going back to his wife, which he did. A year later, they brought their first child's shoes to the tree and tossed them into the branches.” Since then, people have been adding and removing shoes from the tree.
After 6.5 hours and 320 miles, we arrived at Sparks Marina RV Park in Sparks, Nevada.
SPARKS MARINA RV PARK
We have stayed at Sparks Marina RV Park several times. It is an excellent park that is well maintained, comfortable and relaxing. It is across from a manmade lake/marina that has many attractions. This RV park is large with around 250 sites. There are both pull-thrus and back-ins. It has a good layout with even rows. The sites are paved and very spacious with astro turf on both sides and a picnic table. This RV park would have been a perfect “5”, but the so called free WiFi at your site does not work at all. You can only use it to get your e-mail or surf the net (sometimes). The signal is not strong enough for downloading, or using Facebook. What a disappointment.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under NEVADA to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/LEGENDS
We are only staying in Reno for one night. We did not go downtown to any of the casinos. Instead we went across the street from our RV park, on the other side of the Marina where there is a brand new outdoor shopping center. We last visited Reno a year or so ago and this place was just under construction. And this center is still a ‘work in progress’. There are plans for more shops and restaurants. This center is called LEGENDS and it is very impressive and magical. It has great landscaping and garden deco with lots of sculptures and statues. There is a display of sculptures representing symbols of the state of Nevada; such as State Tree, State Song, State Bird, State Flower, State Mammal, etc. The shops are typical shops that you see in most malls. There is nothing special or unique about the shops. They are mostly clothing, shoe and jewelry stores. But there are more shops coming. It is a very nice place to socialize, take a walk on a warm evening and relax and listen to the any entertainment they might have in the center of the mall.
Well this is it. The end of the road. The end of a long journey. We will be leaving in the morning for our next and final destination; Cotati, California our HOME SWEET HOME.
Stay tuned for the final posting for this Trailer Tripping BLOG.
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