6/13/20: Nevada's 'Loneliest Rd' Trip Continued!

Earlier in the day Steven and I had driven from Ely in eastern Nevada along Hwy. 50, aka the Loneliest Road in America, west to Eureka, then Austin, toward Fallon, where I was especially wowed by the people riding their dune buggies up and down the dunes at Sand Recreation Area. Before reaching Fallon, though, we stopped at the Grimes Point Archaeological Area because its Grimes Point Petroglyph Trail is one of the largest and most accessible rock art sites in the US. Winding among hundreds of chocolate-brown boulders were inscriptions of wavy lines, human likenesses, and human figures, estimated to be from 6,000 to 7,000 years old. 

The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone tribe named this area Su-u or basalt for the type of volcanic basalt boulders. Their glossy black patina, also called desert varnish, made an ideal surface for carving on. The park's trail, designated in 1978, was Nevada's first National Recreation Trail. A sign cautioned visitors to stay on the trail and to refrain from touching the petroglyphs to limit unintended damage, as the greatest damage to rock art was caused by humans, not just theft and vandalism. 

The crater-like depressions and elongated grooves in this boulder are possibly dated to more than 7,000 years ago. This Pit-and-Groove petroglyph style was believed to be the oldest at Grimes Point. The depressions were made by striking the surface of a boulder with a rock. Another more common petroglyph style was called Great Basin Pecked, thought to date from between 1000 BC to 1500 AD. 

Marks of Time: Over time, the surface of any rock chemically changes and gradually deepens in color - that's what's called patina formation. When a petroglyph is made by etching a rock surface, the newly exposed scar is lighter than the original surface. Over time, the scars darken until they match the original rock surface.

The meaning of the abstract petroglyphs remains a mystery to archaeologists. Other locations here at Grimes Point had representational petroglyphs that, even to us, looked like familiar objects or animals. 

Styles of the Past: While petroglyphs were etched or scratched into the rock surface, pictographs were painted, using natural materials as pigments. One of the oldest petroglyph styles was circular or wavy lines that may have been 3,000 years old.  The straighter lines or angular designs were newer, dating to about 500-1,000 years ago. 

This was the most unusual Beachfront Property we'd seen! On the mountain slopes in the distance, we could detect a series of horizontal lines or terraces etched into the side of the range. These beach lines were left by waves from ancient Lake Lahontan. During the Ice Age, most of northwestern Nevada was covered by a lake. Over 12,000 years ago, the lake was 700 feet deep. If we'd been here then, we'd have been under 400 feet of water! Covering about 8,500 square miles at its peak, it was one of the largest lakes in North America. The lake's level fluctuated greatly before ultimately drying up. 

Although there were still several hundred well-preserved petroglyphs at Grimes Point, for many years, it wasn't valued for its prehistoric wealth. It was used as an off-road vehicle area, a gravel quarry, a shooting gallery, and even a dump. Like many other archaeological historical sites in North America, Grimes Point was once neglected, and irreplaceable objects have sadly been lost forever. 

Ensuring Success: According to anthropologists, many hunter-gatherer societies, such as those who lived here, had a spiritual leader called a shaman. During hunts, the shaman was called on to perform rituals to ensure success. One theory is that some of these petroglyphs here and elsewhere in the Great Basin were related to the shaman's ritual practices. 

The petroglyphs were located near seasonal migration routes. Scientists believe the act of making a petroglyph was a ritual performed by a group leader before each hunt. A sign indicated there was evidence of a strong taboo against tampering with any of the boulders, except by anyone associated with the hunt. 

If you ever get a chance to drive along Hwy 50, I can't urge you enough to stop by Grimes Point yourself to get a sense of the magnitude of the incredible petroglyphs. We have been lucky enough to view petroglyphs in other areas of the US, but none came close to matching these at Grimes Point. To view them, as we did, with almost no one else around, made the entire experience there that much better.

Remember ogling Tom Cruise in the Top Gun movie from decades ago? The town of Fallon's claim to fame is its headquarters for the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center flight school, commonly referred to as Top Gun! With Fallon being so far inland, it seemed very strange to me that there would be a naval station located there. Also very odd was the unusual spelling of the town's main street, Maine St, as if Fallon were near the coast and not an inland state!

From Fallon, we headed to the last town on the Loneliest Road, Dayton, located on the western side of Nevada. The city was once a traditional Paiute Indian meeting place, and it was used by the Paiutes as a base camp for fishing on the Carson River and as a winter camp sheltered from the snows of the nearby Sierras. After gold was discovered in California, thousands of fortune seekers trekked west and often camped in this area while waiting for the snow to melt in the Sierras. 

Instead of touring another town, we decided to take a hike in Dayton State Park.

The park's many cottonwood trees provided plenty of shade on that warm afternoon and were a nice contrast to the far shorter bushes and grasses.

The park was so pretty in the late-afternoon sunshine and a perfect stop after a day's drive along the very scenic Hwy. 50! With our fun stops in the historic communities of Eureka and Austin, stopping at the intriguing Middlegate Shoe Tree, the incomparable Sand Dunes, and the petroglyphs at Grimes Point, the so-called Loneliest Road had been an adventure from beginning to end!

Next post: Nevada's state capital, Carson City, here we come!

Posted on August 20, 2020, from Columbus, Ohio, just before we leave for almost a week exploring West Virginia en route to our favorite state park in Florida's panhandle. Steven and I hope that each of you stays safe during these exceptionally trying times.