Glowing Tonight

Between 1951 and 1962, the U.S. Government saw fit to detonate about 100 atomic and nuclear warheads here in Nevada. All of these detonations were above-ground tests... but many more subsequent tests were below ground... almost 1,000 more. These blasts took place at the Nevada Test Site, a 1400 square mile area of desert and mountains that starts about 10 miles from Beatty, NV... our camp tonight. Can you imagine the spectacle as the residents of Beatty gathered their friends, families, and children around and watched A-Bombs and H-Bombs being tested within a few dozen miles of their homes? Did they grab a beer and wait in lawn chairs for the blasts? "Hey Marge... come on out here and get a load of these fireworks... Boom!" ... It must have been a different world.

Yesterday morning, Friday, we finally got underway from Desert Rose RV Park in Fernley. It was a perfect day for traveling and seeing the expanse of Western Nevada as we traveled down US-95 toward Las Vegas. The miles melted away as we passed by Walker Lake, and the stunning views of high mountains to the west kept our heads spinning for much of the trip.

Once we arrived in Tonopah, our original goal of the day, it was just after noon... still early. So we decided to press on southward and ended up just outside of Beatty, about 100 miles to the northwest of Las Vegas. We're here only for an overnight... Saturday we're off to the Pahrump area where we hope to establish a camp for the next couple of weeks.

By the way, our coolant leak repair appears to be holding. At every stop I checked, but never noticed so much as a drop of wayward coolant.

What's that green glow off to the east?...
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