Warm Springs May Fade Away But Its Rich History Remains

 

Stone corral at Warm Springs

   Not much remains of the old settlement of Warm Springs, located about 50 miles east of Tonopah on U.S. 6, at the point where it intersects with Nevada State Route 375, the beginning of the famous Extraterrestrial Highway.

   The handful of ruins are all that have survived of this former stagecoach stop that traces its beginnings to the mid-1860s.

   Not surprisingly, the area’s natural hot springs are what attracted people originally to the area. Nevada historian Shawn Hall has written that the first non-Native American folks to stop at the site were probably freight wagons and stagecoaches traveling between Eureka and Elko, attracted by the springs.

   In about 1866, a small stone house was built adjacent to the bubbling hot springs. While this settlement didn’t amount to much more than a welcome rest stop for travelers passing through this remote part of the state, a general store and lodging house were erected at Warm Springs near the end of the 19th century.

   Apparently, this little way station managed to survive during the next couple of decades. In January 1924, Warm Springs gained a post office and Ethel Allred was named postmaster of this tiny oasis.

   That, however, served as Warm Springs’ peak. Less than five years later, in June 1929, the post office was closed forever.

   Since then, there have been a few short-lived developments in the area. Sometime in the 1970s, a saloon, café, gas station and RV park opened near the old settlement site but those businesses have been closed for a long time.

   Additionally, around that time someone constructed a nice, concrete swimming pool near the café. While the pool, surrounded by nice shade trees, still looks mighty inviting to anyone who stops, unfortunately it’s on private property, surrounded by a high, locked fence and no trespassing signs.

   The actual Warm Springs spring can be seen about a quarter of a mile uphill from the swimming pool. Scalding hot water pours from the ground into a manmade ditch that leads to the pool. Rivulets of hot water also trickle into marshy land around the pool.

   The site of the former settlement of Warm Springs, located a few yards away from the pool, contains a few ramshackle wooden buildings that appear to have once been part of the early 20th century incarnation of Warm Springs.

   Additionally, you can find the tumbled-down walls of an old stone corral and piles of scrap wood and metal that may be the remains of the old store and lodging house.

   About 60 miles southeast of Warm Springs via the E.T Highway is Rachel, the self-proclaimed heart of Nevada’s UFO country. The community borders the high security military base often called Area 51, which is rumored to be where the U.S. government allegedly stashes recovered alien space ships and other secrets.

   For more information about Warm Springs, go to: https://www.rachel-nevada.com/places/warmsprings.html.

Trip to Mary Austin's 'Land of Little Rain'

  “If ever you come beyond the borders as far as the town that lies in a hill dimple at the foot of Kearsarge, never leave it until you have knocked at the door of the brown house under the willow tree at the end of the village street, and there you shall have such news of the land, of its trails and what is astir in them, as one lover of it can give to another.”— Mary Austin, The Land of Little Rain

  It’s easy to see how the Owens Valley area inspired writer Mary Austin. Bordered to the west by the craggy peaks of the Sierra Nevada range and majestic Mount Whitney, it is a land of great beauty.

  When Austin lived in the area at the end of the 19th century, Owens Lake hadn’t yet been drained to provide water to the city of Los Angeles and the area hadn’t become as dry and dusty as it is today.

  Austin spent 18 years in the small town of Independence, which is a pleasant, tree-lined community that is also the seat of Inyo County. It was during her time in Independence that she became interested in the western landscape and began writing about it.

  She arrived in the Owens Valley after her husband, Stafford Wallace Austin, was hired by the U.S. General Land Office in the 1890s. Austin soon became fascinated by Eastern California’s people and environment, and began spending considerable time listening and observing.

  Filling notebooks with stories, Austin practiced her art, eventually crafting stories that she was able to sell to national magazines. In 1903, she published “The Land of Little Rain,” a collection of short stories about the connection between the land, animals and people in the West.

  After gaining a measure of fame, Austin departed Independence but her experiences continued to flavor her work for the rest of her life. She died in New Mexico in 1934.

  Today, Austin’s presence can still be felt in Independence. The brown house under the willow tree (at 253 Market Street), which she and her husband built, remains standing. While it is a California Historical Landmark, it is also a private residence, so don’t disturb the inhabitants.

  Additionally, the nearby Eastern California Museum (155 N. Grant, about two blocks from the Mary Austin home) is an excellent place to learn more about Austin and the rich history of the region.

  The museum, founded in 1928, contains fine displays of Paiute and Shoshone basketry as well as an exhibit on Manzanar, the World War II Japanese-American internment center located five miles south of Independence.

  The five-acre grounds of the museum are covered with artifacts that help tell the region’s story.

  For instance, an extensive collection of agricultural machines and equipment remind you about the large farms that could once be found in the valley while the giant digging tools remind you about the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (1908-1913), which eventually dried out the valley.

  Additionally, more than a dozen historic buildings can be found in the museum yard in a recreated pioneer village. The structures are authentic 19th century buildings relocated to the museum because they would have been destroyed if they had remained in their original settings.

  The collection of buildings includes an old general store, a blacksmith shop, an assay office, miner’s shacks, a livery stable, a barbershop and a three-hole outhouse.

  Adjacent to the pioneer village is a recreated Shoshone settlement with grass shelters and lean-tos.

  The museum gift shop offers a wide selection of books about Inyo County, including the works of Mary Austin. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.

  Independence is located about 200 miles south of Carson City via U.S. 395.

  For more information, contact the Eastern California Museum, www.inyocounty.us/residents/things-to-do/eastern-california-museum.

The Complicated Nature of Beautiful Mono Lake

 

  Mono Lake is a true wonder. With its stark, otherworldly appearance and other attributes, it is by far one of the most complex and unique ecosystems in the American West.

  It is, at the same time, a desolate high desert lake and a vibrant, living, special environment teeming with unusual lifeforms and formations.

  Located about three hours southwest of Fallon via U.S. 50 and U.S. 395, Mono Lake traces its beginning to more than 700,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest bodies of water in North America.

  Fed by melting glaciers, the lake once measured five times its present size of about 60 square miles (geologists believe the lake covered about 338 square miles and reached a depth of 900 feet).

  In addition to having direct ties to the Ice Age, the lake also has been the site of extensive volcanic activity, starting about 13,000 years ago, which helped shape its current state.

  For example, the rounded black hills to the south are remnants of giant, uplifted volcanic craters. At one, Panum Crater, easily accessible from Highway 120, you can hike to the dome and rim of a long-dead volcano.

  The area's volcanic heritage is also evident at Black Point, at the lake's north end, which features large fissures you can walk through, and at various hot springs and steam vents found in the basin.

  The lake's trademark tufa formations, however, are its most impressive and unusual landmarks. At various places around the lake, you can find clusters of these towering calcium spires and plugs 

  Tufa is the stone formed when calcium-bearing freshwater springs bubble up through alkaline lake water that is rich with carbonates. When the two combine, limestone deposits develop, which can, over years, grow into large towers.

  Tufa formations, however, can only grow beneath the lake’s waters. When the lake level falls and the tufa is exposed to air, it ceases to grow.

  A number of interpretive trails lead to patches of tufa formations located around the lake, including a large selection near the Mono Lake County Park, at the northwest end, the Scenic Area Visitor Center in Lee Vining, and the South Tufa Area at Navy Beach (accessible from Highway 120).

  The latter contains some of the largest and most impressive tufa. Dozens of the gnarled, knobbed, and rippled tufa towers line the southern lake shore.

  Visitors can wander along the beach, wandering through the maze of formations, which, depending upon the light and your mood, can assume exotic and mysterious shapes.

  While the lake appears dead, it is actually an alkali soup of strange but fascinating lifeforms. Both the brine shrimp and brine flies flourish on its algae-laden waters.

  Additionally, the lake is popular with many species of birds (who eat the shrimp and flies), including the California gull, the eared grebe and snowy plovers. In fact, 90 percent of the state of California's population of California gulls is born at Mono Lake.

  Swimming is permitted in the lake and, because it is more than 1,000-times as salty as the Pacific Ocean, an interesting experience because you float much easier. However, rangers warn that you should keep the water out of your eyes or any cuts because it will sting.

  When you feel the lake's water you find it thicker than normal lake water. Mark Twain once wrote: "Its sluggish waters are so strong with alkali that if you only dip the most hopelessly soiled garment into them once or twice, and wring it out, it will be found as clean as if it had been through the ablest of washer woman's hands."

  Despite its unique qualities, it's a small miracle that Mono Lake continues to exist. In 1941, the City of Los Angeles began diverting water from four of the five streams that feed the lake.

  During the next few decades, the lake level dropped 40 feet and doubled in salinity. Fortunately, using legal tools, environmentalists and local community groups were able to work with the city to start the process of restoring the flow of water to the lake.

  For more information about these ongoing efforts, go to: www.monolake.org.

How Owens Valley Became a Desert Wasteland

   Driving on U.S. 395, just south of Lone Pine, California, you’ll encounter a big, open largely-alkali valley just east of the highway. The vacant white patch spreads out for miles until reaching the rising Sierra Nevada range. On many days, parts of the valley are so dry, you can see dust devils forming on the flats.

   But it wasn’t always that way out here. In fact, until the early 20th century, this area, known as Owens Valley, was the home of Owens Lake, a prosperous and verdant farming and ranching region.

   What happened to Owens Lake is a story that is interwoven with the development and rapid growth of Southern California in the 20th century. In order for one to grow and succeed, the other had to virtually disappear.

   By the late 19th century, the city of Los Angeles had begun to realize that it simply didn’t have sufficient water to support its future growth. Located in a dry basin that typically receives about 14 inches of rain annually, the city had traditionally relied on the Los Angeles River and wells for its water.

   After identifying the Owens Valley as an ideal source of water, the city began acquiring water and land rights—often using subterfuge and political pressure—in the region. Following the approval of a local bond to pay for the project in 1905, work began on building the system of canals and storage reservoirs to transport and capture Owens Valley water north to Los Angeles.

   The first phase of the project, which encompassed some 233 miles of infrastructure, was completed in 1913.

   While considered an engineering marvel, the Los Angeles Aqueduct, as the project became known, was not without controversy. Once Owen Valley farmers and residents realized the what was happening, they used legal and, in some cases, extra-legal means to stop the water transfer.

   By the 1920s, agriculture in the Owens Valley began to suffer due to the water diversions. In 1924, a group of farmers succeeded in destroying part of the aqueduct, but it was quickly repaired. Two years later, the amount of water being drawn from the valley was so substantial that Owens Lake was completely dry.

   In 1970, a second Owens Valley Aqueduct was constructed to divert even more water to Los Angeles (from surface sources and groundwater pumping). This resulted in nearly all of the Owens Valley springs and seeps to dry up and disappear.

   In response to lawsuits and political influence, in the 1980s and 90s, Inyo County, in which Owens Valley is located, and the city of Los Angeles entered into an agreement designed to provide a reliable water source to Los Angeles while also better managing groundwater pumping in Owens Valley.

   To date, those efforts have not resulted in any substantial changes to the dry valley, which continues to see groundwater pumping at a rate higher than the water resources can be recharged.

   As a result, visitors to the Owens Valley can still see the radical changes that have occurred because of such a massive siphoning of water. Owens Lake remains a barren, alkali flatland, with occasional patches of vegetation. Large dust storms rise from the dusty white lakebed. It is a place that appears out of a dystopian Science Fiction movie. But, sadly, it’s all too real.

   For more information about the history of the Owens Valley and the impacts of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, go to: https://www.inyowater.org/documents/reports/owens-valley-water-history-chronology/.

Early California History Comes Alive at Rancho Petaluma Adobe State Park

   The Rancho Petaluma Adobe is an impressive place. At two-stories and measuring about 200 feet by 145 feet, it was, at the time it was built (1836) the grandest house in Northern California.

   The structure, made of adobe bricks and hand-cut redwood timbers and planks, was the largest privately-owned adobe building in California and remains the largest example of the Monterey Colonial-style of architecture popular during the Californios era (roughly 1769 to 1846), when the area now known as California was under Spanish and Mexican rule.

   Even today, despite being only about half its original size (portions of the complex disintegrated over the years), the adobe, located on Adobe Road on the east side of the city of Petaluma, is worth a visit.

   Visitors can wander the cool adobe buildings, with their large overhanging roofs, and imagine a time when it bustled with activity as one of the largest agricultural enterprises on the West Coast.

   The adobe traces its origins to 1834, when Alta California Governor José Figueroa granted then-Lieutenant Mariano Vallejo a large tract of land that became known as Rancho Petaluma (the name, Petaluma, is taken from the native Miwok language for the places, which roughly translates as “flat back” or “backside of the hill.”).

   Figueroa wanted Vallejo to occupy and develop the land in order to keep it from being claimed by the Russians, who had established a fort (Fort Ross) on the coast.

   Vallejo soon began construction of the large adobe house, which boasted walls that were three-feet thick. It was designed to serve not only as a home but as Vallejo’s offices and as a fort, if necessary. With the latter in mind, the structure had iron grills and shutters on the windows.

   Over time, Vallejo enlarged the compound (it was never fully completed) and added a tannery and a blacksmith shop. At its peak, the rancho was more than 66,000 acres, with some 50,000 head of cattle, 24,000 sheep, and acres of fields of wheat, grains, and grapes. In addition to being supported by cowboys (known as vaqueros) and field workers, the rancho employed more than two-thousand Native American workers, who were generally paid with food, clothing, and other goods.

   In June 1846, a group of American settlers began what became known as the Bear Flag Revolt, a movement to create an independent republic in Northern California. The ragtag rebels succeeded in capturing Sonoma and imprisoning Vallejo. The revolt lasted only 25 days, after which the rebels were absorbed by U.S. government forces. The U.S. had declared war against Mexico in May 1846.

   When the conflict ended, in 1848, the U.S. had won control of California. The old Mexican ranchos, including Vallejo’s vast holdings, were eventually broken up as the former owners were forced to provide proof of title, which was often difficult (and expensive to prove) because of the imprecise maps of the time. Additionally, the California Gold Rush brought thousands of new residents, who homesteaded or simply squatted on land. Owners often lacked the financial resources to legally evict squatters.

   In 1857, Vallejo sold the adobe complex and surrounding 1,600 acres to William Whiteside for $25,000, who became the first of several owners over the next few decades. In 1910, the Native Sons of the Golden West Petaluma chapter purchased the decaying adobe compound with the intention of restoring what it could and, eventually, making it a public park.

   During the next three decades, the Native Sons raised funds to restore the buildings. In 1951, the site was turned over to the State of California, which made it the centerpiece of the Petaluma Adobe State Park.

   In addition to housing a small museum that describes the adobe’s history, the park hosts living history demonstrations and other events throughout the year. Located at 3325 Adobe Road in Petaluma, the park is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Admission to the park, which allows you to visit the structures, is $3 for adults (18 and older), $2 for children 6-17, and free for children 5 and under.

   For more information, go to: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=474.

Exploring General Vallejo's Sonoma Home

   Once upon a time, General Mariano G. Vallejo was one of the most powerful men in what would become the American West. In 1834, Vallejo was sent by the Mexican Governor in Monterey—at the time California was part of Mexico—to establish a community and military outpost at Sonoma, located 30 miles north of San Francisco.

  The settlement was intended to discourage Russian settlers and adventurers at nearby Fort Ross from expanding into the region. By 1836, Vallejo’s Sonoma Pueblo had become the chief military base for the Mexican government in Northern California. To support the post, the community of Sonoma formed around it and, by 1845, the settlement had a population of about 300, including 45 houses.

  In the early 1840s, however, American settlers began streaming into the region, overwhelming the Mexican government, which had unsuccessfully attempted to prohibit them for owning land or holding office.

  In June 1846, a group of disgruntled settlers seized Sonoma, including the base, imprisoned its leader, Vallejo, and declared the creation of the independent Bear Flag Republic.

  The crisis was resolved about a month later, when the Bear Flag group withdrew, taking down their flag, which was replaced by an American flag—signifying that the United States was assuming control over Northern California.

  As for Vallejo, he was soon released and remained one of Sonoma’s most prominent citizens. While Vallejo originally owned 175,000 acres in Sonoma and Petaluma, including vineyards and a quarry, he gradually lost influence (and his land) after the region became part of the U.S.

  In 1851, however, he decided to build a home for his family—he and his wife had 16 children, of which 10 survived—in Sonoma, which is still standing today and open for tours.

  Known as “Lachryma Montis” or “Tears of the Mountain,” after a nearby spring, the Vallejo home was unique because it was a “kit house,” meaning it was ordered from a catalog and the pieces were shipped from New England to Sonoma, where it was assembled.

  Vallejo, however, modified the plans to reflect his Mexican heritage. While the home has a New England-style Gothic Revival Victorian exterior, the interior is lined with stucco, a material usually associated with Mexican buildings.

  The result is a clever marriage of the two influences. The white, two-story home has the classic appearance of an ornate Victorian with the insulating qualities of adobe, meaning it is generally cool and comfortable inside regardless of how hot it is outside.

  Visitors touring the Vallejo house, which is now operated as a state park, will find that most of the elegant furnishings inside the home are original.

  The guided tour of Lachryma Montis begins in the Vallejo front room on the first floor. There, you can see the family’s piano, draperies, wall paintings and overstuffed chairs and sofas, all of which reflect the designs of the Victorian era.

  The next stop is in the dining room, which boasts a magnificent marble fireplace as well as a large dining room table covered with fine china (a British “Willow” pattern) and other utensils. Cooking was done by servants in a separate building at the rear of the house.

  Nearby is the study room with wall-size bookshelves, a fireplace, secretary, lamps and end tables.

  From here, the tour moves upstairs to the family bedrooms. The master bedroom has a massive walnut bed and other furnishings, including a large portable toilet—the house had no indoor plumbing or toilets.

  The grounds of the Vallejo estate are also quite lovely. In addition to the kitchen and servants building at the rear, there is a separate one-room Victorian “doll house” adjacent to the main house, which served as a private reading room for Vallejo and his wife (after all, they did have all those kids).

  Additionally, the grounds boast several original fountains and a large Swiss Chalet building, now a museum filled with exhibits about Vallejo’s life, which was originally used for wine and olive storage.

  Following Vallejo’s death in 1890, his 15th child, Luisa Vallejo Emparan, owned the house. Although the state of California acquired the property in 1933, she continued to live in it and served as a tour guide and caretaker until she died in the mid-1940s.

  The Mariano Vallejo home is directly west of the main part of downtown Sonoma at Spain Street and Third Street West. The home is open for tours on weekends. For more information go to https://www.sonomaparks.org/location/general-vallejos-home/ or https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=479.

History and Beauty Found at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts

 

     It’s a mistake to overlook San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. Originally built as part of the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, which celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal, the Palace of Fine Arts is a magnificent edifice that continues to delight visitors who stroll the shaded grounds surrounding its scenic lagoon.

   The structure was designed by famed California architect Bernard Maybeck, who said it was inspired by an etching depicting a Roman ruin reflected in a pool by 18th century Italian artist Giovanni Piranesi.

   The domed palace housed art exhibits and was one of eleven pavilions constructed for the exposition, which was built on 635 acres of land reclaimed from the San Francisco Bay.

   Like the rest of the structures, the Palace of Fine Arts was originally supposed to be a temporary building that would be removed once the exposition was over. However, a prominent San Francisco socialite, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, was so taken with its classical beauty that she founded the Palace Preservation League while the fair was still ongoing to save the building.

   Her efforts were successful and for several years the palace housed art exhibits. During the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration commissioned several artists to replace deteriorating murals on the rotunda ceiling and, later, the building housed eighteen lighted tennis courts.

   By the 1950s, however, it was clear that the Palace needed to be completely reconstructed. Built of wood covered with a mixture of plaster and a burlap-type fiber, the colonnade and rotunda had deteriorated over time and were considered unsafe.

   In 1964, the original Palace was demolished with the exception of the steel structure of the exhibit hall. The buildings were carefully rebuilt in concrete with steel beams installed to support the rotunda dome. The structure was retrofitted in 2010 to ensure it would survive an earthquake.

   Since it was built, the Palace has become a beloved San Francisco landmark; in recent decades it has been particularly popular as a setting for weddings. It’s also a lovely spot for a picnic or a walk around its scenic lagoon, which is surrounded by towering Australian eucalyptus trees.

   Additionally, a variety of wildlife have taken to living in and around the latter including ducks, geese, swans, frogs and snapping turtles that can be seen sunning themselves on partially submerged tree roots.

   Not surprisingly, the Palace’s photogenic setting in San Francisco’s Marina District has served as a backdrop for a number of films, such as “Vertigo,” “The Rock” and “Bicentennial Man.”

   The Palace’s exhibition hall became home of the Exploratorium from 1969 to 2013, an interactive hands-on science museum for children. In April of 2013, the Exploratorium relocated to Piers 15 and 17 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. The exhibit hall is now primarily used for special events.

   The Palace of Fine Arts is located at 3301 Lyon Street near San Francisco’s Marina District. For more information, go to https://palaceoffinearts.com/.