In response to Bob McLean's query about what it is like out in that part of
Nevada, here are a few things about Nevada from the perspective of someone
who drives through this area every year (and yes, area 51 is in this
location).
I drive through this portion of Nevada every year when I go to the Macauley
Library Sound Recording Course at the Sierra Nevada Field Campus. I mainly
stay close to highway 95, but I have made a few side trips over the years.
It is possible to find very quiet conditions, and cool weather, in the high
desert areas in the summer. Tonopah, Nevada is at 6000' elevation and is in
a sparse desert area surrounded by the same thin vegetation for a hundred
miles in all directions. There are few birds in much of this habitat, but
some side trips to mountain areas, or at least wetter areas, are possible
while staying within the quiet parts of Nevada. I enjoy visiting the mining
museums in the Tonopah - Goldfield area. It seems like there is always
something I have missed seeing on a previous trip. For recording
Black-throated Sparrows and Horned Larks there is no better location. The
area around Beatty and Schulz have riparian recording opportunities for
birds and frogs, and Walker Lake near Hawthorne is a visual treat for
Pelicans and other large water birds. One of my most memorable side trips I
have ever taken was to the Berlin Ichthyosaur Museum.
http://www.campingguidenevada.com/cgnes/listingFFnophoto.asp?campcode=3DNVN=
YEB
ER
It is hard to time your arrival to see the indoor "big" fossil exhibit; it
is a guided tour, unless you plan on camping there. However, it is squarely
within the "quiet zone" of Nevada and it has dry washes and juniper habitat
with many species of birds. Again, it is in the high desert at 7000'. The
old mine buildings have been protected and were very interesting to me,
since I am interested in how mechanical challenges were overcome 100 years
ago.
Close to Las Vegas is a big mountain, I seem to recall it is Mt. Charleston
(or something like that) and in the hot summer it is cool at the top. Durin=
g
the week there are plenty of campsites to choose from. Once you are within
the mountain passes the noise level drops markedly and you are shielded fro=
m
the airport and highway 95 noise. Airplanes directly overhead are a problem=
,
but the occasional camper car traffic is more noticeable. If someone visits
Las Vegas for other reasons, it is worth considering the short trip to the
North to see this beautiful mountain area. In the winter it gets lots of
snow, so plan for that.
If you do decide to go to this part of Nevada in the summer remember that
the low areas reach temperatures over 110'F for days at a time (like today)
and have single-digit humidity. You need gallons of emergency water with yo=
u
if you leave a main paved road in the summer. The months of March-May are
the best months since most birds breed (and sing) early in the low desert
(the same is true in Arizona). But, the high desert has later nesting and
singing and if you have not seen a place like this (in places it is pretty
much the same today as it was 100 years ago - and those places are really,
really big) you may discover that you like high deserts that only get a few
inches of rain a year, and the dry-adapted species that thrive there.
Greg Clark
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Bob McLean
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 8:25 AM
To:
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: flight patterns
My first thought was, look at that nice quiet triagle out in the desert.
Then I thought: I
wonder if that is Area 51? Maybe we could't go there if we wanted.
Bob McLean
Sonoma, CA
------------------------------------
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause
Yahoo! Groups Links
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 270.4.1/1511 - Release Date: 6/20/2008
11:52 AM
|