Gerlach, Nevada, The Black Rock Desert, Fly Ranch

[David Martin]

(This write up involves very little walking and no riding, but I hope it’ll be of interest.)

Heading home from a 3 week road trip to northern Idaho, I really wanted to spend a night in Gerlach and explore the surroundings. This is Burning Man’s home, though the event has been on hold for two years. Cholada and I attended “The Burn” many times and aside from the crazy fun and art, we were always astonished by the physical landscape and the history of the area. We had spent a lot of time in the Black Rock Desert and even saw it from small planes a couple of times, but always as two of the 50,000-plus attendees. I’d long wanted to see the area minus the activity and crowds.

There’s a lot to see and do around there. The Black Rock Desert is an ancient dry alkali lake at 3900’ on BLM land in northwest Nevada, flat as a board, home to rocket launches and land speed tests. Sunrise, sunset, and weather watching can be shockingly beautiful there. In the summer we’ve experienced rain on the playa (which turns the surface dust into thick goop resembling concrete), snowfall, double rainbows, dust devils, massive curtains of dust sweeping across the surface, and a surprising variety of animal, insect, and bird life, though most of that is at the green oases formed by hot and cold springs at the edges of the dry lake. Pyramid Lake, large and deep blue, is nearby.

We approached from the north this time, heading down from Crane, OR home to a nice family-style hot springs resort where we spent a night, and Cedarville, CA; a nice old town that seems to get few visitors. From Cedarville we crossed into Nevada and took the 447 to Gerlach, a very interesting community and outpost at the edge of the Black Rock Desert. Burning Man has a couple of offices in town and Union Pacific freight trains pass through its center. The line used to serve the U.S. Gypsum plant in nearby Empire, which closed in 2011 (Nomadland).

The town's landmark Is Bruno’s Country Club. The restaurant and bar are in the main building; motel rooms are in separate structures down the street. Bruno, an Italian immigrant, opened the place in 1950. He passed in 2017, but the place is still going strong. It friendly and has great food. They’re famous for their home made ravioli, which they’ve been serving for decades. This restaurant is really special -- full of atmosphere and interesting photos, inexpensive, and portions are huge. I had the kid’s cheeseburger ($6) for lunch one day and couldn’t finish it. You see a real mix of people in the bar — older ranchers in plaid shirts and overalls, Burning Man staffers who live in town or nearby, artists who have settled in the area, and all sorts of adventurers.

The evening we arrived, after ordering a “small” plate of ravioli that I couldn’t finish, we drove down to the playa to experience it alone for the first time. From highway 34 there are 3 access roads to the playa, at mile markers 3, 9, and 12. We took the first one, the route in and out of Burning Man, and drove down to the dry lake bed. It was very odd to be all by ourselves there and experience total silence. That playa dust is a bike destroyer and with our road bikes hanging from the rack, I wound’t have dared going down there if it was windy. But the air was perfectly still so I drove slowly, and then stopped on the lake bed for a while to take it all in.

It was fun to spend the night in town. Our room was comfortable enough and cost $73 with tax; the cheapest stay of our 3 week trip. (By the way, nearly every hotel and motel we saw on that trip was 100% full, every night, including Bruno’s.)

I had long been curious about Fly Ranch and read about it on the web at Bruno’s that night. It's been around for a long time, is home to a famous geyser, and was acquired by BM in 2016. It turned out that a walking tour was scheduled for the next day, which sounded great. The gal that runs Bruno’s found a way to squeeze us in for one more night so I signed up, and headed out there the next morning. I’d never taken highway 34 north past the 3 mile access road before and Fly Ranch is beyond that last 12 mile road, so the drive really interested me. The playa looked empty except for a few scattered campers but west of it, a few former “art cars” and installations have ended up on ranches and privately owned lands.

Turning off the highway to the ranch in the middle of nowhere I thought i might be the only attendee, but actually were about 20 of us. About half were Burning Man people; most of the others were folks from Reno who’d heard of Fly Ranch and made the 3 hour drive to see the place. After introductory talks, walking around the main living areas of the ranch, seeing art installations, wild horses, and an antelope, we did a car caravan to the other end of the ranch to see the geyser. (The docents who led the tour asked that no one use their phones or take photos, except at the geyser, which was fine with me.)

The Geyser is a very odd place. It began forming in 1964 when a geothermal energy company drilled a well in that spot. The water wasn’t hot enough so the well was capped, but the seal failed. Over the years minerals from the geyser have formed rainbow colored cones and pools, giving it an unusual, alien appearance. (It’s protected by a series of 4 gates to keep curiosity seekers and vandals away, but can be seen well enough from the highway.)

Back in Gerlach, I learned that Bruno’s was throwing a street party that night with a BBQ, salad bar, and local bands. We showed up just before sunset and had a great time talking with locals and other visitors, and dancing to the good bands that played. Like the bar folk at Bruno’s, the people that night were a real mix of characters and it was a fun scene. Among many others I met a interesting Frenchman, a former sailor who lives there now and is starting an e-mountain bike business, leading tours into the nearby mountains and desert. Sounds like fun, but I’d rather try it in spring or fall. The afternoons hit 105 when we were there though it was bone dry, of course.

I love it around there and could go on and on, but will stop here and will let some photos do the talking. If you find yourself in northwestern Nevada, this area is well worth your time.

[Sean]

Thanks for the report. That is one funky geyser. The odd structure is the roof of an underground meth lab.

[David Martin]

Not even close, but you knew that of course. It's about a hundred years old, which might be a clue.

[Sean]

A wine/liquor cellar? Something related to Prohibition?

[David Martin]

Sorry, no.

[Uncle Rico]

Root/potato cellar

[David Martin]

Correct sir, or at least very close. The local I spoke to actually called it an ice house but indeed it was a cool (relatively speaking) underground room for storing perishables. In the colder months ice was bought from suppliers who brought it from the rivers and mountains, and used to help chill the room.

[Taco]

Very cool. I was curious about that area