- I'm taking a road trip just off of Highway 50 to explore some of the history of the Silver State: mining history, prehistoric history, and so much more.

That's all coming up right now on "Wild Nevada."

- [Announcer] Support for PBS Reno and "Wild Nevada" comes in part from the William N. Pennington Foundation.

Bill Pennington was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and gaming pioneer who built a legacy of community service in Nevada.

- [Narrator] And by Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation, Kristine Perry, Margaret Burback, Mark and Susan Herron, in memory of Sue McDowell, Lloyd Rogers and and Gaia Brown, Stanley and Neila Shumaker, and by individual members.

(bright music) (upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Chris Orr, and I'm on Highway 50 in the community of Austin.

Now being on the loneliest road in America makes Austin a great place to branch out and have some Nevada adventures including a state park.

But first I wanna learn more about some of the history in Austin.

So let's check it out.

(gentle music) To explore more of Austin, I meet Dee Helming.

- Hi, Chris.

- Well, Dee, thanks for meeting me.

I know that this is not the Gridley Store anymore, but I know it's too historic to take down the store sign.

- Absolutely, this building was built in 1866, and it was a store that Reuel Colt Gridley was in.

The building sat empty for a long time, and about a year and a half ago, the county decided to go ahead and move our public library up here.

So we've had our library up here, and it's been an awesome location for it, and it repurposes a very historic building in Austin.

- Dee is so right about the importance of preserving the Gridley Store.

The building has a storied past connected to the colorful character of the shop owner, Reuel Gridley, who in 1864 lost a bet and had to carry a 50-pound flour sack across town, which with Austin's steep incline could not have been an easy task.

(upbeat music) Gridley then auctioned off the sack and sent the proceeds to the Sanitary Fund to help wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

The auction was so successful that he actually auctioned off the sack several times in Nevada, California and New York, raising thousands of dollars and even earning a place in Mark Twain's "Roughing It".

And a library is such a nice way to keep a historic building alive.

- It really is because it allows people to come in and visit the building and see what it was like.

It's still got the concrete walls.

They didn't cover 'em with sheet rock and do all that.

So it's very original inside.

They just put the bookcases in and put in new flooring.

- And it continues to pass on traditions and history and stories.

- Exactly, yes.

And our librarian is awesome because she's got the book about the Gridley history and has videos and stuff so that when people do stop, she can show them the history and explain to them why it's called the Gridley Store.

- Well, and I know this is just the start for us.

- Yes.

- There's a lot more to see in town.

- Absolutely, you come at a perfect time.

There is so much stuff going on in Austin right now.

- Well, should we, instead of racing up the hill, should we race down the hill?

- Absolutely, I'm all about downhill.

(Chris and Dee laugh) (car engine revving) (gentle music) - This is a lovely park.

It's really pretty.

- They have this like little site where they rate parks, and our park is rated with five stars.

- Well, when you talk about a city park, and you're talking beautiful grass and beautiful playground and pool, I would give it a pretty high rating.

- It gets a good one, and people, you wouldn't believe the amount of people that stop here every day.

And we send people up here 'cause we have such a nice playground.

We'll tell 'em, you know, take your kids up there.

Let 'em play, and get out and get a little exercise.

- I know I've picnicked as I've been driving through.

This has been a stop, but when I had picnicked, I don't remember seeing this.

- This is new.

It is the Mules, a silhouette of the Mules' Relief.

And the Mules' Relief was the little train, the train station, the Nevada Central Railroad train station was down below town in what they called Clifton back then, now the rodeo grounds.

And they would have the mules that would haul the ore up on flatbeds, and so they got a little cable or a little car from San Francisco, brought it up here, ran the tracks up, and then ran that little car up there, and it would pull the freight up.

So that's why they called it the Mules' Relief was because the mules no longer had to pull all the freight and the passengers up the hill, up the grade.

- And that's part of how it got built.

- And that's how it got here.

- Oh, it's a lovely view of both Austin and Old Clifton.

- [Dee] Yes.

- [Chris] From the park as well.

- [Dee] Yes it is.

- [Chris] So where are we going to next?

- [Dee] Next, we are going to the Episcopal church.

- All right, I'll let you drive.

(gentle music) The churches were a really important part of Austin's history.

- They were, our churches are three of the oldest churches in the state of Nevada.

Our Catholic church is the oldest.

Now St.

Mary's in Virginia City will argue with us about that, but it burned, and the only thing that was left was the basement, and they rebuilt it in brick.

Our Catholic church and the Methodist church over there were both built in 1866.

This church was built in 1878.

- And that's amazing that it still has service every Sunday.

- Yep, they continuously held services.

- And it's interesting when you think about communities and the mining communities, to have three churches all built, really says about how big Austin must have been.

- At one point in time, history books claim that there was almost 10,000 people living in Austin.

And we had the mines all around us.

The railroad ran between Battle Mountain and Austin, then the silver ore was hauled there to be smelted, and it was just, there was people everywhere.

Can you imagine 10,000 people in these hills?

- That's a lot of houses up in the hills.

(gentle music) St.

George's not only still holds services but still uses its original church bell, which in 1877 was financed by a local merchant.

The 900 pound bell was made in New York and contained silver that was mined in Austin, which is said to give the bell its silvery tone.

(bell ringing) So when you think about the churches here in Austin, what else should people know about 'em?

- We have two of the oldest known organs in the state of Nevada right now.

Methodist Church, we now call it the Emma Nevada Town Hall named after Emma Nevada who was another local legendary figure here.

- She was a famous singer.

- Famous opera singer.

When she was a girl.

She used to perform there, and before she went off to Mills College in California, and then she went off to Europe and became world renowned opera singer.

- So next to the churches, when you think about landmark buildings, what's next down the road?

- Next is the Austin Courthouse.

- Another milestone in a community, right?

- It is, yes.

And it's like stepping back in time.

(gentle music) (engine whirring) (upbeat music) This is the Austin Courthouse.

The original courthouse when they stole it from Clifton was over there on the other side, and it started to cave in.

So they came over here, bought these lots and built this courthouse.

- It's a beautiful building.

- It really is.

It's a Greek revival style.

We've actually had two people hung off our balcony.

Back when Austin was the county seat, they held all of the trials and stuff here, and there were two hangings off of the courthouse balcony.

And one of them, the guy was hung three times before he finally died.

The knot kept coming untied, the chair slipped, they had all these issues, but they finally got him.

- And it is though an active building.

- Yes.

- It's still a county building.

- Yeah, we have the DMV and assessor in this office.

And so we can get our license plates and stuff.

The commissioner's office for the Austin Commissioner is down there and the Chamber of Commerce here.

And we have the Justice of the Peace upstairs.

- I think we have one more stop we have to make.

- We have to.

We have to go to Stokes Castle.

After all, when you talk about Austin, everybody says, isn't that the town with that thing up on the hill?

- Well, let's go see the thing up on the hill.

- Let's go see the thing.

(gentle music) - [Chris] Dee and I head down the mountain toward the edge of town.

(gentle music) Positioned just to the west, Stokes Castle is a remnant of Austin's lucrative silver mining heritage.

We reach the iconic ruins just in time for sunset.

This is a perfect time to visit.

(gentle music) - Stokes Castle was built in 1896, and it was modeled after a tower in Europe.

The Stokes family called it the Tower, and so did the locals at that time.

But now we call it Stokes Castle.

Stokes was the main investor in the railroad that ran between Battle Mountain and Austin, the Nevada Central Railroad.

He also owned several of the mines in the area and also owned Berlin.

He built this to be a summer home and the first year they come out here, it was only two stories high, and they decided that they needed to add another story to it.

So they had the local craftsman build the third story.

And as far as we know, they never actually spent any more time out here.

And we've never found any records that anybody actually lived in it.

- [Chris] Well, when you stand here and you look at the view that the castle has, you can understand why they wanted to build another story.

- [Dee] Yeah.

- [Chris] Because that view must have just been as beautiful as it is this evening.

Stokes Castle still stands as a legacy to the dreams and ambitions of those early residents in the Austin area.

And as you can see, the tower is striking.

But even more stunning are the incredible hundred mile views over the Reese River Valley that you get from here.

Especially when they're illuminated by such an amazing Nevada sunset.

(gentle music) Quite the light show.

- [Dee] Oh man, I'll tell you, this is the best place to be at Sunset.

You can't beat the view, and you can see for miles.

You can see most of Reese River Valley.

- Well, thank you for bringing me up here.

- Absolutely.

(gentle music) - It's been great getting to learn more about the community of Austin, but it's time to get some rest and get ready for a full day of exploring tomorrow.

(bird clucking) (gentle music) The next morning I head southeast out of Austin on Highway 50 before heading out into the Reese River Valley on Highway 722.

Then it's left onto Highway 21 before turning right onto Berlin Road or Forest Service Road 024.

This is a beautiful drive through gorgeous high desert scenery.

(upbeat music) And though the journey isn't particularly long much of it is on dirt road and without any resources nearby.

So be sure you have a full tank of gas and all the necessary supplies before you head out.

(upbeat music) Not far from Berlin, I drive through the historic community of Ione, which has some ghost town qualities to it.

Entering the state park, we arrive at the remains of the 160 year old ghost town of Berlin where I meet park interpreter Jordan Naylor.

Thanks for meeting me out here.

- How's it going?

- Good, so this is Berlin.

- [Jordan] Yes.

- [Chris] It's funny because so often people don't realize that there was a Berlin, Nevada.

- Yes, and truthfully it didn't really get that large.

I mean even in its heyday it was only about 300 people.

So it makes sense that they don't know this exists.

We're roughly about 120 miles from the nearest form of infrastructure as well.

So it's completely understandable honestly.

- You know, it's interesting 'cause you don't often hear about an old mining town or a ghost town becoming a state park.

- It's pretty unique to have a permanent resident in a ghost town.

So Berlin started in 1863 and pretty much had residency almost until 1950.

And that's right about the time we became a state park as well.

For reference, a lot of our interpretive signs here are from Firmin Bruner.

It's his firsthand account of the things that went on here when he was a resident as of about 1914.

- Today, visitors can do a self-guided walking tour and read Firmin Bruner's recollections as a child growing up in the turn of the century mining camp.

He was instrumental in assisting Nevada State parks with developing a written history about the area and even gave town tours as a volunteer at the park from 1974 to 1990.

And it's kind of fun though, that a person can come and experience what the town was like in in those years.

- Yes, and truthfully we find a lot of artifacts spread out.

There's tons of glass bottles, old shell casings, pieces of metal, those sorts of things, discard.

Just lots of stuff to reference the ways of life for the late 1800s and the early 1910s.

- [Chris] When I look at the size of the mill, I would think it was a big operation.

'cause that to me feels like it's a big mill house.

- So they had a lot going on in there, lots of equipment, but the operation itself wasn't that large.

Most of our gold here is in a microscopic form, and it's actually in the quartz itself, and it has to be crushed and stamped, and there's a lot that goes into that.

And truthfully, this is just one of three mills that it went to.

It also went to Knickerbocker out this way.

And Pioneer Mill as well, just depended on the time period.

They were both owned by the same people depending on which time you're talking about.

- And actually there's a lot more to the park than just the old mine site, isn't there?

- Yes, so we actually have our Ichthyosaur archeologic excavation site up the road just about two miles if you wanna come take a look.

- I can't resist a fossil.

(gentle music) So I recognize this, but I know this isn't an actual fossil.

- Yeah not quite.

This is just our mural.

Now this mural is to scale of specimen one indoors, measuring just about 50 feet worth of length.

This is the average size of Shonisaurus, the ichthyosaur that we have here, which is actually where our park gets its notoriety between those two things right there, being the concentration and the size.

- So when were the fossils first found?

- So the first fossil discovery occurred here in 1928.

A man named Si Mueller was up here doing a geological survey for the University of Stanford.

And he was studying the Mesozoic outcroppings.

So in layman's terms, your dinosaur aged rocks.

So Si discovered a vertebrae indoors in the quarry.

At that point in time, the barn behind me would've been one steep apex to a hill.

The building and the road would not have existed.

And there was one particular area prone to landslides, which exposed a vertebrae, which is how Si discovered one.

- Well it's such a beautiful location, and I'm looking at the mountains behind, and it's very easy to see how it got its name.

- Yes, so Shonisaurus popularis, gaining its name from the Shoshone mountain range its discovered in and the popular effort it took to excavate it.

- It's kind of nice to know that we had part of naming something this rare and this special.

- Yes, and truthfully indoors, we have lots of charts referring to ichthyosaurs.

Most of them are going to be genus names on those charts.

Most of them have several species underneath of it.

Like Cymbospondylus just off the top of my head has nine species.

There's estimated 150 to 200 species of ichthyosaur.

Ours is one of one.

Shonisaurus is the only Shonisaurus.

- Well, I'll let you pronounce the names inside because I have a feeling you're gonna be better at it than I am.

But I'm excited to take a look.

- Absolutely, let's go.

(upbeat music) - This is so cool looking.

So these are the fossils.

- Yes, so specimen one starts right here at A, and the quarry actually works its way counterclockwise around.

There's nine specimen in total, and they go in ABC order.

So typically ichthyosaurs themselves were solo.

They did nothing with a group.

Shonisaurus is one of the only social ichthyosaurs to ever exist.

The only reason we know it's social is because of excavation sites like this.

And this is actually the highest concentration in one location in the world.

So even spread throughout the park, we typically only find one to two Shonisaurus maximum.

And then with this being a mass grave actually, that lets us know something killed them off simultaneously.

So the thought process on what occurred here is a red tide.

So a toxic algae bloom occurred.

Their primary food source being mollusks like the ammonite up here.

The toxic algae would've grown on the outside of the mollusk shell.

And it was ingested in this vicinity or near this vicinity.

And then from there with this active fault line that runs through the quarry, all that geologic movement, it's thought an underwater landslide happened over top of them to give you the preserved quarry you see here today.

- So when you see an active fault line, is the fault line still active like right now?

- Yes.

- It's not just during the time that the ichthyosaurs were there?

- Yes, it moves a few millimeters a year on average, sometimes less, sometimes not even a measurable amount.

And truthfully, a lot of our specimen are very mixed up specifically because of this fault line.

A few millimeters after 220 million approximate years can turn into several feet depending on the location.

So everything you see here is between 20 and 70% preserved.

- [Chris] That's really interesting.

It's both a fossil record but also a geological record.

- Yes, typically the two correlate with each other.

Specifically, that's how they actually age your fossils is how old the rocks around it are.

- I'm super curious.

I wanna see what it looks like up there.

- Yeah, absolutely.

(upbeat music) - It's so cool, as you sit and look, in your eye, you can start to kind of notice and guess.

Okay, fossil, stone just by the colors.

- Yes, and it actually gets easier once you have a reference point, and you'll notice the harder you look the more there'll be pieces of creatures spread out.

So there are nine identifiable Shonisaurus in this quarry.

Truthfully, there's quite possibly more than that.

They did do some density testing here and did determine that there's fossilization below this layer of strata, but they just don't wanna disturb the top layer to find out what's underneath.

- It is fascinating how much, once you hear the story, you can tell from the fossil.

Like it tells such a story.

- Even just like the direction in which they face tells us so much.

- And it's really cool being able to approach it from all angles because as as you walk around it, and you look at it, the different areas in different light, it really tells you a little something different as you look.

- Yes, it very much does.

- So it's interesting.

So you're thinking 50 feet out there.

- Yes.

- But he could possibly almost be double that size.

- Yes, so this would absolutely compete with the largest ichthyosaur in existence.

The current front runner being Ichthyotitan severnensis, discovered on the west side of England, measures in at 81 feet in length.

This is quite possibly up to 100 feet worth of length.

But like I said, we'll never know.

The UC Berkeley students really had to pick their poison.

They could have decided between the highest concentration in one location or possibly the largest Ichthyosaur in existence.

They decided on the guarantee.

- Well, and it tells a fascinating story, right?

That you have this concentration of all of these fossils.

So rather than sacrificing kind of the graveyard for one.

- Exactly.

- It tells a different story.

Thank you for showing it to me.

It's fascinating.

- Yeah, absolutely.

Thank you for coming.

(upbeat music) - It's absolutely amazing to get to visit and view the Ichthyosaur fossils.

It's just another example of how fascinating Nevada is and how rich in history and stories.

Tour times and dates at the fossil house vary throughout the year, so be sure to visit the park's website for more details.

While it would be easy to spend more time in the park with so much to explore here, there is one more adventure ahead of me before the trip is done.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) I leave from Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park and backtrack through Reese River Valley and Austin to this time head east on highway 50 before turning onto Highway 376 for just about a half a mile before turning off at mile marker 99.

From there it's dirt road for a little over 10 miles.

As we reach Spencer Hot Springs, the crew and I decide that there's enough time left in the day to enjoy a nice soak.

So while Nevada director Josh Fuss and videographer Isaac Coops and I check the water temperature before getting ready to jump on in.

It feels awfully nice, and we have it to ourselves.

- Yeah.

- What do you guys think?

Should we?

Okay.

Perfect way to end the show.

- [Josh] Absolutely.

(upbeat music) - I don't think it gets much better than this.

- It really doesn't.

- Yeah.

- Hot springs on our feet.

Cool breeze on our back.

- Perfect way to end a trip.

- Absolutely.

- Keeping it wild.

- You guys did all the work.

I just got to do the fun.

- I dunno about that.

- I think we got to have some fun.

- Yeah, it's always It's a great trip, always.

- Well, thanks.

Guys.

- Yeah, cheers.

- Cheers.

- Good journey.

(upbeat music) There's a few things to keep in mind when you set out to enjoy a hot spring.

To keep the experience enjoyable for everyone, be sure to park or if you're camping, do so far enough away from the springs and tubs that you don't hog the view, hijack the ambiance or scare off wildlife that may rely on it as a water source.

Follow the principles of leave no trace by always packing out everything you pack in, and maybe bring extra trash bags to clean up after anyone who wasn't as courteous.

It's also best to avoid using glass on site to avoid litter and the potential for broken glass.

There's more to know and consider.

The Travel Nevada website has a good feature on Hot Springs etiquette to check out if you're interested.

(upbeat music) That's all I've got time for in this episode.

But when you end a great road trip at a beautiful hot springs, it's time to stay and enjoy for a little while.

But if you want more information about this or any in the "Wild Nevada" series, visit our website at pbsreno.org and stream us with the PBS app.

And until my next "Wild Nevada" adventure, I hope you get to have some Nevada adventures of your own.

(water splashing) (upbeat music) - [Josh] What are you doing?

You just untied my shoe.

Dude, not cool, bro.

(upbeat music) Ow.

(upbeat music) (bell ringing) - [Chris] They're gonna think there's a fire in town.

- Right.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Support for PBS Reno and "Wild Nevada" comes in part from the William N. Pennington Foundation.

Bill Pennington was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and gaming pioneer who built a legacy of community service in Nevada.

- [Narrator] And by Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation, Kristine Perry, Margaret Burback, Mark and Susan Herron, in memory of Sue McDowell, Lloyd Rogers and Gaia Brown, Stanley and Neila Shumaker.

And by individual members.

(upbeat music)