The Fallon to Gold Hill adventure was one wild and crazy trip, unlike any other offroad adventure we have been on. Saturday started off fast and fun as we left Fallon, Nevada. Around mid-morning, half of the group disappeared and we were not able to get them on the radio. 
It took a while, but we finally found out two of the trucks had flat tires. After getting everyone back on the trail, the run out to the Ichthyosaurs State Park was done is record time. Here, the group saw several Ichthyosaur fossils. It is hard to imagine that at one time this area we were driving through was under water. The group had lunch before heading off to the next section.
When leaving the park, two of the group’s trucks had catastrophic failures, and unfortunately had to head home. The remainder of the group carried on, making a crazy hill climb to get to the next section of trail. The downhill side of the trail was incredibly steep as well as over grown. There was definitely a little racing stripe action going on.
After making it down the hill, the group made its fuel stop. Here, we also grabbed a needed ice cream cone. Things then got a little interesting as we reached the last part of the trail. Since we were not able to prerun this section, the trail we were headed to was unknown. About one mile in, we hit a massive overgrown section that caused us to turn around. This was the first time in all of our years of travel we have ever had to do this.
Luckily, one of the trucks had come out on the mapped trails and found a bypass from their own adventure. Heading on the 15 mile bypass, we reconnected to the trail for the day and made it to Eureka with no issues. Eureka is a town that is lost in time, and despite the town’s small size, the restaurant had good food and the hotel was clean.
Sunday proved to be an amazing day. Despite having another turn around issue, we made it to all three abandoned mine sites, which was the main goal of this trip. These sites still have old buildings and mining gear which make for an amazing firsthand experience of days long gone. One can only imagine what life must have been like mining so far out in the desert. After leaving the mine, the trail headed down hill and then just ended. It appeared the trail had been destroyed. So, for the second time that day, we were forced to back track, however, this time we had a planned bypass.
After the detour, the group hit some fast, fun trails that led to the Devil’s Punch Bowl. This was a crazy, almost perfect hole in the ground that is fed by an underground aquafer and had crystal clear water. The next leg of trail was a fun rally stage through a pass down to a dry lake bed. Luckily, the bed was dry, which allowed us to have a little fun goofing around and making a donut or two.
Our last section wound parallel to HWY 50 before ending back where we originally started the run, near Fallon, Nevada. While this trip had its challenges, it was a blast. We will definitely be doing this run again in the future, however, with a few modifications to include more of the fast sections.
