- This time on "Wild Nevada", we're tiptoeing along the southern borders of Nevada and California.

- On the first part of the trip, we're gonna visit an area that's being looked at for a national monument.

We're gonna explore some of its beauty, and its history.

- And tomorrow we cross the border into California, and we're gonna check out the Mojave National Preserve.

- All of that's 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.

- [Announcer] Travel Nevada helps provide travel inspiration, and experiences for those interested in creating their own "Wild Nevada" adventures.

For more information, visit travelnevada.com, and by Millie Hopper and Millard Reed, Charles and Margaret Burback, Sande Family Foundation, Kristine Perry, Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation, June S Wisham Trust, the Hall Family, Dillard and Meg Myers, Sara and Leonard Lafrance, In memory of Sue McDowell, and by individual members.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - [Chris] We are starting this trip a few miles west of Searchlight, and we're at the Walking Box Ranch, which has a lot of history in itself.

- [Dave] We meet our guide Alan O'Neill, who shares some of the colorful history of this location.

- Walking Box Ranch, you know the history goes back to the turn of the 20th century, around 1905.

Clara Bow and Rex Bell bought it 1931.

Clara Bow is probably the most famous movie star maybe in the history of movie making in the U.S. - [Chris] Everybody knows that name, right?

- [Alan] And Rex Bell was a country star, and that was the silent movie era.

They raised their kids here and sold it.

And Rex Bell later became Lieutenant Governor of Nevada.

This was the Hollywood hideout, believe it or not, to escape the rat race.

The really elite Hollywood actors at that time, Clark Gable, and John Wayne, and Lionel Barrymore, they all hung out here to get away from Hollywood.

- This is just the starting point of our trip.

We're actually here to learn about this vast area that we've never visited, but is very special.

We'd love to know why it's such a special area.

- Well, we've been working on trying to protect this area for over 20 years.

This is one of the richest ecological areas we have in Southern Nevada.

You know, we talk about the desert tortoise and such, but it's only one of 35 special status species here.

So the ecology's important, but probably most important is the culture, and history of this area.

That's very important to the native people.

This is their place of creation.

This is their very special sacred landscape.

And so we came upon the thought that a national monument would be the appropriate designation.

We've named this national monument, Avi Kwa Ame.

Avi Kwa Ame is the Mojave name for Spirit Mountain.

The Mojave people are the day-to-day stewards, on behalf of the other tribes, because they're closest to this landscape.

We wanted to honor that by calling it Avi Kwa Ame.

We think it's important, very important to protect that recreational experience.

There's about 500 miles of back country roads.

That system's been in place for several decades.

We'd like to see that retained, and people have that experience, of accessing their public lands here.

- [Dave] Alan's going to show us around this special landscape.

But before we go, I have to know where the name Walking Box came from.

- It's like this camera, the walking box was a tripod with a camera on it.

That's a walking box - Oh, is that what they called it?

- It was a movie camera.

- That was a movie camera?

- That was a movie camera, yeah.

- Alex, you have a walking box.

- This is a eastern extension of the world's largest Joshua Tree forest.

The monument was designed to provide the elevation gradients, the niches, the migratory corridors, the things important to build resilience in this system.

(upbeat music) - Well, we're at the mile marker eight on the Walking Box Ranch Road.

We're in, the distance is Castle Mountains.

About half of those mountain range are in California, and half are in Nevada.

- [Chris] So right along the border.

- Right on the border, we're several miles from the border.

We're starting to get this grassland environment, which is very rare in the Mojave desert.

This is what they call a C4 grasslands, more common you find that in Southern Arizona, and Northern New Mexico, if you have a monsoonal rain in the desert, in the summer heat, this will actually turn green, and into the fall.

- That's a nice example of how people think that the desert's so dead.

But actually it's just waiting.

It's just waiting for its moments.

- It's like the wildflowers 2020.

You couldn't walk here without stepping on a wildflower.

Those seeds are buried in there, and they germinate only in at certain climatic conditions, and it's never the same.

So someone says to you, well wait till April, you're gonna see that this and that.

You may not see it, or you may see something incredible you haven't seen in 10 years.

The monument, it's connecting those protected areas on the California side, the Lake Mead National Recreation area, which is protected, and providing that linkage that makes sure that you retain the migratory routes, you maintain the room for species to move, as we have changes in rainfall, and temperature, and such.

So it's really, this monument becomes a very important, why would you only protect half of the Castle Mount, half of the Paiute Range?

It doesn't make sense, you know, from an ecological standpoint.

- Do off highway vehicles spend a lot of time out in this area?

- Yes, this is, this is the best way to enjoy this environment.

- [Chris] The OHV enthusiasts have joined with native tribes, local governments, and chambers of commerce, to support the proposed national monument.

- So when you have the conservation community, the local units of government, and the the native community, and people like the O H V. - You know who else, what other group you should have reached out to?

The land sailing community.

Cause if you just got a little sail up there, you'd be going a hundred miles an hour that way.

- I was gonna, the Kite Flyers, the Desert Kite Flyers, - The kite fliers would be blown away, they would be flying.

- You don't wanna be in a hot air balloon today.

- No I don't, I really don't.

Alan takes us back north to Highway 164, and then west for a short distance, before turning off highway to the north.

- This is part of the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness area.

It's a first, you know, wilderness area within just a forced environment here.

For dark night sky, this is one of the best places within the proposed monument area.

It's just kind of really interesting.

Dark night sky surrounded by these big Joshua trees is almost ethereal.

- [Chris] Alan introduces us to a very important member of this forest population.

- And we call this a monument tree.

It's the tallest Joshua tree in the state of Nevada.

We had the Nevada Division of Wildlife come out, and do an official measurement, so that we knew it was the largest.

Height is one of three things that they measure.

One's a crown width, it's the widest point, and then there's circumference, right about four feet off the ground.

So it's a combination of those two, and the formula they have that determines what measurements are for the state records.

Best guess is that's probably around 700 years old.

- [Dave] That would mean this tree began growing, in the 1300's.

It's hard to leave such distinguished company, but we return to Highway 164, then south on 95 to Christmas Tree Pass Road.

Soon we arrive at Spirit Mountain to meet Nora McDowell, and Paul Jackson of the Fort Mojave tribe, and Taylor Patterson of the Bishop Paiute tribe.

For tribes in this region, this location has profound meaning.

- This is one of the most sacred places for us.

Well, this is the home of Mastamho.

He's the son of our creator, and he built this, and he would both have lived up there on top, and he would call people up there sometimes, and when they would hear a calling, and instruct them what they're gonna be doing in life.

- Six different other distinct tribes, you know, besides ourselves, were created also from this mountain.

Their creation story comes from here.

To us, this is our church.

We don't have a physical structure, 'cause we've never had that.

This is it.

- Our elders, they would only bring us up here so far, 'cause we weren't even allowed to come this close, not that long ago.

That's how sacred it is.

But now we have to get closer, in order to protect it.

- How do you get people to understand, and appreciate?

- A lot of the public schools now right here in the valley, invite us over to do presentations in the libraries, and the museums, and it's by invitation.

We don't ask, they just ask us.

So that's- - Well, it's encouraging that, there's that effort being made to reach out.

- It's also a teaching area, where I bring kids to learn about the plants, and the animals, and the insects, and the ground, and the sky, and the cloud.

- And the more that you know about it, and become educated about it, the more you're gonna be able to respect another culture, and another people, you know that have been here, you know, since time immemorial.

- You know, the land stewardship that they are teaching their young folks is so powerful, and amazing.

And that education piece, those young folks are gonna go out, and tell more people about their traditions, and how to treat the land, and how to respect the land.

- To us, and with a lot of Native American tribes, everything's alive.

Everything has a spirit.

You know, we believe if you sit and listen, the mountains will talk to you.

The wind will talk to you, the river will talk to you.

They're all alive.

You just gotta sit and listen.

- The wind is speaking to us today, very loudly.

- The whole entire landscape is a cultural resource for the people of this land.

From the indigenous perspective, this is a cyclical thing for us.

We need to be a part of the land, as much as the land needs us to be a part of it.

And we are all feeding into that, that process, and that cycle.

And so Paul being out here, and passing on his knowledge, and Nora passing on her knowledge is what utilizing, and saving the land is about.

It's really exciting that this place has a possibility of being protected for generations, and generations of people.

- We've been working to try to do that for a long time, and thankful, you know, to our good friend Alan O'Neill, who used to work for the Park Service, and he worked with our elders way back when, when he was superintendent.

We have always had that stewardship of the land, that we have to carry, and hold.

And so the national monument would provide that once and for all, for all of the land that you know, was our ancestral homelands, and hopefully once and for all, protect the whole area so that people, and our children, and others that come here can enjoy, you know, what's remaining of it.

- So when people come and visit, what is the best way for them to not only experience the beauty, but also respect what it means.

- Come here but respect it.

You know, what you bring in, take out.

- Take a drive through the desert, respectfully.

Stay on the the right path, stay respectful of the land, but just get a sense of really what is in the desert, the juniper tree, and the greasewood, and all of these things that I find so special.

And so I really hope that all this education about Avi Kwa Ame, and all this education about the potential national monument just drives people to look at what they've been overlooking for so long.

- What does it mean for you on a personal level, of what do you see when, when you come to this landscape?

- [Paul] Home, spirit world.

They're like our golden gates into heaven.

- When I come here where I need that release, you know, from everything, when I come here, I'm, you know, the mountain is me, I am it.

And it just brings such a, a relief to me.

And yet it also restores me, in my heart, mind, and soul.

And so to me it, it means everything, as a Mojave.

- You made me feel it today.

It's now a different place to me.

Hopefully people come away with a greater understanding, and do exactly what you say.

- Yeah.

- That's what we would hope for.

- Well that's my prayer.

- [Chris] It's a transformational experience to be here, and have Nora, Paul, and Taylor share the meaning of Avi Kwa Ame with us.

- [Dave] As of the time we're completing this program, this is still only a proposed national monument.

But regardless, we've certainly learned a lot about the value that this land holds for so many.

- [Chris] Next morning, we're back on Highway 164, for 30 miles, then south on Ivan Pod, Morningstar Mine, and Kelso Cima roads for another 30.

From Kelso Junction, it's only about another 10 miles or so, to the dunes, where we meet Ranger Sierra Willoughby.

- This is the third largest national park unit, outside of Alaska.

So, there's a lot to see here.

So I'm glad you came down.

- I had no idea it was that big.

- Me either.

- Yeah, everything you see around here is still part of the preserve.

All these mountains, ring of mountains all around here, it's just vast.

- This is amazing.

- Sure is.

- [Chris] It kept growing as we were driving.

Kept getting bigger, and bigger.

- So this is the Kelso Dunes.

So it's a big dune field.

It's one of the largest in North America, and the tallest part right there is about 600 feet above the valley floor that we're standing on here.

The way it got here was over, you know, thousands and thousands of years that the sediment has washed down from the really tall mountains above Los Angeles.

Like the San Bernardino mountains, people probably know of Big Bear.

That's the source area for the Mojave River, that drains into this corner of the preserve.

So it transported the sediment, but if it was just the right size for the wind to catch, over the last 25,000 years, it blew around.

And this is where it tended to collect.

'Cause this is a, it's a nice corridor right here.

There's a granite pass right there.

So when the sand comes up, it can't make it quite up this hill right here, and it deposits.

- So can we get a little closer?

I'd love to see this.

- Let's go take a look.

- Let's check it out.

Go play in the sandbox.

Do you have a favorite time of day that you like to visit the dunes?

- Like the early in the morning or late in the evening?

Especially in the warmer months, come out here in the full moon.

- [Dave] Oh wow!

- So it's not just the daytime.

This can be in a really amazing night hike.

- I bet it glows in the moonlight.

- It does.

It's one of the reasons that I came here, from Grant's Tomb in New York City, was I just missed the stars so much at night.

When it's a new moon, and you can look up, and you just see the Milky Way, and it's like, wow.

Feels like home.

(calm, easy music) Got here just the right time of year, to see the creosote bush bloom.

These yellow flowers, if you just rub the leaves gently, and you smell it, it smells like a rainy day, you know, it's really great.

You know that smell right there, it's pleasant to us.

But it, what it does is it discourages animals eating it.

The roots go very, very, very deep.

So you won't see much of this in some of the rocky outcrops on the mountains, because the roots can't get down that far.

But in these alluvial, these like wide open valleys, that have a lot of sand, and gravel, the roots can penetrate way down.

- And that's where it pulls water from way down.

- Yeah, that's where it pulls water.

And that's why it's still kind of a bright green.

We'll go up here, and I'll show you where you can see how the plants are shaping the geology here, shaping the shape of the landscape.

These grasses right here, the wind velocity, or the wind speed drops, and then it can't, the sand gets collected.

Just like if you go behind like a row of trees where the, in a windy day the wind velocity drops and you know, things will just kind of settle to the ground.

25,000 years ago, we had a much different climate zone here.

You know, that's where we had major glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, and the high peaks of Nevada.

So that probably was a lot more moisture here, and it was, the sand might have been wetter, you know, and it was easier for vegetation to gain root hold, in a different climate.

- [Dave] There are rare plant species, and threatened habitat at Kelso Dunes.

So hikers are welcome but leave your dune buggies at home.

No motorized vehicles allowed here.

- One of the big hazards out here, this is one of the more, we have more people get in trouble out here, 'cause it looks like a really short distance from the trail head, and it can take like over three hours for some folks to get from the car up to the top, and back.

And it's hard hiking, 'cause you're going through really soft sand, and the steeper it gets the harder it is.

You're like, it feels like you're running a marathon, when you're trying to like climb up some of these steeper sand slips here.

- So you need to also know your limit, and that you're in shape, that you can handle a climb like that.

- Yeah, heat illness is a really, this is probably the worst spot for heat illness, in the whole preserve is right here.

This is one of the really cool mounds that are kind of, or traps the sand with vegetation here.

And on here, there's all these different tracks, and ripple marks.

- [Chris] So what is making this little pattern here?

- So it's a combination like there's, there's like real, that's real narrow one here, like a wire one.

A lot of those are in like beetles, and different types of insects that are out here, that maybe come out at night, and you can't see them as easily.

And if there's any of them here, I don't quite see 'em on here, but if you see one with a big kind of line to the center of it, that'd be one of the reptiles, probably a lizard.

- Got a tail that's dragging that line.

- Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

These look, these mostly look like insect marks here.

- ]Dave] Yeah, they look like tiny, tiny footprints.

You get a record of who was here last night.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

If you're an entomologist, and you kind of really have a good idea of tracks versus species, you can get more of a census of who's out here at Mojave National Preserve.

- ]Dave] Time for us to make tracks, as Sierra wants to show us another natural attraction at the preserve.

So we retrace our steps, and drive north past this notable building, the Kelso Depot, which serves as one of the Preserve's visitor centers.

- [Chris] From the depot, it's about 30 miles north on Kelbaker Road, where Sierra pulls us over to introduce a whole new landscape.

- Right here on North Kelbaker Road is one of the best spots to view the Cima volcanic field.

This right here is about 40 different volcanic cones, and they're all basaltic, they're all cider cones, and basaltic lava flows.

And this is one a very young feature in the preserve.

So some of the rocks are millions of years old.

These are just like a few million, to a couple thousand years old, depending on where you are.

- [Chris] So we went from white dunes to black cones?

- Yes, so the white dunes are mostly from granite.

They have a lot of light colored minerals, you know, that just been obviously been, you know, chewed up by wind, and erosion, and that sort of thing.

And these have more darker minerals.

The material came from, you know, deeper in the crust, and the upper mantle.

You know, that's how you get like, like in Hawaii, you know, it's the same type of volcanic material you find in Hawaii.

- [Dave] We head north, and drive almost five miles on a dirt road, that definitely requires good tires, and high clearance for safety.

It takes us to this trail.

(upbeat music) - [Chris] It's an easy two tenths of a mile hike, to reach our destination.

(upbeat music) - All right, I recommend going down, you know, backwards like this, holding on with both hands.

The reason we can get into the tube right here is because this part of it collapsed, the ceiling collapsed, and made all these blocks around here.

Watch your step.

It's kind of a rough little bit rough terrain here, over all these basalt blocks.

- [Dave] I thought the outside of this lava tube was pretty interesting already, but then we went inside.

- [Chris] Wow, how cool is this?

- [Dave] How cool is this!

- [Sierra] Play of light, so incredible.

- Whoa man.

- That is incredible.

- Look at that puff of dust you just made there, Dave.

- That's the coolest puff of dust I've ever made.

- So that is that skylight?

- Yeah, it's a skylight and it's like where, where lava kind of, you know, broke through the surface and and poured out, and now it's a skylight.

Just highlights some of the dust that comes through here.

You know, this is all, this has all been washed over here, for several thousands of years, this floor, and doesn't take much to stir up just enough, so that when the sunlight comes through, it illuminates.

We're basically in a basalt lava flow right here, into the outer parts of the lava flow solidify.

But the inside is insulated so it continues to flow.

And in some basalt lava flows, the inside will keep flowing as the outside stops, and it forms these tube structures like we're in here.

If the source area stops erupting, gravity will still evacuate all the lava flow.

Getting all the molten lava out, and it leaves behind, you know, a tube like this.

What is special about this one, is it has these three skylights, and this light effect here that people really enjoy seeing.

It's best to come in the middle of the day, when the sun angles higher.

If obviously when the sun angles like really low, like early in the morning, late in the evening, it's not gonna hit the bottom, you know, bottom of the tube here.

- I hope nobody discovered this by falling through one of those.

- We came in a hole that no one would accidentally fall into, because it's so big.

- Yeah, but I could see accidentally falling through one of these guys on a little hike.

You know, it's so beautiful out, and then, oh, whoops.

Yesterday we were in a place that was a sacred location.

I can imagine people coming in here a thousand years ago, seeing this, and thinking this is touched, this place is special.

We'd never been to this park before, and I've seen two places I'll never forget.

- [Chris] Well it's my first lava tube, so I'm definitely a fan.

It's very,- - We're lava tubers now.

- Yeah, and it's such a small part of the entire area.

- Yeah, you've barely scratched the surface, and you know, you need a good four wheel drive with good tires to see the entire preserve.

- [Chris] And probably more days than one.

- [Sierra] Yeah, that you know, that's true, any national park.

Yeah, more days than one.

Yeah, but definitely this one, as well.

- [Dave] Well, thank you for this one day.

- [Chris] The park has one more surprise for us.

As we drove out, we spotted this desert tortoise.

- [Dave] We kept our distance of course, and we were reminded to take it easy on the road, and observe the park slogan, drive like a tortoise.

All right, we're back in the wind, back in Nevada to end this trip, and this one's been remarkable.

- You know, we've had two days of getting to explore, not only the beauty of the desert, but also its significance.

Not a trip I'm gonna forget anytime soon.

- No, Sierra and Alan were terrific guides.

We appreciate them.

I think what I'll remember is standing at the foot of Spirit Mountain, with the people who made me really feel it, for the first time.

- If you wanna watch this, or any of the "Wild Nevada" series, you can use the PBS video app or visit us at pbsreno.org.

- Until our next "Wild Nevada", we hope that you have a chance to get out, get some adventure in your life as well.

We'll see you next time.

- Very cool, filming beams of light in a cave.

- [Dave] In a not so shocking development, Chris found a dog.

Did you schedule that to happen or did it just- - I needed a dog fix, I needed to see a dog.

- [Dave] Bounce some of that light on me, that hurts my eyes.

It makes him laugh though, he likes it.

(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.

- [Announcer] Travel Nevada helps provide travel inspiration and experiences, for those interested in creating their own "Wild Nevada" adventures.

For more information, visit travel nevada.com, and by Millie Hopper and Millard Reed, Charles and Margaret Burback, Sandy Family Foundation, Kristine Perry, Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation.

June S. Wisham Trust, the Hall Family, Dillard and Meg Myers, Sarah and Leonard Lafrance, In Memory of Sue McDowell, and by individual members.

(upbeat music)