- Southern Nevada is known for its extremes.

And this time I'm taking a look at how extremely historic and extremely scenic it can be.

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

- [Announcer 1] 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 2] 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.

(bright music) - Las Vegas is well known for entertainment and a variety of forms, and the list of things to do in the area got longer when Nevada State Parks opened a brand new park and visitor center that explores some of the oldest history in the area and that makes Ice Age Fossil State Park the perfect place to begin a trip that explores the prehistoric roots of Southern Nevada.

Ice Age Fossil State Park in Northern Las Vegas is adjacent to the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, and opened in January of 2024.

At the park's Visitor Center, I meet Emilisa Saunders.

What makes something Ice Age?

How old does it have to be to be considered Ice Age?

- The time period that we're studying is about 12,000 to 100,000 years ago.

There have been several Ice Ages, but the most recent one was that time period.

And it's not what people think of with the Ice Age.

So most of us, when we think of the Ice Age, we think icy, logically, but our area here was an oasis in the desert, so there was lots of groundwater.

There were many, many springs right here on this land.

And so it created a beautiful green, lush, plant-filled landscape for these Ice Age animals to survive here.

There were a lot of animals that are still around today.

So we had coyotes and snakes, desert tortoises, a few different types of lizards.

So we have fossil remains of those.

But then there are what we call the Ice Age megafauna, which just means large animals.

And those animals included Colombian mammoths, American lions, saber-toothed cats, Scott's horses, camels, which is our park mascot, dire wolves, other really exciting large megafauna.

- [Chris] The mammoth out front, he's very artistic.

So there's gotta be a story about that.

- [Emilisa] That was the brainchild of a 15-year-old girl scout named Tahoe Mack.

She was inspired by a talk given to her Girl Scout troupe about the trash that was kind of dumped on the site for decades and decades and decades.

So working with the protectors of Tule Springs and several really talented artists and a whole crew of wonderful volunteers, they went out on this site and they collected tens of thousands of pounds of trash and turned it into the skin of this sculpture, which is now the beautiful artistic representation of community and of turning trash into treasure.

With all the sculptures that we have, we just have a single solitary sculpture, but with the dire wolf we have three.

This is the location of the first dire wolf fossil ever being found in the state of Nevada.

And so to kind of commemorate that, we put three dire wolves there instead of one.

- [Chris] The discovery of abundant fossils on site triggered a long history of scientific research, which included the famous Big Dig of 1962 through 1963.

It was the largest interdisciplinary scientific expedition of its kind to that point.

The Visitor Center offers a rich array of natural history exhibits, information about the Big Dig expedition and additional educational resources.

This is a beautiful Visitor Center.

There's so much going on.

- We're kind of a nice combination of hands-on and really precious fossils as well.

We have tactile elements that people can touch and feel.

This is our camel.

Camelops hesternus is the scientific name of the camels that lived here during the Ice Age.

He's our park mascot chosen because camelops fossils are the second most common that you find here at the park, with the number one most common being mammoths.

But mammoths get all sorts of PR already.

So we wanted to give the camel its day in the sun.

This is a mammoth tusk.

So we have two really impressive tusk fossils here at the Visitor Center.

One being this, you know, seven foot example, and another, there's a great story to that one because it was originally found during the Big Dig in 1962 and 1963.

Then reburied, unbeknownst to anyone, and then re-unburied.

(laughs) - [Chris] Why would they have buried it again?

- They were focused on archeology, so human remains, human objects, and not so much on paleontology, which are the animal objects.

And so they probably ran out of time, didn't have the right resources, didn't have the ability to preserve that tusk, and so they just wrapped it in newspaper and buried it again.

And in 2011, when the UNLV students uncovered it, they were able to tell that it was from the Big Dig based on the newspaper clipping that was found with it.

These megafauna that we focus on here in the Visitor Center and out on our megafauna trail, the scale of them is one of the most impressive things that you can learn.

The American lion, that was a big kitty, Scott's horses, smaller than they are now, and then Columbia mammoths, of course, being absolutely enormous.

Those large animals living in large herds had to eat a lot of plants.

The predators had to eat some big animals.

The amount of grass and water that was here at the time supported these big herds of these really, really large animals, which I think is really kind of mind-blowing to think about in our desert today.

- Ice Age Fossil State Park offers three different hiking trails to allow visitors to explore some of the fossil beds on the 315-acre park.

The trails give you the chance to experience the natural forces that created and reshaped this landscape over the course of millennia.

While the park is dry most of the year, it can experience extreme weather, and just like the spring storm during our visit, when the weather changes, it's important to check with the park staff for current trail conditions before you head out to explore, especially in the washes.

- [Emilisa] The best way to protect the park and protect yourself while you're here is to stay on trail.

Staying on the trail means that you're avoiding possibly stepping on a fossil, stepping into an animal burrow, maybe injuring yourself by stepping into a crevice or a hole.

So by staying on the trail, you're safe, the park is safe, and we're protecting this for future generations to enjoy.

We want people to definitely understand that when you come to the park, you're not gonna see like an entire mammoth skeleton laid out on our trails.

There absolutely are fossils still here, but they are where they're safest, which is underneath the ground buried still until a researcher comes along and excavates them.

- [Chris] As we walk along here and it's starting to sprinkle, I'm realizing that this landscape is probably still changing.

- Oh, every single day.

So the cliff walls, little bits of them will fall off here and there, sometimes little bits, sometimes big pieces.

When we've got good rain, it will change not only the cliffs that we're walking alongside right now, but we're about to walk into a wash and during heavy rains, that's an active wash, and the water can move through that in streams and rivulets and change the landscape in a day.

- Well, I have to say, this is not the sunny Southern Nevada day I expected, but it's just so amazing to get to visit not only a new state park, but a protected landscape.

So thanks for bringing me out here.

- Thanks so much for coming.

- Well, and maybe this rain will uncover a few new fossils for you.

- It might do that.

(Chris laughs) - As the storm begins to clear, it's time that I head into Las Vegas to learn about a project that was inspired in part by the Ice Age Fossil State Park.

I'm ready to wet my whistle, so I make a stop at the Las Vegas Brewing Company where I meet Kyle Dolder who tells me of a unique way that they're helping to contribute to Nevada State Parks.

- We have a really exciting partnership that just kicked off with the Nevada State Parks Foundation.

We have partnered up with them to release special beer for each and every one of the parks, kicking it off with our first one from the Ice Age Fossils Park, the Camelops Kolsch.

The Camelops was an icon, the representation of the Ice Age Fossils Parks.

You're working to draw attention to all the entities and all the parties involved.

So the ultimate goal is to get people to get out and experience these parks.

- [Chris] The Nevada State Parks Foundation is a nonprofit created to support the parks and recreation areas by accepting and incorporating donations that the State Parks Department couldn't otherwise use.

Bob Mergell from the foundation and Jonathan Brunjes of the Nevada Division of State Parks explain.

- We have people reach out to us all the time wanting to make a donation.

Some people even as far as a donation of an estate.

And it's very difficult for us to receive that as a state agency, where the foundation is a better avenue to accept that donation and then make it a benefit to the state parks.

- The foundation can reach out directly to different entities and enter into these kind of partnerships.

As we are more successful in raising donations, it will allow us the opportunity to help fill funding gaps in any projects that the division of state parks might be looking at.

- One of the things that's been nice about this partnership is the active involvement of everyone from the foundation.

So they're helping guide us.

- [Jonathan] I'm excited for the themes that the Las Vegas Brewing Company's coming up with.

Every one of our parks, I would say easily has a theme.

They're very diverse and dynamic, and even in the same region, if you go to Kershaw-Ryan, it's like a oasis in the desert.

And then you go 10 miles up the road to Cathedral Gorge and it's that ancient lake bed.

Nevada's super diverse and I think you're gonna see that come out in some of the ideas that the brewery's bringing forward.

- Do you find that the use of the state parks has increased and with that the demand for maintenance and resources?

- Yeah, the maintenance absolutely has increased.

You know, we often refer to it as loving the park to death.

And so, our staff are constantly looking at deferred maintenance projects and trail work 'cause we want it to last forever.

(soft string music) - Well, it's finally time to taste test.

Now that's a tasty way to both celebrate and honor the Nevada State Parks.

It's really cool that there's more about the state park on the can design itself, including information about the park mascot as well as the Nevada State Parks Foundation with QR codes for more information on both projects.

It's been great getting to learn a new way to toast Nevada's extraordinary state parks, but it's time to get some rest, finish the rest of my beer, and get ready for a full day of adventures tomorrow.

I get up early and head north out of Las Vegas, up US 95 to explore a famous landscape carved by the region's prehistoric past.

I leave Highway 95 at the historic and eclectic community of Beatty, which is known as Nevada's Gateway to Death Valley.

From Beatty, it's a short eight-mile drive to the park's entrance.

This route offers access to many of the park's most popular areas, including the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.

The Furnace Creek Visitor Center is a great stop for trip planning and more information about your visit.

At the Visitor Center, I meet with Mathew Lamar with the National Park Service.

How big is Death Valley National Park?

- Death Valley's 3.4 million acres.

So to put that in perspective, it's about the size of the state of Connecticut.

It's actually the largest national park outside the state of Alaska.

93% of this park is wilderness.

There's not much infrastructure here.

And so, to get to some of these areas, it can be quite the adventure.

You're either hiking long distances or you're traveling on some really remote backcountry roads.

But the vast majority of our visitors, they're sticking to the paved areas, the really developed sites, the most iconic places within the park.

- Some visitors are fascinated by Death Valley's soaring temperatures.

And Matthew takes me to what has become an iconic thermometer in front of the Visitor Center.

I know I've seen this on a lot of social media.

(laughs) This has really become one of the landmarks of Death Valley.

- Yeah, this might be the most photographed spot in the park, funny enough, particularly during the summer months.

You get your picture here and that's proof that you were here when there was 125 degrees.

- So what is it about Death Valley that lends itself to those extreme temperatures?

- A big reason for our temperature in the heat is the elevations here in the park.

So Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level, but 20 miles away, we've got, you know, Telescope Peak, 11,000 feet high.

So as it's baking down here in the valley, that warm air wants to rise and escape, but the mountains are too tall so it can't escape, so it ends up recirculating back down almost like a convection oven.

And so it just gets hotter and hotter throughout the day and then it really just never cools off to really comfortable temperatures.

Even if you lose 30 degrees, that just means you're going from 125 to 95 degrees at the coolest part of the day in the early morning.

- So is the heat why Death Valley got its name?

- Actually, it's not.

It got its name back in the 1840s, 1849 when the first non-Indigenous Americans kind of came into the valley during the '49 Gold Rush.

And it was winter, so temperatures were actually quite pleasant.

But the issue was this valley, these mountains weren't on their map and so they got stuck here for quite a long period of time.

One of their members did eventually die, and when they eventually escaped the valley, it was such a horrid experience that said one of their members turned around and said, "Goodbye, Death Valley."

That's the story they would end up telling, and that is the name that has stuck and still sticks today.

- Why would you advise people to before you start your adventure, stop here at the Visitor Center?

- It's really important to know where you want to go in the park, what the road conditions are like, 'cause they do change here in Death Valley, either through visitor use or more often because of weather events, particularly our backcountry roads can be severely impacted.

The last couple years we've had major floods within Death Valley that have impacted hundreds of miles within the park.

So because of those constant changing conditions, it's always good to come into the Visitor Center, interact with a ranger, and get the latest information.

- Why is Death Valley shaped as dramatic as it is?

- Yeah, I mean, Death Valley has this long and complex geologic history.

The oldest rocks in the park go back 1.7 billion years.

The modern valley, though, is relatively recent in geologic history, forming really in the last three million years or so as part of the basin in range.

And so, what we got here was a stretching of the Earth's crust, and as it broke apart into these blocks, those blocks would tilt over time, which was a rise in the mountains and then a fall in the valley floor.

And that's really what we're seeing today, and it is still geologically active.

When we think of national parks, we almost think of them as outdoor museums, right?

They're places that we're preserving the landscape, and the cultural history, not just for now, but for decades and maybe centuries down the road.

The idea is your grandchildren can come here and experience the same thing.

The thing I love about Death Valley is the fact that every weekend I can do something new and I'm not gonna run out of things to do.

And so I find myself on my weekends going out in the backcountry, you know, hiking different canyons and peaks, traveling on different back roads, and every time I see something new and exciting, and so that's what keeps me here in the park, is that ability to constantly be entertained and constantly experience new things.

(bright music) - A self-guided driving tour is a great way to travel through Death Valley.

It gives you the chance to explore breathtaking landscapes, unique geology, and fascinating stories at your own pace.

But it's important to keep your vehicle's fuel and capabilities in mind in a location with such temperature extremes and little or no cell service.

My first stop is Badwater Basin, sitting at 282 feet below sea level.

This is the lowest point in North America and is a surreal landscape of vast salt flats.

The basin was once the site of the large ancient inland Lake Manly, which evaporated tens of thousands of years ago.

To get a good view of the salt polygons that this area is known for, take an easy mile and a half to two mile round trip walk out onto the Salt flats.

Heading north on Badwater Road, I can't resist the signs for the Artist's Palette.

This side trip is a one-way loop through an array of rainbow colors that are splashed across the surrounding hills.

Allow for approximately 30 minutes to make the drive, depending on how often you stop to get out and enjoy the stunning scenery along the way.

Back on Highway 190, and actually just a few miles from the main Visitor Center is Zabriskie Point, a popular view spot with hiking trails into one of Death Valley's most iconic landscapes.

The turn off for Dante's View is onto the appropriately named Dante's View Road just off of Highway 190.

The road climbs gradually, but the last six miles are closed to vehicles 25 feet or longer because of the steep grade and the curves ahead.

The last quarter of a mile to the viewpoint climbs steeply at a 14% grade.

The Terrace and Visitor Center at Dante's View sits at more than 5,000 feet elevation on the north side of Coffin Peak.

And it gives you a spectacular, almost bird's eye view of the valley below and the mountain ranges across from it.

Temperatures up here are often 15 to 25 degrees cooler than on the valley floor, so it's a good idea to take a jacket along just in case.

There's just enough time for me to have one more adventure, so I leave Death Valley and return back into Nevada through Amargosa Valley and head to the Tarantula Ranch.

(light twangy music) This relatively new attraction in the area offers a personality-packed place to camp, or if you prefer glamp, and perhaps even the chance to taste a bottle of Mojave Desert grown and bottled wine.

At the ranch, I meet Brandon Schmidt.

How did you end up at Tarantula Ranch?

- We love Death Valley, we'd come down for spring break, come from the Pacific Northwest.

We'd bring the kids down and just love the desert.

I think before we'd visited Death Valley, we had no appreciation for the desert at all.

And now, I mean, I just look around, it's just beautiful to me.

And I think it's just so different than what I grew up with, that it's found a place in our hearts.

And so we just looked at properties and we found this, but with no intention of a campground or dealing with grapes, we just would have friends come down from Portland to camp.

So we put together a little bathhouse over here for 'em to use and we kind of just realized, "Hey, this is kind of an interesting idea.

People can come and camp."

And so we started with a couple camp sites and just kind of have kept growing since.

- [Chris] What is the experience that a guest can expect here?

- We have a lot of different levels of accommodation.

So from just tent camping or sleeping in your vehicle up to like a guest house, but even the guest house has an outdoor shower, you're still subject to the environment.

And so, all of our guests have some appreciation for nature because it is a big part of your stay out here.

People come here looking for adventure.

- So I have to ask about the name.

Is a person to expect a tarantula coming into their campsite when they stay here?

- No, it would be very unlikely to see a tarantula.

They do come through in the fall, but we see, you know, as many as we can count on one hand usually every year.

- Well, we talk about a place having some character, these have character.

And I have to ask, are these all your license plates?

- No, no, a handful are ours or families.

But a lot of 'em were here.

We just found 'em, so we started sticking 'em on there and then we noticed people started sending them to us or bringing them along.

So we call it the license plate building.

- [Chris] So the bathhouse looks like a really interesting building.

I don't know I've ever seen a bathroom that looks like this.

- Yeah, you know, this has an open roof, so we didn't really know what to do with it.

And so when we had some friends down to camp for the first time down here, we put an outdoor shower in there and a toilet and it just kind of turned into our first bathhouse.

And the cool thing about it is it's made out of containers that held artillery and so you can read it from the inside, you can see the contents that were in it, and they just turned it into a building.

My son painted the bathhouse sign and, you know, putting curtains and stuff up.

This is just the original building and a lot of the stuff we found inside it, it's still in there.

- So what kind of vines am I looking at?

- So right in front of us here is Chardonnay.

It's our only white grape, and it does seems to do really well out here in the desert.

We're really happy with the size the vineyard is now.

It's micro vineyard, it's easy for us to just manage as a family, so I don't foresee having it grow, but we would like to keep adding more accommodations, trying to keep things small enough and to where it's a fun family business and just doesn't grow too big too fast to where we're not enjoying it anymore.

- [Chris] And when you get to have a view like this, how can you not want to enjoy it?

- No, it's gorgeous.

That's one of the reasons why we fell in love with this place is because we're just surrounded by BLM land.

And this is the Skeleton Hills here.

You can summit it, there's even a box up there, you can write your name.

We've had guests do it.

- [Chris] So this is a bottling studio or?

- Yeah, so what this was is it was originally where the wine was made, but we turned it into our studio here.

So it's got a toilet and a kitchenette.

You can sleep in your car or your tent, or you can have a stay in the bottling room.

(bright music) - Cheers.

That's very nice.

A very nice way to end the day in the desert, have a little local flavor, and to actually be looking at where the grapes came from and enjoy it with the people who made it, it's a whole different kind of wine tasting experience.

- It's definitely our pleasure.

We had a lot of fun doing it and making it, and now we enjoy drinking it.

- That's all I've got time for in this episode, but I've found a great place to sit and relax, and enjoy the end of the day.

It's been a great trip getting to explore some of the prehistoric roots of the silver state, along with seeing what's new out here in the desert.

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

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

- [Announcer 1] 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 2] 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.

(bright music)