Pattern Energy's Spring Valley Wind Farm, Nevada

Pattern Energy’s Spring Valley Wind Farm, on BLM land at the intersection of US 50 and 93, is Nevada’s first wind-generated electricity production facility. The 152 MW facility comprises 66 2.3 MW Siemens turbines. It began commercial operation August 2012.

That’s pretty much all there is to tell. But I had to snap a photo. Not only is it a gorgeous location, but every time I see windmills on a ridge, a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, or any kind of alternative energy facility, it fills me with hope.

Politically, the USA is torn about our energy future and the future of our nation and the world under Global Warming. The Republican party as a whole rejects scientific consensus, which just boggles my mind. As the late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “You’re entitled to your own opinions. You’re not entitled to your own facts.”

Yet even while all this controversy continues, alternative energy is springing up all over the country. In my travels, I not only see the large facilities, but I see ranches and farms with their own alternative energy power. I see more suburban houses with photovoltaic panels on the roof. There is more and more of the right technology.

I don’t have the eagleeye view on whether this is enough to curb the worst outcomes of Global Warming, but it gives me hope. And it makes me proud to be an American.

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Death Valley Nut and Candy Co., Eddie World, Beatty, Nevada

Just how many kinds of candies and nuts are sold at Death Valley Nut and Candy Co., inside Eddie World, the mega-roadstop in Beatty, Nev.? That’s the question I asked the clerk (Melanie?) as I was checking out with my goods.

She looked at me with this “OMFG! You have got to be kidding me!?” kind of stare. Then she slowly answered, “I don’t really know. I can tell you this: When I do inventory every week, it’s a seven-page printout. Small type.”

But I needed a more scientific answer, so I did a proper sampling of the bins (counting, not tasting) , then extrapolated by the number of rows. My answer? 376.

“We have regular, salt-free, sugar-free, everything,” said the clerk. I can well believe it.

All goodies are sold in the same size bag, maybe a quart. (No buying a mouthful from the bulk bin.) And in those bags they have chocolate- and yogurt-covered confections, hard candies, gummies, nuts, dried fruit, and just about everything else you’d want in a snack. And that doesn’t even include your standard gas station candy and drink selection.

But wait! There’s more! Death Valley Nut and Candy Co. is just one part of Eddie World! In the same convenience store building, they have an ice cream counter, Jed’s Fresh Jerky (free samples!), and a Subway. They also sell toys and all your touristy books, postcards, and keepsakes. Sheetz, eat your heart out!

Across from the convenience store and gas pumps, Eddie World includes the Stagecoach Hotel and Casino, which also has a Denny’s inside. On the other side of the convenience store is a Motel 6. It’s just about everything you need from a small-town Nevada reststop – except a brothel.

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Mesquite Groves, Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, California

On the so-called “Death Valley” floor is the treasure that kept Timbisha Shoshone here for over a millennium – an oasis with honey mesquite groves.

Didn’t know that Native Americans lived in Death Valley and are still living here? Neither did I until I arrived a few days ago. They’ve managed to thrive in the harsh conditions and outlast mining companies and efforts by the U.S. government to kick them out for centuries. And it’s all because of their close relationship with the land.

"The Timbisha people have lived in our homeland forever and we will live here forever. We were taught that we don't end. We are part of our homeland and it is part of us. We are people of the land. We don't break away from what is part of us," wrote tribal elder and former Tribal Council Chairperson Pauline Esteves.

The practical root of that endurance has always been the Timbisha relationship to the mesquite groves.
Old-school anthropologists would probably have described the Timbisha as hunter-gatherers. But that is a weak understanding. They managed – and still manage – the honey mesquites as an orchard. To maintain their orchards, they pull out competing plants, coppice trees for lush foliage and renewable wood, prune dead branches, etc. As Charles C. Mann emphasized again and again in his wonderful book, "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus," Native Americans were far, far more technically sophisticated and “civilized” than Eurocentric mythology (née history) every allowed.

In olden times, the valley’s honey mesquite was the foundation of their diet and a valuable trade item. Today, it’s still a part of their diet and a source of pride. 

Unfortunately, competition for water from Death Valley National Park’s tourism facilities and introduced palm and tamarisk trees has threatened the groves. But a few years ago, the Timbisha started the Mesquite Traditional Use Pilot Project in cooperation with the National Park Service to compare mesquite health in traditional managed orchard plots vs. a control of unmanaged plots.

I’d like to find out how the project is going. If successful, Timbisha knowledge could be a windfall for permaculturists, gardeners, preppers, and others interested in using mesquite as a food source again. I mean, the Southwest is covered in mesquite, yet poor folks go hungry! In Texas, they call it “range weed”! I’m going to contact the tribe and see what I can learn.

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