Fly Ranch: Difference between revisions

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<strong>UPDATE:</strong> May 2011: Friends of Black Rock is able to offer [http://blackrockdesert.org/friends/events/2011/may-28-29/fly-geyser-tours tours of the geyser] during the annual [http://blackrockdesert.org/blackrockrendezvous/ Black Rock Rendezvous]<br/>
Fly Ranch is located off [[Highway 34]], north of [[Gerlach]].   [[Fly Geyser]] is located on the ranch.


<strong>UPDATE:</strong> Sept 2010: Please see their website [http://gotgeysers.com gotgeysers.com]
Fly Geyser has attracted a substantial amount of interest since it developed from a leaking geothermal well into a striking colorful spouting statue, sitting on a dais of mud amidst ponds of warm water and thriving plants. The property is generally off limits to visitors because of liability and vandalism concerns.
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The Fly Ranch was first homesteaded in the late 1800s by Fred Gerlach, son of Louis, for whom the town of Gerlach was named. Later it was a part of the John Casey estate, until it was sold to Todd [http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_jxw794 Jaksick] (Bright Holland Corporation) in 1998. The feature known as "Fly Geyser" has attracted a substantial amount of interest since it developed from a leaking geothermal well into a striking colorful spouting statue, sitting on a dais of mud amidst ponds of warm water and thriving plants. The property is generally off limits to visitors because of liability and vandalism concerns.
The [http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/s/5bd142 1881 Gibbs map of California and Nevada] indicates a ranch named "Wards" is in the vicinity. Fly Geyser is referred to as Ward's Hot Springs in an 1886 geology report.  Presumably, Wards refers to the Ward brothers, who sold to [[Louis Gerlach]] who formed the [[Gerlach Land and Livestock Company]].


The Fly Ranch was first homesteaded in the late 1800s by Fred Gerlach, son of [[Louis Gerlach]], for whom the town of Gerlach was named. Later it was a part of the John Casey estate


At some point, John Casey offered to sell Fly Geyser to the BLM for $1.5 million<ref name="DeLong">Jeff DeLong, "Wonder Caused by Humans, Enhanced by Nature," Reno Gazette Journal, November 19, 2001</ref>.


<table>
After Casey's death, the ranch was sold to Todd Jaksick ([[Bright Holland Corporation]]) in 1998.  
<tr>
<td> [[Image:Fly_Geyser_1th.JPG]] </td>
<td> &nbsp; </td>
<td> [[Image:mini_geyser_th.JPG]] </td>
<td> &nbsp; </td>
<td> [[Image:mini_geyser_closeup_th.JPG]] </td>
</tr>
</table>


In 2001, the BLM was interested in purchasing [[Fly Ranch]] from Todd Jaksick<ref name="DeLong"/>.


== Images ==
== References ==
* [http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/3D135063EE5 online Fly Geyser Jigsaw Puzzlele]
<references/>
 
* [https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/summary/850015 GNIS]
* [[March 24, 2007 Fly Ranch tour photos]]
* San Francisco Chronicle, "Passing of Last Pony Expressman." (Obituary of [[Louis Dean]]), March 30, 1913, p. 28.  Louis Dean, [[Louis Gerlach]] and Henry Flak bought the Ward Brother's Cattle Outfit in 1884.  The purchase included water rights from [[Pyramid Lake]] to the Oregon border. Louis Dean was not the last Pony Expressman, see Christopher Corbett, "[http://books.google.com/books?id=vkhIaLf3VsgC&pg=PT230&lpg=PT230&dq=%22Louis+Dean%22+nevada+pony+express&source=bl&ots=gBPjp5m1MI&sig=lNQPd0Jihb_KKfHR8LCtHPZjfaE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zcCXUa_rI8mrigKgnIGYBQ&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express]."
 
* [[Sessions S. Wheeler]], "[http://books.google.com/books?id=gBYUBc-O4OgC&lpg=PA157&dq=%22Fly%20Ranch%22%201916&pg=PA157#v=onepage&q=%22Fly%20Ranch%22%201916&f=false The Black Rock Desert]," p. 157. Fred Gerlach homesteaded Fly Ranch.
* [[November 2001 Reno Gazette Journal article]]
* Albert Charles Peale, "[http://books.google.com/books?id=xKYPAAAAIAAJ&dq=ward's%20hot%20springs&pg=PA201#v=onepage&q=ward's%20hot%20springs&f=false Lists and Analyses of the Mineral Springs of the United States (A Preliminary Study)]," p. 200, 1886.  "Ward's Hot Springs, foot of Granite Mountains, Humboldt County."  Includes brief chemical analysis. (Fly Ranch is in what is known today as Washoe County. Note that Pershing County was formed from Humboldt County in 1919).  
 
[[Category:GNIS]]
* [http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/wallpaper/blackrockgeysermineral.html http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/wallpaper/blackrockgeysermineral.html]
[[Category:Hot springs]]
 
[[Category:Ranches]]
* [http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/gallery/image/6448-fly-geyser/ Some older photos]
 
* [http://www.scenicnevada.org/last/black_rock.html Nevada's Last Chance Scenic Places]
 
* [http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/natures_best_2007/gallery/flygeyser.html Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: photography, "Nature's Best" Landscape Winner]
 
* [http://www.onlinenevada.org/media/?id=179 Virtual Reality view one]
 
* [http://www.onlinenevada.org/media/?id=837 Virtual Reality view two]
 
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Gerlach,+NV,+United+States+of+America&ie=UTF8&ll=40.85933,-119.330492&spn=0.023986,0.034933&t=h&z=15 Google Map]
 
* http://www.uga.edu/srel/Nevada_Hot_Springs/travel-4-2004.htm
 
* http://blog.visitrenotahoe.com/2006/06/14/fly-geyser-one-of-nevadas-little-surprises/
 
* http://planetoddity.com/a-geyser-not-like-any-other-geyser/
 
* http://www.kuriositas.com/2010/12/fly-geyser-not-quite-of-this-world.html
 
* http://www.pixelchrome.com/blog/?p=5369
 
* http://www.wonders-world.com/2011/02/fly-geyser-in-black-rock-desert.html
 
== Geology ==
* [http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/slides/slides.php?f=geothermal Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology]
 
* [http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/geothermal/site.php?sid=Fly%20Ranch Fly Ranch section] of Larry J. Garside, John Harold Schilling, Mackay School of Mines, "Thermal waters of Nevada," Volume 91 of Bulletin (Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology)
** [http://web.archive.org/web/20050117151751/http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/geothermal/photos/Thumb2.jpg Archive.org copy of The Thumb, north of Fly Ranch Geyser, formed from the discharge of a 1916 well.]
** [http://web.archive.org/web/20040109051436/http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/geothermal/pix.php?id=FlyGeyserWell Archive.org copy of Larry Garside at The Thumb, which is a travertine deposit developed over Geyser Well, a water well drilled in 1916 near Ward's Hot Springs (FlyRanch), Washoe County. Photo by Patricia Garside. about 1970]
** [http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/b91/Washoe.pdf Washoe chapter] of "Thermal waters of Nevada"
 
* http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/slides/slides.php?f=geothermal
 
* http://ndep.nv.gov/docs_04/fly_ranch081508.pdf Public Notice, Authorization to Apply Portable Toilet Fluid (Permit) [[TNEV2005482]] TNEV2005482 for the land application of portable toilet and holding tank fluids at the Fly Ranch, Liquid Waste Management, L.L.C
 
* [https://knowledgecenter.unr.edu/materials/specoll/photodesc.aspx?AccNo=UNRS-P1988-55 UNR Carpenter Collection Description "1095 Reservoir fountain twenty-four miles north of Gerlach."]

Latest revision as of 12:32, 8 August 2022

Fly Ranch is located off Highway 34, north of Gerlach. Fly Geyser is located on the ranch.

Fly Geyser has attracted a substantial amount of interest since it developed from a leaking geothermal well into a striking colorful spouting statue, sitting on a dais of mud amidst ponds of warm water and thriving plants. The property is generally off limits to visitors because of liability and vandalism concerns.

The 1881 Gibbs map of California and Nevada indicates a ranch named "Wards" is in the vicinity. Fly Geyser is referred to as Ward's Hot Springs in an 1886 geology report. Presumably, Wards refers to the Ward brothers, who sold to Louis Gerlach who formed the Gerlach Land and Livestock Company.

The Fly Ranch was first homesteaded in the late 1800s by Fred Gerlach, son of Louis Gerlach, for whom the town of Gerlach was named. Later it was a part of the John Casey estate

At some point, John Casey offered to sell Fly Geyser to the BLM for $1.5 million[1].

After Casey's death, the ranch was sold to Todd Jaksick (Bright Holland Corporation) in 1998.

In 2001, the BLM was interested in purchasing Fly Ranch from Todd Jaksick[1].

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Jeff DeLong, "Wonder Caused by Humans, Enhanced by Nature," Reno Gazette Journal, November 19, 2001