AMAZING Hot Creek Spring In NEVADA!!! Complete with a free Campground ⛺️

Not what you would expect in the middle of nowhere Nevada. Wow, it's gorgeous. That's the first snake of the year, right? Yep, which Rudolph almost stepped on. I'm standing right on the dam of this reservoir right now. It's huge. Have I said it yet? How amazing this is? And I swear the fish are following me under the water. We are Dave, Karen, and Rudolph. In 2018, we set out to explore one adventure at a time. Join us as we continue our journey to find the best free camping. This is great. I love it. What comes to mind when you think of Nevada? Most people would say Reno, Lake Tahoe, and the bright lights of Las Vegas. All true. But did you know that Nevada is the seventh largest state by size in the United States and has 48 million acres or 63 percent of the state is public land ready to explore. Nevada is also the driest state in the nation and has some of the most extreme desolate landscapes. After all, the state flower is sagebrush. The summers are hot and the winters are cold. But if you plan your trip accordingly, Nevada has some amazing hidden gems to discover. And we are happy to show you one of those today. All right, so we're on a gravel road here and it's extremely dusty. One of the questions we get asked from other ProMaster owners is how do we keep the dust from circling in through the back doors and just coating everything inside the van? Well, we don't. I mean, the back underneath the bed is pretty dusty, but we do have a trick. We do have something that helps. So we shut all the windows in the van and then we just turn the fan on full blast and it creates enough pressure inside that it pushes that. It keeps that dust from coming in the back doors, which never seem to seal properly. So it helps out big time. Helps out, yeah. Sorry about all the noises and rattles. When we're on these dirt roads, everything rattles. And this is pretty common when we're using Google Maps is it will have a shortcut or take us on a gravel road and we'll be on it for what, 20 miles sometimes. But we like those shortcuts. We like those kind of shortcuts. Yeah, I'm taking that one up by that one tree on the end. Okay. Rudolph has been in the van for almost three hours. He is ready to get out and run around, play ball. Today we are in Nevada, 76 miles south of Ely. And we came in on highway 318 and then took a gravel road about seven miles off the pavement. I have tried to find the name of that road, but there is no listing on Google Maps. So this campground is called Dave Deacon and is formerly known as Hot Creek Campground. So it will still come up on that if you look on Google Maps. But there is something extra special about this area. And we're going to be exploring it in the next couple of days and taking you along with us. I just hope it's as nice as I've seen. Also, this is extremely remote. The nearest town and gas station is far away. And we'll have all the details on that toward the end of the video. But I'm really happy so far. I can't wait to walk around and explore and show it off. Does it have water? It looks like the ground's wet, so that's good. Oh yeah, we're in business. Wow, that's so cool. I wouldn't expect any kind of water services way out here in the middle of nowhere. There are somewhere between 18 and 20 campsites here. Currently there is only looks like three of us camping in the entire campground. But this spot with the trees here and the trees are rare. You can see this group of trees from at least two or three miles away. Because they are the only trees in this area. But this would be a nice group spot or a large family to camp in. So we didn't take it. But just very sweet right in here amongst the trees and the shade. With all kinds of birds hanging out. Most of the spots here have a covered shade area and a picnic table. And then some type of grill to cook on. Just a really nice campground. Especially when you think about the price being free. With water. I mean that's just crazy. Especially out here in Nevada. Middle of nowhere Nevada. We've got our own tree which is kind of rare for this area. Because if you look up in the distance you will not see any trees. Except for in this campground. We got water, Kari. Oh, that's awesome. And I think we have a little bit of cell reception. So if it works. This is our home for two weeks. We are on our first hike to get the first peak at Hot Creek. Yeah, so the sign says it's only a mile away. So that's a pretty easy walk. And Hot Creek could be Warm Creek. I heard it's a warm water spring. So we'll see how warm it is. And Rudel. Rudel's out for his favorite activity. Walking. Second favorite activity. That's true. We've already seen a snake today. That's the first snake of the year, right? Yep, which Rudel almost stepped on. And we don't think it's a rattlesnake. But still, they're out. So he remains on a leash. It's actually pretty nice that they did a campground. A mile away. And then no camping here so that everybody can enjoy it. I agree. Come on, Rudel. Speckled rattlesnake. Western diamondback. Western rattlesnake. The imposter, which is a gopher snake. I think that's what I saw was a gopher snake. The imposter? Yeah. So just two kinds of rattlesnakes? Three. Good morning. Have you been in yet? No. It's probably high 80s. It's really nice. Oh, awesome. Careful. That brown part of the rocks is algae. Super duper slippery on your way in. So there's like a good climb out spot over there. But it's real nice. So enjoy. Thank you. Look how pretty it is. That's awesome. Not what you would expect in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. Wow, it's gorgeous. Come on. You can get in. Come on. You can get in, Rudolph. Come here. Come on. Good boy. Come on. Good boy. Hi, Rudolph. Most of the hot springs we go to, dogs cannot go in or should not go in. They just can't regulate the heat of a hot spring. But this one is perfect. The water temperature is somewhere between 80 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. And it's absolutely beautiful. This giant pool here. And then there's a little current in the narrows area. A strong current. A strong current, Carrie says. And Rudolph cannot get up on those rocks, I don't think. Because they're very slippery. Oh, he's going to prove us wrong. Look at that. Good job, boy. And then there's another large pool above it that's a little bit shallower. But the water's all about the same temperature. It's like a lazy river float. That's nice. This is pretty nice when you're camping. Yes, it is. It's pretty nice if you're not camping. It's just nice. Just a nice place to be. We're going up the creek just to see if there's any more pools or the water gets any warmer. I mean, not that that water temperature was bad, but just out of curiosity. Yeah, it feels like we're walking up a marsh. There is a huge crater in the middle of this pool and it looks deep. I'm not sure. Awesome. It's awesome. I'm not sure if this is the, you know, the actual spring where all the hot water's coming from or not. But it sure looks like it. I wonder how hot it is. Yeah, let's see how hot this water is. See if it's warmer than it was downstream. It is warmer. Yeah, I'd say a good five degrees warmer. This is Hot Creek, about 200 yards down from the popular swimming area. And it's pretty cool. It divides into two different rivers here. And this is one of them. And it feeds two different reservoirs. So this one goes down this direction. And the other one goes down over here. So this spring, I mean, it's just pumping out the water. And it's pretty impressive that there's enough water to, you know, fill up two different large reservoirs. And here's the other one. And they both go down there. One goes to the left and this one goes to the right. And this one's got even more water going into it than the other one. I just think that's pretty cool. From just a short little small creek that happens to be warm. And by the time it gets down here, it's already, I'd say, at least five or ten degrees cooler than the swimming area. And I'm sure by the time it gets to the reservoir that it's just regular temperature water. Rudolph and I are off for another walk. That's one really cool thing about this campground is that there are roads leading every different direction. And it seems like there's some cool stuff that are only a mile or less away. So we're going to go check out another location. This time I think we're going to see if we can make it to the wildlife refuge. So I'm hoping this road is leading down to Kirch Wildlife Management Area. And which is a reservoir down here. That looks like it's about a mile away. Maybe a little bit further. But we'll see what we find. And Rudolph, he's in slow motion. He doesn't like the heat very much. It's not super hot out here. It might be about 80 degrees. But he's like I am. We just don't do well in heat. But hopefully we'll get him down to the water. He'll get a chance to jump in and cool off. These roads are super remote. I mean there's just no cars on any of them. I haven't seen a car yet. Come on Rudolph. Perfect big trail to hike on. All right we made it to the reservoir here. And that's pretty cool. There's trout in here. You can catch them all year. The limit's one. There also is said to be bass in here. But you cannot keep any of them until July 1st I believe. And then later on in the year you can't keep any bass. But this area is really amazing to me just because it's so dry. This is high desert climate that it just doesn't see very much rain in this area. And yet there's two big old giant reservoirs in the middle of this valley. Fed by these springs year round. There's a little boat launch there. This is just odd. That there's no, not one single person here enjoying this. Oh these are really colorful birds up here. I'm standing right on the dam of this reservoir right now. It's huge. It did not look this big on the map. There is a lot of water in here. This is the reservoir that Hot Creek empties into. The one that has the warm springs that we were swimming in. And then it goes down. Oh Rudolph's liking it. Good boy. It goes down about a half mile or so. And empties into what looks like an even bigger reservoir. There's just a lot of water in this area. It's very impressive. When I start looking around it doesn't take long to see shotgun shells. Rudolph's checking it out. Just about everywhere I look. I mean you start paying attention and the shotgun shells are everywhere. So that tells me this is a popular duck hunting spot. All right. Rudolph and I are pretty much done. I think we're gonna head back to camp. This is a really great opportunity for us to put in some miles and to get in shape. Plus we can hike all we want. And then don't have to worry about getting hot and sweaty. Because we have a hot spring to soak in right next to us. Looks like the campers are starting to trickle out. And as much as we love meeting people. Sometimes we are happy to see them go. And that is the case of this generator owner. Dave is right down here picking up trash. And this is the first time I've heard the birds in three days. We did meet a couple of subscribers. That was really cool. We're not used to all this commotion and noise though. Here's the big bag. That's what I need. I'm filling these little bags up real quick. It seems like the garbage picking up is always worse after a holiday weekend. Bag number two. There's more to pick up. I'm gonna pick it up later. Okay. So you've been picking up trash for how many years now? Four years now. What is something you find all the time? Okay. The two biggest items that I find all the time are plastic water bottles. So they seem to be everywhere. They don't break down for I don't know how many years. And the plastic bags you get at the shopping market for food and whatever. The grocery bags? We find those everywhere. You stop. Where's your ball? Where's your ball at? Okay. So what's the oddest thing you've found? For whatever reason, I find socks everywhere we go. Like today I found four socks. Matching pairs or just singles? Just always singles. There's some disregard for socks. I don't know what it is. But always pick them up with a glove because you don't know where they've been. Where did you find beer? So first of all, the whole trash thing turned out to be awesome. When we got to this campground, a guy named Scott was picking up all the trash. And then we did our part and picked up some. And at the very end, a guy that's a retired Navy veteran came by. He saw us picking up the trash and he asked if he could take it all with him as he left. So a real combined effort. It was a great experience. And he also gave us some food and some beer. You got paid to pick up the trash. So thank you, Tim. We really appreciate your help and the beer and food. Thank you. We are up fairly early for us at least. There is a... Well, there's five reservoirs here all in a row. But there's two that are really close. We're going to go to the closest ones called Dacey. And there's no motorboats allowed on this lake. So this is the perfect kayaking lake. Yep. And we've been seeing lots of boats in and out of this campground for the last few days. And they're coming back with all kinds of fish. So we want to go check it out. Rumor is the water is clear. So they said take my underwater camera with me. Oh, cool. So that's where we're heading this morning. All right. One of these days we will get a bigger kayak where Rudolph can fit on it. It's all right, boy. The babies are just starting to hatch. They are so tiny. Mama's keeping them protected in the reeds. Another week, there will be babies everywhere. Have I said it yet? How amazing this is. I can't focus. There's so many birds. And I swear the fish are following me under the water. I have a whole school of bass. They just keep following me. There are so many birds on this reservoir. I have my own school of bass following me. Like dolphins. My favorite thing about this area is easy. It's the warm spring at about 85 degrees. Crystal clear water. And just that tint of blue. That is pretty nice. There are a lot of favorite things about this area. There is. The warm spring for sure. But Dacey Reservoir, if you're a bird lover. Or a fisherman. Or a fisherman, you will go crazy. And there are five reservoirs here. And we only checked out one of them. Yeah. All right. So what do you need to know? Bring all of your toys. Yeah. Bring your motorcycle. Your mountain bike. Your fishing poles. Your kayak. Yep. Your swimming trunks. Bring everything. Yeah. This is an excellent place. I mean this campground is free. It has drinkable water. It has a dump station. It's got shaded areas. Picnic tables. Three pit toilets. Yep. Grills to cook on. It's just. And it's pretty cool. Because it's a mile away from the warm spring. And also a mile away from that reservoir that we were at. Yeah. So it's a perfect location. So it leaves those areas uncrowded. Yes. Absolutely. Now any car can get here. Any car. Any vehicle. Any size rig at all. Yes. So I guess you should probably know it's usually quite windy here. So come prepared to stake down your tents. Stake down all your items. And possibly not put your awnings out. Yeah. I would say if you're going to be coming in the summer. July or August. It gets very hot here. So it could be 100 to 110 degrees. So personally I would skip those two months. That's just too hot for me. Yes. Absolutely. And what else? What's the nearest gas station? So the nearest gas station is in the small town of Lund. And I believe that's 39 or 40 miles away. But that's not on Google Maps. The nearest one on Google Maps is at least 50 miles away. So we arrived with a half a tank of gas. Because we took the roundabout way. And we thought we were going to hit a gas station before we got here. So we didn't do much exploring. Because we had to conserve. Yeah. You're going to want to fill your tank up before you come here. You're going to want to buy lots of groceries. As far as I can tell the nearest grocery store is 76 miles away. That's Ely? In Ely. Yeah. Okay. So for cell reception Verizon I'm getting between three and four bars of LTE. For our T-Mobile hotspot we're getting one bar of 4G. Yeah. And it is working. It's just a little bit slow. Yeah. But it is working. It's doing the basic job. That's about it. So this area is very dog friendly. Rudolph loves it here. We do have to watch out for snakes because this is rattlesnake country. We didn't see any while we were here. We did see a few snakes but no rattlesnakes. We saw three gopher snakes or you might call them bull snakes. They were just minding their own business going on their way. Rudolph almost stepped on one. He dropped the ball to play with it before I saw it. And about gave me a heart attack. Because they do... When you first see them you think it's a rattlesnake. So be aware of that. This is just a great spot to come even if you have a small group or something. Because there's so much for everyone to do. I mean you can go fishing or you could go to the warm spring. Or just go hiking on some of these back roads. There's just a lot to do. I highly recommend it. There are roads everywhere. So if you have a side-by-side or a motorcycle. The possibilities are endless of what you can do here. Yep. Definitely bring your fishing license. Yes. Okay so we did mention this is in the middle of nowhere Nevada. It gets very cold in the winter and it gets very hot in the summer. So we just want to make sure that you are aware of that. Yeah this is high desert. It's at 5,000 feet. So some of the locals are saying even though it gets hot in the summertime months. That it still cools off fairly nicely in the evenings because of the altitude. Absolutely. And we had a storm come through where the overnight temps were 39 degrees. And all these mountains around us were snow kissed. We almost got snowed on at the end of May. One last thing. The sky gazing is phenomenal. It's not so great for photography because we are in direct route of a couple of major airports. It must be San Francisco and Chicago. We're guessing because there are planes all the time. Yeah there are. All right. I think that about covers it. We just really enjoyed our stay here. This is a place that we would definitely come back to. And we hope you get a chance to come here and visit it for yourself. And we want to say a special thank you for those of you who helped us pick up trash. And for some of our subscribers that met us here and treated us to steak. That was really awesome. That was a treat. We hope you enjoyed the video and we will see you next week. If you would like to support our channel please consider becoming a patron. Or check out our new merchandise at oneadventureatatime.com. We also have stickers available in our website store. Thank you for watching.