Are you into hot springs? Nevada has its' share! Just outside Gabbs is one identified only as "Pot Springs". To reach it, drive North from Gabbs on Hwy 361 about 3 miles. A narrow, very dusty road turns off to the left (West). It is unsigned and easy to miss and there are other roads in the general area. People are nice and will direct you if you hit the wrong road. Follow this dusty road past an abandoned windmill across a low pass and down into a desert valley--about 20 miles. Near the end of that distance the road crosses some intersecting tracks and forks. Take the left fork for approximately 2 miles to some visible, ramshackled buildings. The hulks of old, abandoned cars, including a VW Van lie about. As the road curves and approaches the site of the hot spring, "No Trespassing" signs spring up. If one chooses to ignore the signs and accept the risks involved thereby, one discovers an outdoor, concrete pool filled with warm, flowing water, but also filled with sheet metal and algae and other uninviting debris. Right next door is a building with no door and a sign saying: "Private-Enter at your own Risk". Inside is a cement pool ten feet long and five feet wide, benches, and mats on the floor. The water is pleasantly warm and slightly sulphurous. It is so-o-o refreshing after a hard day of climbing and sweating and seems to have some sort of therapeutic value to restore tired, aching muscles. This spring had a busy heyday, but fell into disuse when the mining in the area declined. More recently, an enterprising lady of easy virtue attempted to open a business of "pleasure" there, however, she was unable to make it pay and left. Spencer Pot Spring is located outside Austin, NV. Take US Hwy 50 East from Austin to Hwy 376 (Tonopah). Turn right and then almost immediately turn left onto a dirt road to Toquima Valley. Cross the barren, desert plain a few miles - 5 or 6 - and look for some roads leading off to the left, toward a large, low knoll a mile off the hwy. Drive over there and step at the first likely looking place---not at the house 3/4 mi further. A wooden "bathtub" large enough for one (two friendly) person is situated at the end of a shallow trench running from the grassy hot spring. There was formerly a large concrete pool there but the BLM filled it with dirt after losing an injury lawsuit. 5.1 miles South of the turn-off for Mt Jefferson lies the semi-abandoned former mining town of Belmont. 2,000 hardy souls lived and worked there during the l86O's and l870's. Belmont served briefly as the county seat of government for Nye County beginning in the early l870's and today is known for the well-designed courthouse built there. It is brick on a rock foundation. The old building is closed and locked UD. A sign outside says that it is being restored as a State Historical Monument, however Ron stated that it has been closed for a long time and no work whatever has been done. There is no electricity or phones in Belmont. About ten families live there in updated houses and mobile homes. 30 or 40 other buildings stand or lie about in various stages of decay and ruin. Just North of Belmont, within a radius of a couple of miles are the crumbling walls and stacks of the stamp mills and smelters used to extract millions in gold and silver from the earth. The next time you are in those areas, you may wish to stop and examine some of these interesting, pleasant and historical places.

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