Hawthorne, NV

Death Valley, CA - Hawthorne NV
5/13/24

Miles Traveled      230
Trip Total            3666
Travel Time         4:30

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA

Leaving Death Valley we took Day Light Pass where we climbed 5500 feet in a little under 10 miles.  When we started this trip that seemed like a very steep mountain to climb, at this point it seems very easy.  The RV seems to handle it very well.   Depending on the grade of the hill we may slow down to 25mph but we just keep chugging along.  Other than some of the towns we went through there was not much to see, even then some of the towns, were not much more than a couple of streets.

Hawthorne is on the route from Death Valley to Reno, and just about at the five hour max we like to drive in a day.  Our stop for the nights was the Hawthorne Elks Lodge. The Elks Lodge in Hawthorne has 3 RV parking spots with electric.   They don't really have RV sites,  just a gravel parking lot, with electric.  While it is not much, it is cheap and a great location.

When we picked Hawthorne we did not expect there would be anything to do, so we were surprised to find out there was a Munition Museum in town.  What we found out that Hawthorne is the home of the Hawthorne Army Depot, a 226 square mile Ammunition Storage Facility. It is the largest ammo storage facility in the world, storing every type of conventional ammo we have.  In addition to ammo storage troops come to Hawthorne for desert warfare training. One of the most notable training sites in Hawthorne is the mock up off the village for the raid to eliminate Osama Bin Laden. Most recently they have been shipping 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine.  

The Hawthorne Ordnance Museum was very interesting and informative.  Almost all of the (inert) ammunition on display came from the depot. The museum had every type of munitions imaginable missiles, battleship main gun rounds, torpedoes and mines.  The tour was self guided, but the staff was very knowledgeable. 

The museum was staffed by three wonderful ladies, The founders wife, her 98 year old mother, and her sons mother-in-law.  We spent some time talking with them about the Depot and the town.  One of them lived on the same street in town her entire life.  She grew up on the 100 block of F Street, her husband grew up 300 block on F Street, and now they live on the 700 block.  She said her next stop is at the end of F Street.  That is where the cemetery is. 

After the museum we returned to the Elks where over pizza and drinks, we learned more about Hawthorne and the Depot.  The Depot is the largest employer in town, and the town is a very proud military supporter.  The Elks lodge is the original freight train depot dating back to 1881 and was acquired by the Elks in 1946.  The elks heads on display in the meeting hall were shot by members of the lodge.  

Leaving Hawthorne we are heading to Reno NV for two nights.