Moving to Lovelock, NV (Paradise, Reno: motels, homes, landscaping)

[aligatorz]

Greatbasinguide, where DO you recommend? What is 20 miles east?

[greatbasinguide]

Grass Valley and Unionville, Unionville is a very cool inhabited ghost town. Beautiful Cottonwoods, and a fine creek through town. Drive out to the Pioneer Garden bed and breakfast. You can stay in the same building Mark Twain once stayed in.

[Tressa]

Originally Posted by C&J

Hi all - we've purchased a lot at the Humboldt River Ranch Assoc, in Lovelock, NV. Will be building a home there and intend to retire there in the next 5 yrs. Wondered what the Lovelock area is like? Is this area good for gardening (fruit trees, flowers, vegetables)? Since there is the Rye Patch Reservoir nearby, is it good for boating? What's the average rainfall like? I thought I read it gets maybe an inch a year - is this correct? What's the shopping like for groceries? Is a Costco in any of the major cities nearby? Any other info is greatly appreciated.
Regards from California - but Nevada-bound!
Judy

My husband and I spent 5 weeks on our 5 acres this past summer in Roucky Mountain Canyon just a few miles south of Humbolt River Ranch, it is in deed sage brush, sanding, dry and we experienced a constant breeze which was nice. What attracted us to the area was the mountain view along with 100% usable land and not to mention that lack of people was a great grabber to us. We plan to retire there in 2008 in which we plan to put in a modular home. We put in a shop there in 2006 and our only challenge that we found was the contractors, the main contractor is not that reliable. Quddos to you for being adventureous, like they all told me just add water and it will grow. Was also informed that area has a great aquafer so water shouldn't be an issue.

Do research the Humbolt CCR's from what I understand they are not very friendly to the homeowner unless they've changed them. I'm sure we will meet some day soon, good luck best wishes and rememember home is where the heart is and you can make lemon aide out of lemons if you chose.

[iriegirl]

I think you are very negative, greatbasinguide, and the others that have told
Tressa that she picked the wrong place to live.
what nerve ! Your remarks were hurtfull, and not at all helpfull.

You must think that you are awfully special to know so much.

[greatbasinguide]

Grass Valley and Unionville, Unionville is a very cool inhabited ghost town. Beautiful Cottonwoods, and a fine creek through town. Drive out to the Pioneer Garden bed and breakfast. You can stay in the same building Mark Twain once stayed in.

Negative?

Oh, I know, I should have been more sensitive, a house on ten thousand acres of Artemisia with nothing but a few scattered PJ's for nonshade, is actually something special , especially when you consider, you could be stuck in a quiet cabin in a grassy meadow along a stream side with a chuckling brook gurgling by, with an over arching stand of cottonwoods providing shade to your pied a terre,,,,,,, 20 miles away.

[greatbasinguide]

Rocky Canyon,, not Rocky Mountain Canyon, just below the Oreana mine, correct?

[iriegirl]

Grass Valley is 20 miles east of where?

[greatbasinguide]

This particular Grass Valley is 20 miles east of Humboldt Ranch Estates,, the sagebrush flats and alkalai soil ranchettes, mentioned. Humboldt Ranch Estates is another Bud Aldrich project, like Crescent Valley, Montello and a few other spurious operations.

If the poor immigrants had known of it they could have avoided the 40 mile desert and enormous suffering, the would have had water over through the cossover from the Humboldt to the Carson Rivers.

Quddos to you for being adventureous, like they all told me just add water and it will grow. Was also informed that area has a great aquafer so water shouldn't be an issue.

A couple of things to know. If you are curious as to the fertility of the soil, look at the sagebrush, there is big sage and little sage. If your property has sage four feet high or greater, up to six feet and more, you have fertile ground. If your sage is less than 4 feet, your soil is not fertile.

Being told "just add water and it will grow" was an old saw used to seduce homesteaders onto just plain awful ground all over the west, it is an old saw that goes along with "rain follows the plow".

You can find out if there is an aquifer, geologic maps will tell you that. There is a reason why the west side of the Humboldts is largely sage and the east side is largely grass. It is the east side that has the good aquifer.

[greatbasinguide]

A couple more notes,, Iriegirl sort of got my ire up. Her response did not deal with the realities, but was an emotional response.
1.Nevada has a terrrible climate by most standards, hot summers, cold winters, some folk like that, some don't.
2. There are nice places in Nevada, most of those have been lived in or near for a long time.
3. Generally if there is water, the land is in alfalfa, if there isn't water, it isn't. There is no alfalfa along the Humboldt ranch estates land that I recollect.
4. There are two large open pit mines nearly within rifle shot of the subdivision.
5. Bud Aldrich is a developer famous for taking land no one wanted and creating subdivisions marketed with incredibly easy terms, $99.00 down and $99.00 per month!
6. If you want to live in Nevada you should spend a week in December on your land and a week in August on your land.
7. It is a fact that a few miles north of the Ranch estates my truck thermometer registered a temp of 127 degrees.
8. There is no shade.
9. Am I special? No, I am Greatbasinguide, for years I have led trips in Nevada, llama packing, mountain biking, truck. I know many parts of the state better than most.
10. We own land in various parts of the state.
11. My wife's father was a surveyor out of Elko, what I don't know, she does.
12. Nevada is full of abandoned homesteads, mobilehomes and dreams.
13. Never depend on what someone tells you about the aquifer, research and check.
14. greatbasinguide.com

[olecapt]

Be careful on the availability of water....particularly past that required for a single dwelling. Nevada is NOT a riparian state and water does NOT run with the land.

There is a clause that allows anyone a well of up to 2.1 AF for domestic usage. Any usage past that however requires a well permit. There are few arable land areas left in Nevada where such a permit is available. The only alternative will be to buy water rights...which range from cheap to very expensive. Basically they are likely priced at a level that makes the prevailing agriculture almost work.

I would not get near any of these without a local agent who has done a lot of work with land. I would not get near a developer without separate knowledgable representation...even I have to pay him or her.

As Greatbasinguide points out...Nevada is filled with broken dreams...