Grimes Point and Hidden Cave, Nevada

There are certain destinations that just must be seen to appreciate. If you have any interest in the American west or Native American culture, then arranging for a visit to Grimes Point and Hidden Cave in the Nevada desert, only an hour from Reno, is a must. The cave tour requires visitors to meet at the Churchill County Museum in Fallon, Nevada for a free video of the discovery, and then a trip to the cave. The cave was discovered back in the 1920s, but excavation by archaeologists wasn't started until the 1940s and then again in 1950. Additional work was done between 1979 and 1980.

Hidden Cave had been used by numerous groups of Native Americans for thousands of years. It was a cache cave and used as a storage area for fishing gear and projectile points. The local tribes traveled from area to area depending on the season and availability of food sources. Therefore, they needed to stash their supplies somewhere while they traveled around. They wanted to leave their goods in a location where they could visit over and over again.

Over the years, the excavations have yielded a significant amount of cordage, stone tools and fishing implements. The artifacts were buried under a series of deep layers of blown sediment and bat guano. The bats that lived in the cave had hidden the fact that it had once been a site where the Native Americans stored their tools.

During the tour, visitors can see the actual areas where the artifacts were found within the stratigraphy. Archaeologists have left the site with labels so that it's like a little museum all of its own. The labels tell the different age where various artifacts were found. There's even a distinct layer of white volcanic ash from an eruption in the Cascade mountains. When archaeologists find a stratigraphic layer of a geologic event, it makes dating the site much easier.

Grimes Point is the area directly around Hidden Cave. It's a self-guided trail that goes around a series of petroglyphs. Petroglyphs are pictures that have been pecked into boulders by shamans or other native people. The petroglyphs contain images of animals, people and geometric designs and many are thought to be thousands of years old. Interpretive signage gives the background history of the area and the inhabitants. Like the tour of Hidden Cave, Grimes Point is also free. There's a parking area and the walk is easy, although the terrain is slightly hilly.

Many of the artifacts that have been found inside Hidden Cave are on display at the Churchill County Museum. The museum also has a number of good books about the local culture, as well as gifts and local objects made by the present Paiute Indians. The Hidden Cave tours are given on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. Visitors should arrive at the museum by 9:30 in the morning where they were meet with the Bureau of Land Management tour guide.