Thanks to Google, some amazing sights of Nevada that have only been seen by a few are now ready for all to see. The Google Street View Trekker, a 4-foot tall, 42-pound spherical contraption, just came back from being carried hundreds of miles along Nevada's undocumented, rarely traveled land. The Street View Trekker has a look only its inventor could love. Sydney Martinez with The Nevada Commission on Tourism called it, “A gargantuan martian machine on my back."
Ok, so it's not the sleekest piece of high tech. But while it lacks in looks, inside are 15 cameras capturing a 360-degree view, taking high definition images every 2 seconds. It’s the digital tool for exploring the huge world we live in. And exploring the state is a huge job in itself. As Nevada Commission on Tourism director Claudia Vecchio said, "The Trekker is a true instrument of discovery."
Like many of us, Claudia has been out to see the vast, barren, wide open stretches of land that make up our state. As she put it, "There's just a collection of wonders that I would be willing to bet Nevadans don't even know are there."
There's the 360-degree view of the International Car Forest in Goldfield Nevada. And Sand Mountain, right in our backyard in Churchill County. Sydney Martinez captured it all, as she walked the land with the Google Trekker on her back. As she says, "You know I've had this thing on...it’s a part of me now. 93 miles, pack on back, and around 2,500 miles around the state transporting it."
She trekked to the forgotten town of Belmont: "This is my favorite ghost town in the state. There are tremendous amounts of history, and the ruins are unbelievable." And Cathedral Gorge State Park near the town of Panaca: "People would be so surprised to see the slot canyons that await there. We walked way back in the slots as far as I could fit through!"
It can all be seen now on Google Maps....seen from all angles, in all directions. Altogether, unforgettable images. And for the locals, Sydney made for a pretty unforgettable image herself with the Google Trekker on her back: "It was quite a showstopper! I mean, you walk into the middle of Caliente, Nevada with that thing on, and everyone stops and stares at you."
But the images are almost as good as walking through the sagebrush yourself. Sydney told us, "Places like this exist, and they shouldn't be afraid of it. There's a lot that begs to be explored in Nevada."
And tourism director Claudia Vecchio thinks that the more folks see it all, the more they'll want to visit: "You know they say a picture's worth a thousand words. And in this case it's probably worth a million words."
As for Google's take, they're proud of the visual content they've gathered for so many stunning destinations around the planet, enabling folks to be able to experience…what they may never visit themselves. As Google engineer Steve Silverman told me, "We can share the world with each other. And I like how children all over the world, can see what other children all of the world get to see, in their backyards."
A window…that will make many want to get in a car or plane, and go.
You can have a virtual tour of Nevada's wide open spaces yourself. We have a link to the trekker images that were taken for Google Maps. Just click below…
