Today we decided to bite the bullet and put even more miles on the ol’ RV then we did yesterday. Ordinarily we try and keep our daily mileage output to 150 miles. This allows us to see all the sites, take side trips if we want, and still be in camp by cocktail hour. But the thing is, there isn’t much between Carson City and Salt Lake City, Utah, that we haven’t explored a dozen times. So, as our book on DVD entitled “The Wright Brothers by David McCullough turned out to be excellent and quite enthralling, we decided to just keep riding along, learning a bit of history, and put some miles behind us. Total distance traveled: 230 Miles as the crow flies, which he can easily do in Nevada as there’s nothing open ground most of the time.
There are a couple of must see destinations in this portion of Nevada, both around Elko. The first is the Overland Trail Museum which you encounter just west of Elko. We’ve stopped there several times and it’s absolutely fabulous even if you’re not a trail buff or dedicated history aficionado. There are many “hands on” exhibits and superbly crafted dioramas that make it very easy to visualize our ancestors’ rugged and dangerous lives as they trekked two thousand miles across the prairies from the Missouri River to Oregon, California, or Utah. Speaking personally, my 3-times great grandfather was a Mormon wagon master who made two such trips, in 1847 and 1853, so I always love to stop and reacquaint myself with the museum's marvelous displays. AND, their western history book collection is extensive and always up to date.
Today we skipped the Trail Museum as the parking lot was empty and we decided it was probably not open. The second must-see is the Northeastern Nevada Museum which can be found on main street next to a large park on the east side of Elko. Though you might expect any museum in Elko, Nevada, to be a yawner, such is definitely not the case. We always try to stop when we come this way. The large adjacent park provides ample parking for an RV and is always an excellent choice for eating lunch, either in the rig or at a nearby picnic table.
The museum complex contains the traditional collection of display cases full of everything from geological samples to frontier guns to women’s fashions to, well, you name it. This is the oldest part of the museum. It even contains a print shop display full of real life printing equipment (photo right). Having spent nine years of my life as a printer you can guess that I always gravitate to this display. Completely on the other side of the museum is the new addition that contains the most incredible display of lifelike wild animals the taxidermists discipline can produce. Everything from African animals to just about any animal you’d likely see in the western states is present. Until I stood next to the Giraffe I had NO idea how incredibly tall those creatures can get. The museum’s giraffe must have stood a good twelve feet or even taller.
On the second floor, more or less above the wildlife exhibit, is the continuously changing gallery which tends to contain western art. Today’s changing exhibit was divided into four parts and boasted the western author and writer, Will James' collection of drawings and books, the Ansel Adams black and white photography exhibit, the Edward Weston black and white photography exhibit, and the Randy LaBarge western water color exhibit. I liked the water color exhibit the best, though all the art was outstanding.
In between the two wings is a very large space which contains everything from a small changing gallery where today we say some wonderful native American art by the renowned painter, Micqaela Jones, to a huge myriad of souvenirs. Also included in this area is everything from an artists' sales area, to a diorama of a large Mastodon and locally-dug two-million-year-old Mastodon bones. Especially interesting to us today was 1929 Ford pickup which sat quite close to the main entrance.
So, if you travel Interstate 80 anytime in the future don’t glue yourself to the blue highway, get off and take a look at these truly fascinating attractions. I guarantee you won’t be sorry.
Tonight we’re staying at the KOA in Wendover, a facility which is sort of bare-bones but which sports fairly level sites with fairly modern utilities. No cable TV. No internet unless you go sit in the registration lobby. But it’s seldom booked up and you can usually drop in without a reservation. Tomorrow we’ll be heading out across the salt flats on our way to Salt Lake City, which is about 122 miles away. From Salt Lake we’ll be dropping south along the Wasatch Range of Mountains with an eye toward ending up in southern Colorado next week. Until then, we hope to keep you informed and entertained as the Happy Wanderers travel the backroads of America. Cheers!
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