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Elvis: The Vegas Years
Elvis Presley, who would have turned 60 in 1995, once reigned in Las Vegas. Some say he still does. BY MIKE WEATHERFORD | January/February 1995 But on opening night Elvis went down “like a jug of corn liquor at a champagne party,” according to Newsweek.When Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut in 1956, the 21-year-old […]
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Classic Cars and Comedy
Jay Leno talks about Nevada moments and his passion for cars. BY ANN HENDERSON | JULY/AUGUST 2007 Jay Leno’s monologues have been part of our social fabric since 1992, the year the square-jawed comedian replaced Johnny Carson as The Tonight Show host. The 57-year-old Leno has a contract with NBC through 2009. He performs in Nevada […]
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Q&A with Don and Carol Shanks
The rural Nevada activists haven’t learned to say, “No.” BY ANN HENDERSON | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 Extended Online Version Don and Carol Shanks of Pioche describe themselves as “gross underachievers.” Hardly. The couple is submerged in activities, projects, and committees that promote their rural economy. They are involved with the Pioche and Greater Lincoln County chambers […]
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Eagles and Agriculture
Birders gather in Carson Valley to watch and photograph raptors. BY JOYCE HOLLISTER Even an experienced birder is thrilled at the sight of several bald eagles sitting on a fence. Fixing you with piercing eyes, the big white-headed, black birds seem to be asking, “Whatcha looking at me for?” The eagles are the biggest […]
From the Ashes
Newly renovated Piper’s Opera House has been reborn more than once through the years. BY CHIC DIFRANCIA | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 Virginia City’s Piper’s Opera House has stood as a monument to Comstock entertainment for almost 150 years. Even after withstanding two disastrous fires and suffering through financially tough times when the Virginia City mines ceased operation more […]
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Just Fondue It
Follow a day of winter play with this stomach-warming Swiss comfort food. BY MELISSA SIIG | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 Whenever the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski team performs well at a competition, its members get a special treat—cheese fondue melted on the spot by Tahoe Swiss Chalet owner Peter Baumann. Baumann’s 16-year old son, Erich, a junior at South Tahoe High School, […]
Nevada’s Goodwill Moon Rock
What happened to the Silver State’s gift from President Nixon and the Apollo 17 astronauts? BY EVAN SCHWARTZ | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 When I was younger, I was fascinated with the idea of exploring outer space. Like many children of my generation I dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Granted, my goals and objectives have changed since […]
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Celebrating Jack Johnson
The first black heavyweight champion’s 1910 defeat of James Jeffries in Reno comes full circle this July. BY SHANE BORROWMAN | MAY/JUNE 2010 On July 4, 1910, Jack Johnson, who two years earlier became the first black boxer to hold the heavyweight title, beat former champion and white opponent James Jeffries in Reno. Although lesser […]
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‘Lonely’ Perspectives: 5 Trips Across Highway 50
By auto, bicycle, foot, horseback, motorcycle—no matter how you choose to cross it—U.S. Highway 50 and central Nevada are food for the soul. (This story originally appeared in the March/April 2011 issue) CYCLING BY HUGH QUALLS DAY 1 A little more than 400 miles, 12 summit passes, and six days to do it. I would make it […]
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Prehistoric Storage (VIDEO)
Nevada’s ancient caves contain a “hole” lot of Native American history. BY CHARLIE JOHNSTON | JULY/AUGUST 2011 When ancient Lake Lahontan was at its peak, it filled the lower valleys of northwestern Nevada to depths of up to 900 feet and had a surface area of more than 8,500 square miles. The enormous lake’s waves […]
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Parks and Recreation
Fourteen diverse, scenic places to take the family in Nevada Silver Trails territory. BY CHARLIE JOHNSTON | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 Photo: Charlie Johnston (Death Valley National Park’s Badwater Basin) Nevada’s largest territory, the vast south-central swath of land known as Silver Trails, is a symphony in isolated grandeur. From the flood-carved walls of Cathedral Gorge […]
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Ferris and His Big Wheel
The idea for this American icon could have been born on the banks of the Carson River. BY ERIC BRYAN | March/April 2012 George Ferris Sr. had an important impact on the development of Carson City. A former dairy farmer and expert in horticulture and agriculture, he was greatly involved in the beautification of […]
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Mazuma Wiped Out
100 years ago, a devastating flood dealt this small northwestern Nevada mining camp its deathblow. BY MATTHEW B. BROWN | JULY/AUGUST 2012 Just prior to 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 18, 1912, Ed Kalenbauch and Ellsworth Bennett watched a cluster of ominous thunderheads hover over Granite Peak from the door of Kalenbauch’s office at Seven […]
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Nevada’s Lost City
New Images of America book uses vintage photographs to tell the Ancestral Puebloans’ story. BY DENA M. SEDAR | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 Following are excerpts from the recently released publication, Nevada’s Lost City. Nevada’s Lost City is both scientific and romantic. Buried beneath the sands of the Mojave Desert was information that archaeologists used to define […]