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The Loneliest Road in America
In July 1986, “Life” magazine used the term “The Loneliest Road in America” to describe the stretch of U.S. Route 50—more commonly known as Highway 50—from Fernley to Ely. AAA even advised against traveling the highway, claiming there was nothing to see. They noted that anyone crazy enough to make the journey should carry survival gear such as water and cold-weather clothes.
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Star Park
Nevadaʼs national park has many natural wonders. Its pristine caverns, bristlecone stands, and snow-capped peaks attract tens of thousands of visitors each year despite the parkʼs remote setting. Over the past decade, however, this quiet corner of the state has become famous for another—and increasingly rare—natural resource: its near-perfect night sky.
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Rural Wranglers: Elko
Founded in 1868, Elko began life as a station on the Union Pacific line. Thanks to its prime location near the railroad and the Humboldt River, the northeastern Nevada town became a busy community surrounded by a sprawl of farms and ranches.
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Find Your Flock
Six prime hotspots for watching feathered friends. Nevada’s vast landscape holds many secrets, not the least of which is its popularity with birds. While it may come as a surprise to some, the number of recorded bird species visiting, breeding, or living in the state is a whopping 488. Hundreds of thousands of birds following […]
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Creating a Home on the Range
There are a number of words I use sparingly in my writing, with unique landing very near the top of my list of over- and erroneously-used words. The very definition of unique after all, means something singular, the only one of its kind. For Basin and Range Cellars, however, I will bust out this word.
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Michael Branch: For the love of the Great Basin
Most of Nevada is part of the Great Basin Desert—a massive, dry expanse of parallel mountain ranges and deep valleys covered in sagebrush, where you can drive miles without seeing much in the way of humanity. While some look at the vast desert as mileage that needs to be covered before reaching a destination, author and University of Nevada, Reno English Professor Michael Branch looks at what others consider nothingness as a place of complicated beauty that is waiting to be explored on foot. Branch has penned three books that chronicle the joys—and hilarious challenges—of his life living on the edge of the dry Nevada wilderness.
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Exhibition Melds Contemporary Art with Traditional Craft
Great Basin artists challenge the concept of Native American artwork. STORY BY TERI VANCE PHOTOS BY CATHLEEN ALLISON Melissa Melero-Moose draws upon her roots growing up as a Paiute on the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony for her work as a mixed-medium painter. But her work is not a relic of days past. “I would […]
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Great Basin National Park
THROUGH THE LENS: Great Basin National Park STORY AND PHOTOS BY KIPPY S. SPILKER I leave Ely at 3:15 a.m. and head to the park in hopes of catching a good sunrise. I am not disappointed. Without traffic and construction, I make it there quicker than anticipated, and am able to photograph Wheeler Peak […]
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Tour Around Nevada: Ely
Outpouring of votes shoots diverse eastern town to No. 1 spot. BY MEGG MUELLER When the votes were counted and Ely was revealed as the first winner of the Tour Around Nevada 2015, no one in the Nevada Magazine office was surprised. Not only did Ely take honors in our 2010 Tour Around Nevada campaign, […]