September – October 2019

Merriam-Webster defines photography as “The art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light on a sensitive surface (such as film or an optical sensor).” While this definition certainly describes the act of creating an image, it leaves out the most important factor in the whole equation: the photographer. The images you are about to experience didn’t simply come from a camera arbitrarily aimed at a particular subject, rather they were created through the passion and artistic perspective of the person behind the lens. We all know Nevada is beautiful, but it’s the photographers’ ability to capture this beauty using infinite perspectives that really makes the state shine. ... read more

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, known for its clear, crystal-blue waters created by snow melt from the surrounding mountains. Pyramid Lake is an endorheic salt lake—a prehistoric vestige of the once great Lake Lahontan—that sits in the desert about 100 miles northeast of Tahoe. These two disparate bodies of water are joined by a common thread—the Truckee River. The Truckee is the only outlet of Lake Tahoe, flowing northeast for 121 miles from Tahoe City, California, through the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range into Nevada where it ends its journey at Pyramid Lake. ... read more

Oily indigo smoke billowed from a circular opening in the top of a strange beehive shrine, marking the near completion of a process as foreign as the 1800s Nevada frontier had ever seen. Weeks prior, cords of juniper and pinyon were lain into the rocky tomb, set ablaze, and cooked in the oxygen-starved environment, as observant eyes kept watch of the smoke, and attentive hands operated a series of flues. At first, the smoke burned white, then yellow for a couple days, then dark blue, marking the completion of the process. An uninformed Nevada frontiersman who witnessed these makeshift mausoleums may have attributed the colossal bulbous structures to the occult, maybe even gone as far as to believe they were a portal to the underworld. ... read more

In a remote corner of southern Nevada, groves of ash and mesquite trees shelter spring-fed pools of warm, crystal-clear water that are a boon for native wildlife, some of which are rare and found nowhere else on Earth. This unexpected fertile patch—Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge—is where the desert springs to life. ... read more

The 2019 hunt has officially come to a close. The 2019 Silver State Scavenger Hunt took dedicated adventurers tens of thousands of miles collectively around the state, exploring some of Nevada’s most incredible natural wonders. Participants searched near and far to complete the hunt, collecting memories and crossing off places of the state t ... read more

“That aint nothing. I am a long distance hiker. One time during one of my hikes out by Nellis Air Force Base, I found a hidden cave. The entrance to the cave was shaped like a perfect capital M. I always enter every cave I find, but as I began to enter this particular cave, my whole body began to vibrate. The closer I got to the cave entrance, the worse the vibrating became. Suddenly I became very scared and high-tailed it out of there. That was one of the strangest things that ever happened to me.” ... read more

Ghost town tells a tale of resurrection and fortitude. BY MICHELLE SINAGRA St. Thomas seems an unlikely name for a Nevada ghost town. It conjures up Caribbean fantasies of powdered sugar beaches, crystalline waters teaming with marine life, and warm balm ... read more

Railroad town is riding a new wave of economic prosperity. BY MEGG MUELLER A person with true grit is often defined as someone who sticks to their goals, despite problems, setbacks, and failures. Having true grit means you are tough and determined…you ... read more

For 100 years, streetlights have illuminated Genoa—Nevada’s oldest settlement—thanks to a group of dedicated townsfolk. In 1919, Lillian Virgin Finnegan and her aunt Jane Raycraft Campbell encouraged the 200 or so townspeople to hold a dance in what is now the Genoa Town Hall to raise funds for streetlights. Young ladies passed trays of free homemade candy, and after the dance, a midnight supper was served at the Raycraft Hotel. Today, on the last full weekend of September, Genoans make and sell candy for the two-day Candy Dance Arts and Crafts Faire, which draws between 30,000 and 50,000 visitors to the town, population around 900. ... read more

The marshal waited alone in the sunbaked street. In his lean and tapered frame, he had the air of a mail relaxed. But behind the quiet eyes in the clean-shaven face, there was an inward tension like a coiled watch spring. His hands hung ready by the twin gun butts in their hoisters. Across the dusty street, the outlaw pushed through the saloon doors. ... read more

Is an abandoned car in the desert in violation of leave-no-trace ethics? If you think about it, it’s made of everything that came from the earth, just assembled differently. Iron ore is mined to make steel, which is used for the frame and body panels; glass windows are just heated sand; gasoline is made from crude oil, which formed from ancient plants and animals; even rubber tires and plastic dashes are just modified forms of naturally-occurring materials. ... read more