Spotting wildlife remains one of the joys of traveling America’s roads and highways. Of course careful drivers scan the roadsides to avoid disasters of making roadkill of wild things, while youngsters in the vehicle make a game of listing species seen. They note the surprising variety of creatures of the woods, meadows, desert, mountains and waterways of our diverse landscapes, perhaps the only opportunities they have to see such creatures outside of city zoos.
Stripped of roofs, windows and doors, stark adobe ruins remain of buildings that once comprised Nevada’s first military installation. Strife between native Paiutes and white settlers in 1860 resulted in the establishment of Fort Churchill east of Carson City. Now preserved as Fort Churchill State Historic Park, the outpost saw nearly a decade of active use during turbulent times.
Once infamous for its lawlessness, old Pioche now espouses family fun and old-fashioned American activities during holidays and special events. The historic mining boomtown born of silver discoveries in 1864 once boasted a population of 10,000. Just 900 people call Pioche home today, but they work together to produce the town’s busy Labor Day schedule, an annual event for the past 103 years.
With its picturesque mountain setting and abundance of 19th century buildings, historic Virginia City offers visitors plenty of charm and a busy schedule of special events. Its fabulous Comstock Lode glory days gone, Nevada’s most famous mining boomtown survives today on tourist dollars.
