Northern Nevada, Part 1 - July 31, 2005 (Re-run)

 Most people think of Nevada as Las Vegas, or perhaps Reno, all the glitz and glamor of the gambling capital of the U.S.  Some equate it to desert and mining, like in Death Valley, and that is certainly a fair image.  Still, Nevada has some of the prettiest forested mountains that you will find anywhere.  A place I always enjoy visiting is Lamoille Canyon in the Ruby Mountains, one of 300 ranges in the state.  The Rubies are often compared to the Alps because of their altitude (11,400 feet) and steepness, almost 5000 feet straight up from the valley floor.  Lamoille Canyon Road is twelve miles of spectacular scenery, reaching 8800 feet high.  Summers are highlighted by beautiful wildflowers, creeks, beaver ponds, waterfalls, hiking and wildlife.  Winters average some 300 inches of dry snow, suitable for snow shoeing and heliskiing which has been available for 40 years.

About 50 miles northwest of Elko, NV is the town of Tuscarora, named for an Indian tribe.  Starting as a gold mining camp in 1867, most of the White men abandoned it and went to newer strikes, leaving it to the Chinese who had arrived to work on the railroad.  Eventually, silver was discovered and the town boomed to possibly 5000 people, half White and half Chinese.  Like all such towns, mining ultimately played out and the population dwindled.  While not actually a ghost town, only a few people remain today.