Often referred to it as an “Adult Disneyland,” Las Vegas is what comes first to mind when one thinks of Nevada. That’s too bad, as this beautiful state is sadly overlooked by most who visit Sin City — I mean, Las Vegas.
Needing some fresh air after attending the Travel Industry of America’s annual tourism conference, held this year in Las Vegas, I left on a tour that turned out to be one of my most unique discoveries in the United States: Southern Nevada.
First fact: Almost 80 percent of the state is owned by the US federal government, and with a population of 2.6 million residents — most of them living in Las Vegas or Reno — that leaves a lot of wide open spaces.
Nevada’s a virtual natural playground, which also help explains why Nevada’s history is rooted in those wide-open spaces and the Wild West. Much, I soon found, has changed over the decades — and much has not.
Our press group explored historic ghost towns, toured rugged but breathtaking state parks, saw several of Nevada’s silver mines, and even ventured out into UFO territory: The military’s secretive “Area 51.”
We first headed north from Las Vegas to Pioche, stopping for a walking tour of Ash Springs, which — after the over-stimulation by the neon glitz of Las Vegas — helped reset our focus on the rugged, rock-strewn beauty of the region.
After a meandering walk through the dusty hills, we cooled off at the park’s ponds where — for the brave amongst us — our hosts encouraged us to dangle our feet in the natural springs where small pup fish would nibble off the dead skin from our feet and legs. A services from nature that many pay big money for in upscale, swish spas. Here we got the royal treatment of feasting exfoliating fish for free! This was to be our first inkling that we were not on a “typical” vacation. There’s not much development out here. Tourists who long to venture off the beaten tracks of freeways and strip malls, this is the tour to make.
After having our feet cleaned by nature, we headed to the Windmill Ridge for lunch — its warm interior was a welcome relief to the sparse exterior. The food was home-style, copious and good, and the rustic restaurant was decorated with plenty of local mementos available for the traveler.
Our destination, Pioche, is known as “Nevada’s liveliest ghost town.” When one envisions towns of the Wild West, filled with gold diggers and outlaws and shootouts and murders, Pioche is the place to be. At its peak, it was known as the “baddest town in the West.”
This picturesque town is tucked high in the mountains of southeast Nevada. Many of its original buildings remain, including the famous “Million Dollar Courthouse,” a structure that had an original bidding cost of $26,400 but ended up costing $1 million — proving that corruption and graft (and probably a good amount of wasta) can exist anywhere. This overpriced piece of antique civil infrastructure now serves as the ghost town’s museum.
In the rear of the courthouse is the town’s prison. Dark and dank, its steel floors and 16-inch walls and windows are so small that no warming rays of sunlight can enter. No one managed to escape from Pioche’s jailhouse and, as you would expect, locals tell tales of the inmate’s ghosts lingering in their formers cells.
Our hosts put us up for the night in a hotel straight out of central casting from Pioche’s Wild West: The Overland Hotel.
If you stay there, it’s easy to imagine yourself living back in the heyday of Pioche. My advice? Get a room in the front of the hotel, which are tastefully decorated in period designs. The back rooms have yet to be renovated and can be a bit funky for anyone above the budget traveler’s sense of comfort and ambience. That night we dined picnic style at the nearby Cathedral Gorge with its spectacular geologically ancient formations of buff-colored canyons and a vista that is unique to this part of the US.
Pioche’s appropriately named Silver Café is located directly across from the Overland Hotel. Here we wolfed down copious amounts of breakfast vittles while chatting with the friendly locals who insisted the food here is always good.
The fortunes of Pioche ended in 1876 with the shutdown of the mines that brought people there in the first place. Today another fortune is being harvested in the form of tourism to this scenic part of the US.
Ready for another adventure, we headed out for the quaint town of Caliente with its 1923 Union Pacific rail station. The town’s proud railroad past can be found in its mission-style railroad station and charming string of company row houses situated nearby.
Visitors can also enjoy the hot springs and mineral baths for which Caliente (Spanish for “hot”) is named.
“UFO” capital of the world
Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, have long captured the imagination. And one of the better-known places of UFO lore is Area 51, the military installation that has become the stuff of extraterrestrial conspiracies, Hollywood, science fiction and computer games.
We headed down Route 375, which has been dubbed the “Extraterrestrial Highway,” towards Rachel, Nevada: the official “UFO Capital of the World.”
For those keen on UFO sightings, Rachel — little more than a bump in the road — is a very popular destination among UFO fans throughout the world.
Not listed on public US government maps, the intense secrecy surrounding the base — the very existence of which the US government barely acknowledges — has made it subject of many conspiracy theories and a central component to UFO folklore.
And whether you believe that the US government is harboring secrets of crashed alien aircraft or not, sneaking on to the top-secret military installation is as unadvisable as it sounds. One would have to trespass for miles before even reaching a checkpoint.
“By the time the men with machine guns reach you, they know your name, social security number, names of your family members and everything about you,” said one local at nearby The Little A’Le’Inn (pronounced “Alien”), a hole-in-the-wall but not-to-be-missed diner and motel at Rachel that serves as the local watering hole and tourist attraction for the fans of Area 51 lore. In addition to picking up some UFO-related tchotchkes (available in the form of kitschy bumper stickers, coffee mugs, key chains, bobble heads) I rid the diner’s recommended Alien Burger, which I was told, naturally, was “out of this world!” After the hubby picked up an Area 51 polo shirt — we headed on to our next destination: Tonopah.
Located about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, Tonopah once had one of the biggest mining booms in the state. Many of the town’s buildings, such as the Mizpah Hotel and the Nye County Courthouse, were built in the early 20th century.
The Tonopah Historic Mining Park, on the hillside above the town, offered us a chance to peer into the actual mines that created this mining juggernaut. This was followed by a lively evening at El Marques Mexican restaurant. Afterwards our hosts took us out for some stargazing. Alas, despite being so far from the light pollution of cities, to a remote place where the sky give a stellar vision of the extent of the cosmos, no UFO sightings were reported by our group.
Rhyolite: A ghost mining town
Next on our list was a tour of the ghost-mining town Rhyolite, which got its name from the silica-rich volcanic rock in the area.
There were over 2,000 claims that covered everything in the area, which prompted many to move to Rhyolite. But the financial panic of 1907 took its toll on Rhyolite and promulgated the end of the town’s prosperity. Soon mines started closing, banks failed and desert creatures and flora replaced the town’s inhabitants.
Today you can still find several remnants of Rhyolite’s glory days. Some of the walls of the three-story bank building are still standing, as is part of the old jail. The train depot is one of the few complete buildings left in the town.
Rhyolite is just 35 miles down the road from the Furnace Creek, our next destination.
With names like Death Valley and Furnace Creek, one has to wonder how people lived out here in the barren hills. The answer is simply: folks follow the money.
Furnace Creek offers more scenic views, and visitors can walk remote portions of the park via loop trails. And here, out in the middle of nowhere, is another surprise — a fabulous, five-star resort.
First opened for business in 1927, the Furnace Creek Inn was an immediate success. With views over Death Valley and the Panamint Mountains to the west, the Inn’s location was well chosen and inconspicuous, it has been called a masterpiece in harmony with history and scenery.
After a night at the Pahrump Nugget Hotel, yes, Pahrump is the name of the town, we regretfully returned to civilization.
