In September we traveled to Wendover, NV to see Collective Soul at the Peppermill Casino. We thought we'd make a weekend out of it by climbing in the Ruby Mountains the next day. We purchased the climbing guide book for Lamoille Canyon, and planned to stay in Elko Sunday night.
The Collective Soul concert was fantastic, but it only lasted an hour. The Peppermill concert hall is a state-of-the-art venue, but you'd better be prepared for a very short show. The next day we traveled toward Lamoille canyon. We decided to make a stop in Wells to view the earthquake damage. Main street was in rubble; it was incredible. It appears as though all the historic buildings are beyond repair and can never be restored. Unfortunately for Wells, brick buildings do not hold up well in earthquakes. The rest of the town's economy has been devastated. Almost all businesses are closed -- except the brothel (and the coffee shop owned by the brothel). I had spent a night in Wells about five years ago, and it was amazing to see the transformation. Wells is a ghost town in the making!
The Wells detour took longer than we anticipated, so we arrived in Lamoille Canyon around noon. We spent hours with the guide book attempting to find some of the easy climbs. We had difficulty locating the climbs, and the ones we did manage to identify had direct sunlight. The heat was too intense for climbing.
We opted to drive to the end of the canyon road and hike up to one of the very few alpine environments in Nevada. I had explored the trail about ten years ago. My prior trip had taken place in the spring, when snow still covered the trail. There was no snow now in September, so the hike was entirely different. I was surprised to see so many alpine lakes. Last time, I gazed out over a white expanse -- never knowing there were hidden lakes frozen below. The high point on the trail had a very scenic view; you'd never know it was taken in desert-dry Nevada.
The overnight in Elko was worth it just for the experience. We visited three very old casinos, including the "White King". The "white king" is the world's largest dead polar bear. The bear weighs 2,200 lbs and is 10 ft tall. Unfortunately, we didn't have our camera with us when we stumbled on the bear in the Commercial Casino.
Also included are photos from a few other
activities.
Click a picture to see a larger view.