Pony Express Territory, Nevada

Open Range, endless views, artemether-carpeted valleys and picturesque mining towns, few places capture the experience and the Pony Express Nevada Territory. The area extends in the middle of Nevada, straddling U.S. Highway 50th The name reflects the fact that the U.S. Highway 50 parallels the historic Pony Express route, which stretched from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, Calif., in 1860.

It is a region with one foot in the 19th Century planted and theothers in the 21 Century. Only a handful of small towns are on the road, which was located by Life Magazine as "the lonely road in America called." And maybe it is. Motorists can receive the torment of loneliness when they are surrounded by buildings and transport, isolated feel. But the rest will find splendid isolation in peace.

Pony Express Territory is a land of natural wonders and fascinating wild mountain towns looking much as it has for over a centurybefore. Travel from East to West, should be your first stop on U.S. Highway 50 at the Great Basin National Park, home of the ancient bristlecone pines. This perverse giants that grow only at altitudes over 10,000 feet, can be old for up to 4,000 years. The park has trails also lead to the lakes and majestic peaks, including 13.063 foot Wheeler Peak, the second highest alpine point in Nevada.

Lehman Caves, which is accessible through the visitor center of the park, offers a fantastic showStalactites and stalagmites developed over hundreds of years. The small town of Baker, is located five miles east of the park, offers restaurants, a motel and a gas station.

About an hour northwest of the park is Ely, a former mining town that used copper is an ideal starting point for excursions to the areas many historical sites and recreation areas. The town has numerous restaurants, hotels and RV spaces, and wall paintings, the story bring the city to life.

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum inEly includes railway stations, shops and rail Northern Nevada, a short line that operated from 1906 until beginning of 1980.

The East Ely renovated Train Depot houses a small museum and souvenir shop. But the highlight of a tour stop on "The Ghost Train of Old Ely." On weekends and selected times are trips by train at the Railway Museum No. 40, offered in a 1910 Baldwin steam locomotive, or its sister engine, number 93, an American group in 1909Steam engine. Train enthusiasts can themselves become designers and actually drive both steam and diesel locomotive traveling 14 miles in a mountain canyon.

Seventy eight miles west of Ely and Eureka, one of the best-preserved nineteenth-century mining town of Nevada. Founded in 1864, Eureka has many of its original buildings, some of which have been carefully restored. Most impressive is the Eureka courthouse, which opened in 1880. On the opposite side of the street is the Eureka OperaHouse, built in 1880, which was in a modern facility and convention center of cultural power restored. The well-preserved Eureka Sentinel Museum offers displays of local history and features much of the equipment used to produce paper of the city, which was published 1870-1960.

Follow Austin, once a field of the production of Nevada's most successful. Silver was discovered here in 1862 and in a few years, Austin was the second largest town in the state. OfParticularly noteworthy are the historic cities in three churches: St. Augustine Catholic Church, built in 1866, the Methodist Church, built in 1866, and St. George's Episcopal Church, built in 1878. Austin and surrounding Toiyabe, and Hot Creek ranges Toquima are places frequented by mountain bikers looking for a blue sky, jagged landscape and the lack of crowds.

Between Austin and Fallon, Sand Mountain is a unique two miles long, 600 feet high sand dunes that appeals to sandBuggy enthusiasts, cyclists and skiers dirty sand. The Sand Mountain Pony Express Station, south of the dune, is one of the best preserved examples of the type of housing rough rock Pony Express riders used.

West on U.S. Highway 50 Grimes Point Archaeological Site. Interpretive signs guide visitors along a path lined with Petro-glyphs, the rock paintings of indigenous peoples that inhabited the area produced between 5000 BC and 1500 AD.

Twelve miles west of Fallon is known forMelon and combat aircraft. Fallon awarded Hearts O'Gold melons are one of the leading products of this rich agricultural land. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Navy "Top Gun" flight school. Combat aircraft are often seen practicing maneuvers in the skies above the village. While in Fallon, visitors can also enjoy the Churchill County Museum, the findings that the regional Native Americans contains description of the Emigrant Trail and turn-of-the-century rural life. There is great fishingand camping at Lake Lahontan, just 17 miles west of Fallon. RVs are welcome, was held near Fort Churchill, an army post in 1860 in a state of arrested decay. Both areas are state parks.

The nearby Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is an important habitat for a variety of water birds, including pelicans, swans, ducks and Ibis.

Pony Express Territory is a place of history, natural beauty and recreational opportunities unsurpassed. So head on"The lonely road in America" and you'll discover a region that has been called the heart and soul of the Silver State.