Austin's Historical Society Museum Shares Town's Past

 

   Among Nevada’s 19th century mining towns, Austin has perhaps the most colorful past—and a very cool local museum that helps to tell the town’s story.

   Located about 110 miles east of Fallon on U.S. 50, Austin was founded in 1862 following the discovery of large silver deposits in the area. Within a few years, Austin had an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 residents along with several substantial churches and a thriving business district.

   Over the decades, Austin experienced many ups and downs, which were tied to the state of its silver mining industry. By the mid-20th century, the community’s mining heyday was over and the town’s population began to decline. Today, only about 200 people still call Austin home.

   But that doesn’t mean Austin is ready to completely fade away. Local folks, in fact, have pursued a number of projects designed to attract visitors and keep the town alive.

   For example, for many years a local group has worked to restore the historic former St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, built in 1866, as a cultural and arts center.

   Additionally, a few years ago the community acquired the former National Forest Service office in Austin and converted the building into the Austin Historical Society Museum.

   Opened in 2006, the museum at 180 Main Street is filled with artifacts related to Austin’s past. Open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the free museum contains a large collection of historic photographs as well as informative displays.

   For instance, there’s a display about the Nevada Central Railroad—which once ran between Austin and Battle Mountain—that includes photographs, documents, rail equipment and other related items.

   Several other exhibits are devoted to the area’s Native Americans and features several hand-woven baskets and containers as well as stone implements, such as grinding stones, used by prehistoric people in the region.

   One room is filled with a variety of antiques related to the town’s history, including a hand-cranked telephone, vintage typewriters, cash registers, scales, school desks, bottles and mining and ranch equipment.

   Nearby is a 19th century, hand-operated printing press used for many years by the local Reese River Reveille newspaper as well as a display containing pages from the newspaper, which operated locally from 1863 to 1993.

   There are also exhibits of antique home furnishings and a fine 19th century pump organ on loan from St. George’s Episcopal Church in Austin, which is still an active congregation in Austin.

   One of the museum’s most interesting items is an old blackjack table that was once owned and used by Clara Williams, a longtime Austin saloon owner, who was once featured in the Los Angeles Times (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-25-mn-16066-story.html).

   Renowned for many years for being Nevada’s oldest blackjack dealer, Williams, who died in 1987, dealt cards at the table until she was more than 80 years old.

   The museum also has a nice research library with ledgers, photo albums and books related to local history.

   For more information about the museum, go to www.austinmuseumnevada.com.

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Teems With Life

 

   Years ago, when I visited the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge for the first time, a staff member told me to keep my eyes open because even though it might look like nothing is out there, I was actually surrounded by wildlife.

   He was so right.

   Located about 15 miles northeast of Fallon, the 163,000-acre refuge is, in fact, home to hundreds of migrating bird species and other wildlife.

   Perched on the southern edge of the Carson Sink, adjacent to the Stillwater Range, the refuge is a collection of shallow lakes, canals and marshes that play host to a wide variety of plant, bird and animal life.

   Stillwater traces its beginnings to prehistoric Lake Lahontan, a gigantic body of water created by melting glaciers that filled the valleys of Western Nevada about 12,000 years ago.

   Over the centuries, as the climate changed and grew warmer, the lake gradually receded. The Stillwater Marsh is one of the remnants of the ancient lake.

   In more recent times, the marsh was home to the Toidikadi or Cattail-Eater Paiutes, who for many centuries hunted and fished in the area. The first non-Native Americans, arriving in Western Nevada in the mid-19th century, describe deep-water marshlands filled with abundant birds and fish.

   Construction of the Newlands Project in the early 20th century, however, diverted much of the Carson River water that once flowed into the marshes. In the 1940s, the federal government became so concerned that Stillwater might cease to exist that it began managing the flow of water to the marshes to ensure their survival.

   The Stillwater Refuge complex encompasses not only the Stillwater Marsh but also a smaller sanctuary to the north called the Fallon Refuge, and the Anaho Island Refuge, located at Pyramid Lake, north of Reno.

   First time visitors to Stillwater should stop at the refuge headquarters at the entrance to pick up useful information brochures and to ask for advice on how best to view the area.

   Just beyond the headquarters is an elevated platform that offers prime views of Stillwater Point Reservoir, an adjacent shallow body of water lined with tall, thick tule reeds and grasses. From the platform, visitors can see several dozen birds flitting around in the reservoir, ranging from egrets to terns.

   A marked, gravel Automobile Tour Loop takes visitors from the elevated platform to the Foxtail and Upper Foxtail lakes. Along the way, visitors can spot more birds, with the type depending on the season. For example, in the summer it’s easy to encounter Ruddy ducks, Herons, Marsh wrens, grebes and egrets—as well as swimming muskrats.

   The refuge is home to more than 280 different bird species and an estimated quarter-million waterfowl pass through the area annually.

   Another good place to stop off the loop drive and enjoy the environment is Foxtail Lake, where a boardwalk takes visitors through clusters of cattails and high grasses to the edge of the lake and offers great views.

   The refuge also offers two areas where overnight parking and camping are allowed, the Lead Lake Road-Center Road Intersection and on East Division at Nutgrass Road (check with the headquarters for details), but no campfires.

   The best time of year to see the most species of birds is spring, when the marshlands are the wettest because of winter snowmelt, and the birds are migrating.

   Additionally, guided tours for groups are available with advance notice. For more information, contact the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, 13303 Stillwater Road, Fallon, 775-423-5128 or go to: www.fws.gov/refuge/stillwater.

ET Highway Continues to Fascinate Visitors

  Not too long ago, I was reading the Atlas Obscura website (a great source for stories about weird places) and stumbled onto a feature about traveling on Nevada State Route 375, the Extraterrestrial or ET Highway.

  The piece provided background on how that 98-mile stretch of road gained its name and other attractions in the area (to read it go to: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/nevada-extraterrestrial-highway-geology-science-archaeology).

  It also made me think about how the route and the adjacent Area 51 have continued to capture our collective interest. You could almost say that one would have to have been kidnapped by aliens to not know about all the hype that has surrounded that part of Nevada over the past few decades.

  That stretch of highway, between Warm Springs and Alamo, and including the hamlet of Rachel, gained its moniker in 1995, when state officials officially designated it as the Extraterrestrial Highway in order to capitalize on the public fascination with Area 51, a top-secret military installation.

  For years, some have believed that the U.S. government has conducted mysterious research at Area 51, including, allegedly, some involving recovered aliens and/or alien aircraft. This notion has been reinforced in pop culture via television shows like “The X-Files” and film such as “Independence Day.”

  Part of what keeps Area 51 so fascinating is the fact that the U.S. government insisted for many years that it didn’t exist. Because nature abhors a vacuum—and people love mysteries—stories about what actually goes on there have proliferated over the decades.

  It was all this speculation about the base, said, in some accounts, to be where the U.S. government hides captured flying saucers—as well as stories of alien encounters near Rachel that spurred creation of the tongue-in-cheek ET Highway by the Nevada Department of Transportation.

  Additionally, for many years state tourism officials encouraged travelers—earthly and otherwise—to head out on Route 375 in search of a close encounter of their own.

  I’ve been out to Rachel a couple of times and must admit that other than a couple of old Chevy trucks, a few dinged-up trailers, a noteworthy roadside diner and miles of sagebrush there’s not much to see over the 98 miles.

  Highlight of most visits is a trip to “Little A’Le’Inn” in Rachel, a local diner that serves such concoctions as an Alien Burger with secretions (cheese on your burger). The place also has a gift shop well stocked with alien-related merchandise such as key chains, coffee mugs and t-shirts.

  Most folks in Rachel take all the fuss with a wink and a half-smile. The “Little A ‘Le’Inn,” which appeared in a 2011 Simon Pegg comedy about an alien, called “Paul,” maintains a small library of UFO-related books as well as a virtual gallery of grainy black-and-white photographs allegedly depicting alien spacecraft.

  Perhaps because of its sparse population and remoteness—the town has fewer than 100 residents—it is easier to believe there might be something out there in those vast night skies.

  Are those the blinking lights of a passing airplane or something more? Is that a shiny weather balloon or, perhaps, the glint of metal from a UFO?

  Who knows?

  For more information about the ET Highway, go to: https://travelnevada.com/road-trips/extraterrestrial-highway/.

Nevada's Best Views Found On Its Official Scenic Byways

Valley of Fire Scenic Byway

  Nevada is a diverse state with a wide variety of scenery. One of the best ways to view all the various landscapes and views is by traveling the state’s 17 official scenic byways.

  The Nevada Scenic Byways program was created in the 1980s by the Nevada Legislature, which wanted to draw attention to specific drives that are noteworthy because of their extraordinary visual attributes.

  The designated byways, which include routes that are part of the federal All-American Road and National Scenic Byway programs, range from the 12-mile Angel Lake Road/State Route 231, located south of Wells, to an 8-mile section of the Las Vegas Strip.

  The Angel Lake road, which climbs into the East Humboldt Range, winds its way through picturesque groves of piñon pine, mountain mahogany and quaking aspen before ending at beautiful Angel Lake.

  The Las Vegas Strip stretch includes both the southern end of the Strip, between Russell and Sahara Avenue, which encompasses many of the city’s most spectacular resorts, and a northern part, between Sahara Avenue and Washington Avenue, which takes in some of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.

  Other roads on the Nevada Scenic Byway list include:

  • State Routes 445/446/447 — A 30-mile route that offers breathtaking views of starkly beautiful Pyramid Lake, including many intriguing tufa rock formations.

  • State Route 431 (the Mount Rose Highway)—This 22.2-mile route climbs up Mt. Rose Summit to the 8,911-foot pass, then descends into the Tahoe Basin, and affords a wonderful first view of Lake Tahoe.

  • Lamoille Canyon Road—Winding through the steep walls of Lamoille Canyon, which is south of Elko, this 12.5-mile byway passes through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the state.

  • Baker Road—This 11.6-mile hunk of highway begins at the junction of U.S. 50 and U.S. 6 and ends at the Nevada/Utah boundary. Along the way, you can catch fabulous views of the eastern face of the Snake Mountain Range, including Wheeler Peak.

  • Lehman Caves Road—For 5.4 miles on this route, you can drive from the small town of Baker to the entrance to Great Basin National Park, anticipating the park’s attractions, which include Lehman Caves, a series of underground passages filled with fascinating limestone formations. Be sure to look for the unusual folk art constructed by local artists on the fence posts adjacent to the road.

  • U.S. 93 (between the junction with State Route 318 and Majors Junction)—This is not only the longest scenic byway in the state at 148.8 miles but also was the first. The route passes through some of the most wide-open country in Nevada as well as several historic Eastern Nevada communities including Pioche, Caliente and Panaca. It’s also leads to five Nevada state parks, including Cathedral Gorge, Kershaw-Ryan and Echo Canyon.

  • U.S. 50/U.S. 6/ U.S. 93 (south of Ely to the Nevada/Utah border)—This 63-miles of pavement parallels and crosses through the Schell Creek Range before skirting the north edge of the Snake Range. It passes by Cave Lake State Park, the Ward Charcoal Ovens Historic Monument and Great Basin National Park—a trifecta of scenic and historic places not to be missed.

  • Red Rock Canyon Road/State Route 159—This 8.8-mile road loops through the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which is located about 20 miles from Las Vegas. It offers marvelous views of multi-colored rock formations as well as unique wildlife and plants.

  • Valley of Fire Road—This scenic byway begins at the west entrance to Valley of Fire State Park and ends at the park’s eastern entrance. Along the way, visitors can view bright red sandstone arches, cliffs and pillars as well as prehistoric Native American petroglyphs and spectacular geological treasures such as the White Domes.

  • State Routes 156/157/158—These three mountain roads meander through the scenic Mount Charleston area. Only an hour’s drive from Las Vegas, they comprise a loop that climbs from the valley floor and deep into the mountain. Visitors can sometimes glimpse golden eagles, owls, prairie falcons, and other species. And it’s usually at least 20 degrees cooler than Las Vegas.

  • U.S. 50 (between Carson City and the California state line)—This 21.5-mile portion of the highway offers panoramic views of Lake Tahoe and passes through the tunnels at Cave Rock and by some of the state’s most stunning scenery.

  • U.S. 50 and Nevada State Route 28 (between the junction of U.S. 50 and the California/Nevada border)—This 16-mile road follows Lake Tahoe’s eastern shore and provides plenty of reasons to see why writer Mark Twain once described the lake as “the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”

  For more information about Nevada’s Scenic Byways, go to: www.dot.nv.gov/travel-info/travel-nevada/scenic-byways.