The Final Resting Place of the Enigmatic "Old Virginny"

Few figures in Nevada history have been the subject of as many conflicting legends and stories as James Finney, better known as “Old Virginny.”

Part of the reason for different takes on the man often called the father of Virginia City is that actual details about his life are sketchy at best.

For example, even his real name is in dispute. In some accounts he is James Fennimore (or even, Fenimore) while in others he is named James Finney. Ronald M. James, author of “The Roar and the Silence,” perhaps the most definitive history of Virginia City, however, refers to him as James Finney.

What is known is that Finney was born in about 1817 in the state of Virginia—hence his nickname, “Old Virginny.” Little is known about his early years but apparently he headed to California during that state’s gold rush of 1849 and ended up in the Kern River area.

Comstock writer Dan DeQuille, who generally comingled facts with fanciful tales, later claimed that his name was originally Fennimore but he changed it to Finney after allegedly killing a man in California.

Wright also said that sometime in 1851, Finney crossed the Sierra Nevada to the Gold Canyon area near present-day Virginia City, where he began prospecting for gold.

However, another source, Mormon Station (modern day Genoa) founder John Reese, reported in his 1884 memoir that Finney was living in Gold Canyon when Reese passed through in 1850.

And Myron Angel’s 1881 “History of Nevada” said that Finney actually traveled to Nevada while working as a teamster for John Reese.

There appears to be a consensus that Finney resided in Gold Canyon during the decade between 1851 and 1861. It was during this time that he worked as a placer miner and encountered many of the other colorful figures in Virginia City’s past such as Henry Comstock, after whom the Comstock Lode is named.

In 1859, Finney moved up the canyon, which had become depleted of mineral wealth, along with a handful of other miners and began working a promising outcropping that was named “Gold Hill.” It’s thought have been the southern end of a rich silver vein that eventually would be known as the Comstock Lode.

A handful of accounts, mostly written years later, generally describe Finney as a well-liked and hardworking miner who was mostly likely illiterate and had a weakness for alcohol.

Ronald James noted that Finney “earned a reputation for having good nose for prospecting. All sources consistently support the idea that he was one of the first to recognized the mineral-bearing potential of the future Comstock Lode.”

But Finney is also often portrayed as a drunkard who didn’t appear to appreciate the magnitude of his discovery. In 1862, Henry DeGroot, a cartographer and writer, said Finney was “honest” but also “ignorant.”

DeGroot also reported that Finney sold his mining claim for an old horse, some blankets and a bottle of whiskey. This tale, which is probably not true, would go on to become accepted dogma with a number of other writers repeating variations of the same story.

An equally apocryphal story is the one about Finney’s naming of Virginia City. The popular Virginia City legend is that an inebriated Finney was stumbling down the town’s main street when he stumbled and broke a bottle of whiskey. According to the myth, he decided to use the occasion to “christen” the community “Virginia City” after his state of birth.

James, however, noted that the earliest source for that story was Dan DeQuille, who presented it in his 1876 book, “The Big Bonanza,” in which, he pointed out, “the author was equally capable of passing off legend as fact.”

James concluded, “Whether this happened or not, evidence clearly indicates that local miners decided in a meeting to name the community Virginia City.”

There are even differing accounts about his death in Dayton on June 20, 1861. In his “Myth of the Month” column, former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha recounted several versions including one that pegged Finney’s death as happening on April 26, 1861, another that said he died in July 1861 and yet another placed the event in 1865.

The cause of his demise is generally said to have been from a fall from a horse, although the details vary. In one version, he was “thrown from a bucking mustang” while drunk, while another simply stated that he fell from a horse and fractured his skull.

Today, visitors can ponder all the stories about Finney while standing at his grave site, which is located in the historic Dayton cemetery. The spot is marked with an impressive stone marker describing his life that was erected by the Dayton Historic Society.

Take a Spin on Scheel's Big Wheel

It’s no exaggeration to say that the Scheels store that recently opened in Sparks is a typical sporting goods place—on steroids.

Billed as the world’s largest sporting goods store, Scheels in Sparks is far more than just a place to pick up a new pair of running shorts or a soccer ball.

It combines a massive sporting goods retail operation with a full size, indoor Ferris Wheel, NASCAR simulators, a gourmet deli and fudge café, giant fish tanks, a mountain of mounted big game animals and several sports history displays thrown in for good measure.

And that doesn’t include the talking robotic replicas of 14 U.S. Presidents.

The store, located in the new Legends at Sparks Marina shopping complex, is part of a North Dakota-based company that operates about 20 similar sports businesses, mostly in the Midwest. The 248,000 square foot Sparks version is the biggest in the chain as well as the largest sporting goods store in the world.

It’s difficult not to be overwhelmed when entering the store. A giant glass and steel atrium in the center houses the 65-foot-tall Ferris Wheel, which dominates the building.

Originally built in 1921, the amusement ride was refurbished by Scheels and included in the store not only as a promotional tool but also as a tribute to the inventor of the Ferris Wheel, George Washington Gale Ferris, who grew up in Carson City.

Rides on the 16-car big wheel are only $1—and provide perhaps the best overview of the entire store, which is, after all, pretty massive.

Additionally, if you enter from the parking lot side of the store, you pass beneath two 16,000-gallon aquariums, one of which contains freshwater fish found in Nevada. Inside the giant clear tank swims dozens of catfish, sturgeon, largemouth bass, blue gill, crappie and red and green sunfish.

The other tank contains salt-water species such as rare Hawaiian Black Trigger fish, sharks and stingrays. Staff feed the fish in both tanks at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily.

The Walk of Presidents attraction, located around the atrium on the second floor, offers 14 motion-activated replicas of Presidents Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and others, who, in recorded voices, tell their stories. The Jefferson and Lincoln models also move while speaking.

The Wildlife Taxidermy Mountain, also on the second floor, is a 35-foot-tall, 800-square foot re-creation of a mountain peak that features more than 200 mounted animals that are found throughout Nevada including Bighorn sheep and mountain lions.

Perhaps the most fun attraction in the store is the NASCAR Simulator, where, for a separate price ($10 per driver), you can sit inside a full-size automobile/simulator and experience the thrill of driving the Daytona 500.

And if you need a break from walking around and checking out all of the stuff in Scheels, there’s Gramma Gina’s, a deli and fudge shop tucked inside the store. In addition to soups, salads and sandwiches, the restaurant offers an amazing array of Italian Gelato and the Scheels Fudge Factory, which sells more than 32 different flavors of fudge (I tried some—-it's quite delicious).

Of course, the main reason to hit Scheels is to shop and there is no shortage of name brand sporting goods spread throughout the place. The store is divided into 85 separate specialty shops selling items ranging from footwear to golf and ski equipment to hunting gear.

The Scheels company was founded in 1902 by Frederick A. Scheel, who opened a hardware store in Sabin, Minnesota (he later moved his headquarters to Fargo). In the mid-50s, he began selling sporting goods and, in 1972, added sports-related clothing. The chain’s first superstore opened in 1989 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Scheels in Sparks is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Early California History on Display in Sonoma

Few Northern California communities are as quaint, picturesque and historic as Sonoma, a town that traces its roots to 1823.

That was the year that a Spanish priest, Father Jose Altimira, founded Mission San Francisco Solano, the last and most northern of the 21 missions established in California.

In 1834, Mariano G. Vallejo arrived at the mission to oversee the establishment of a military outpost and small town. He laid out an eight-acre plaza, which remains the heart of the modern town of Sonoma.

Today the plaza—the largest town square in California—has more than 200 trees as well as a wide variety of shrubs, picnic tables and a rose garden.

In the middle of the oak-shaded plaza is the former Sonoma City Hall, an elegant Mission Revival style building constructed of local stone between 1906 and 1908. A unique feature of the building, which now serves a visitors center, is that all four sides are identical, apparently to please local merchants each of whom felt it should face his or her business.

The square is also home of a unique monument to California’s colorful history. Atop a massive boulder is a bronze figure holding the Bear Flag. The statue commemorates the short-lived Bear Flag Revolt, an independence movement that in 1846 claimed California as an independent republic.

For 25 days, Sonoma was the capital of this new republic, which was created from land previously controlled by Mexico. On July 7, 1846, an American naval ship captured the Mexican capital at Monterey and claimed the region for the United States.

Not surprisingly, the Bear Flag Party chose to join with the Americans and become part of the union. The monument marks the site where the Bear Flag, which is now the official flag of the state of California, was first raised.

Surrounding the Plaza is a mix of interesting historic buildings, each with a fascinating story.

For example, at the northeast corner of the plaza (114 East Spain St.) is Mission San Francisco Solano, an adobe structure erected in 1840. It is not the original mission, which was a wooden building erected in 1824 and replaced by the present one.

Fully restored, the mission is one of the finest examples of Spanish mission-style architecture complete with an early Indian Mission chapel and rooms containing exhibits that tell of life nearly a century and a half ago.

Nearby, you can find the old adobe Mexican Barracks (First Street East and East Spain Street), built in 1841, which is now a museum and part of a complex of buildings known as the Sonoma State Historic Park. Inside the barracks you can find informative exhibits describing the history of the area and a well-stocked gift shop.

Adjacent is the Casa Grande Indian Servants’ Quarters (20 East Spain St.), built in 1835. The two-story Monterey Colonial adobe building was once part of a larger complex, called Casa Grande, which was General Vallejo’s first home (he built his “Lachryma Montis” estate, west of town, in 1853).

The Hotel Annex (also at 20 East Spain St.) is a two-story blue and white building east of the servants’ quarters that was originally a one-story saloon located in front of the quarters. In 1903, it was moved to its present site and a second floor was added. Today it serves as park offices.

Many of the historic buildings around the plaza now house a variety of businesses including several excellent restaurants, the fabulous Basque Bakery, and the Sonoma Cheese Factory deli.

One of the most impressive downtown buildings is the Sebastiani Theatre (467 First St. East), built in 1933. Featuring a 72-foot tower and elaborate balustrades across the front, the theater was constructed by Samuele Sebastiani, founder of the Sebastiani Winery.

Note the hole in the tower, which was designed for a chime clock. The clock apparently was never installed because of concerns about noise.

The core area also houses several quality small museums such as the General Joseph Hooker House (also called the Vasquez House), an 1855 kit house (it was shipped to Sonoma from Sweden in numbered parts and reassembled), which is now home of the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation.

North of the plaza is Sonoma Valley Railroad Depot (Depot Park Museum), a replica of the original depot of the Sonoma Valley Railroad (the original was located on the same site but burned in the 1970s). The museum contains displays and records of the railroad as well as a handful of restored train cars.

Of course, Sonoma is also noted for its wines and the historic Sebastiani Winery is located only a few blocks from the Plaza. Here you can tour one of California’s largest and oldest family-owned wineries.

The region’s oldest winery, Buena Vista, is located about a mile and a half east of the Plaza. These cellars were founded in 1857 by Count Agoston Haraszthy, considered the father of California’s wine industry.

Sonoma is located 30 miles north of San Francisco (and about four-and-a-half hours west of Carson City). For more information, contact the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, 453 First St. East, Sonoma, CA 95476, 707-996-1090 or go to www.sonomavalley.com.

San Francisco's Most Beautiful Spot

When most people think about San Francisco, they envision a cosmopolitan, urban place with majestic, tall buildings, culturally diverse neighborhoods and manmade landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower.

And they would certainly find all of that during a visit.

But the City by the Bay has another—more natural—side. Out on the northwestern edge of the city is the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which includes a starkly beautiful place known as Lands End.

Located near the Cliff House (at the end of Geary Street), Lands End is best experienced with a hike along the main Coastal Trail, which begins from a parking lot adjacent to the ruins of Sutro Baths. The mile-and-a half trail retraces the cliff top route of the long-gone Ferries and Cliff House Railroad.

The railroad, which once carried San Franciscans from the downtown to Sutro Baths and the wilds of Lands End, operated from 1888 to 1904, when it was largely replaced by the city’s electric trolley system.

The old rail-bed trail skirts Point Lobos and looks out over the entrance to the San Francisco Bay and, in the distance, the Golden Gate Bridge. It offers some of the city’s most spectacular views of the Marin Headlands (to the north), the bridge and the bay.

Bordering the trail are dozens of cypress and pine trees, many of which have been flattened and molded by the nearly constant ocean winds. Growing as high at 80-feet, the cypress and pine trees were transplanted from Monterey into the area in the late 19th century by city landscapers yet have become signature trees for the region.

Lands End is also home to a handful of birds and other wildlife that manage to survive in such an unusual environment. According to the National Park Service, as many as 140 species of birds, 41 mammals and 14 amphibians and reptiles can be found in the area.

Additionally, the area serves as a refueling stop for migrating warblers, grosbeaks and nuthatches, which, according to Ariel Rubissow, author of “Cliff House & Lands End: San Francisco’s Seaside Retreat,” use its forests to replenish their energy reserves before trying to cross the Golden Gate channel to reach the Marin headlands.

The park service also notes that Lands End is home to several endangered species including the California redlegged frog and the bumblebee scarab beetle.

From the trail and several overlooks you can see the crumbling, steep and unstable cliffs below as well as the treacherous rocks poking out of the bay waters that once seemed to reach out and snag the bows of passing ships.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the San Francisco headlands claimed dozens of ships. The remains of a handful can still be seen near Ocean Beach. Rubissow has written that before the invention of the fog horn, sea captains listened for the loud barks of the sea lions on nearby Seal Rock to guide them away from the rocks.

On higher ground above the Coastal Trail is a parallel track that can serve as a loop trail for those heading back to the parking lot at Sutro Baths. This second trail winds through West Fort Miley, the remnants of a military reservation that once served as part of the country’s seacoast defense system.

While little remains of the fortifications, hikers can still find old gun emplacements as well as a monument commemorating the USS San Francisco, which fought at Guadalcanal in 1942. Additionally, the area boasts picnic tables, grills and restrooms.

For more information about the Golden Gate National Recreation Area go to http://www.nps.gov/goga.

Northern California's Kentucky Mine Museum is Worth a Visit

Diffused sunlight streams in through a dusty window, providing just enough light to see. Huge support timbers—big enough to seem incapable of rotting—crisscross the ceiling. Large, oil-covered metal wheels, rods and pistons seem poised and ready to operate.

One of the most amazing things about the Kentucky Mill is that it almost looks like it could operate today. Restored in the mid-1970s, the mill is a remarkably intact example of an early 20th century stamp mill.

The Kentucky Mill is part of the Kentucky Mine/Sierra County Historical Park and Museum, located just north of the historic mining town of Sierra City. To reach it, go west of Reno on I-80 to Truckee. Turn north on Highway 89 and continue to Sattley. Turn west on Highway 49 to Sierra City.

Gold was first discovered in the vicinity of Sierra City in the early 1850s by miners following in the footsteps of explorers Jim Beckwourth and Major William Downie.

In 1853, the Kentucky Consolidated Mining Company was formed to develop the gold resources found north of Sierra City. In the 1860s, a five-stamp mill was built at the Kentucky, a hardrock mine, which was increased in size to ten stamps in 1888.

As with most mines, activity at the Kentucky Mine waxed and waned through the years. In 1920, after several decades of abandonment, Emil Loeffler of Sierra City made another attempt to work the Kentucky. Operating it as a kind of hobby, Loeffler and his son found sufficient ore to continue working the site for the next few years.

In 1928, the Loefflers decided to construct a new mill, using materials and equipment salvaged from other mines. The mine and mill, which took five years to build, operated until 1944, when, tragically, Adolph "Dutch" Loeffler, Emil's son, was killed in the mine. Despite the loss, the family sporadically operated the facility until 1953.

In the late 1960s, the Sierra County Historical Society embarked on an aggressive program to identify valuable historic resources in the region, with the idea of preserving the best.

Because of its good condition—the Loefflers had continued to maintain it over the years—the Kentucky Mine and Mill was selected as the first site for preservation.
In 1974, following the passage of a statewide bond for historic preservation projects, the county purchased the Kentucky from the Loeffler family, and began restoring the site, including the mill, mine tunnel, blacksmith shop and trestle.

Today, visitors will find one of the best preserved early 20th century mining mills in California. A picturesque high trestle, which still seems capable of carrying filled ore carts, connects the three-story mill to the mine on an adjacent hillside.

The mine site is interesting because the blacksmith shop was built at the mine's entrance. Ore carts ran on a track that passed through the middle of the shop. Next door to the mine/blacksmith shop is a restored miner's shack, filled with furnishings and other accoutrements typically used by an old sourdough.

Inside the mill, which you can see during an informative guided tour, you will find a Pelton wheel, an innovative air compressor system for dynamite drilling, and an impressive milling operation that included ominous ore crushers (the gears boast huge spiked teeth) and stamps.

Below the mill, you can tour a nice small museum, located inside of a replica of a 19th century hotel (the Bigelow House, which once stood in nearby Sierra City). The museum contains plenty of Sierra County artifacts, including a fine collection of historic photographs, mining certificates, a school desk, ancient quilts, a safe, piano, phonograph and other objects.

Additionally, in the summer the museum offers a concert series in an amphitheater built a few years ago. Concerts have included jazz, bluegrass, country, folk and classical artists from around the world.

Nearby Sierra City is also worthy of note. While avalanches flattened the town in 1852, 1888, and 1889, enough remains to hint at the town's rich mining history.

Several brick buildings have survived, including the 1871 Busch Building, once a Wells Fargo office, and reportedly the birthplace of The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus. This historic society/social club, founded by gold miners in 1857, was originally created as a parody of several brotherhood organizations, such as the Masons and Odd Fellows.

The Clampers faded toward the end of the century, but were restarted in 1931 by a San Francisco historian. The group continues to thrive and, in addition to being a rowdy drinking society, has erected hundreds of informative historic markers throughout the West.

Sierra City is also nestled below the magnificent Sierra Buttes, among the most beautiful mountains in Northern California.

For more information contact the Sierra County Park and Museum, P.O. Box 260, Sierra City, CA 96125, 530-862-1310, www.kentuckymine.org.

Tales of Unionville

The mining town of Unionville is rich—but with stories, not silver or gold. In fact, it was famed writer Mark Twain who first dredged up a few tales about this once-promising 19th century mining camp.

Twain arrived in Unionville in the winter of1861 and promptly set out to make his fortune as a miner. In his classic book, “Roughing It,” he described early Unionville as consisting “of eleven cabins and a liberty pole. Six of the cabins were strung along one side of a deep canyon, and the other five faced them.”

He went on to write: “The rest of the landscape was made up of bleak mountain walls that rose so high into the sky from both sides of the canyon that the village was left, as it were, far down in the bottom of a crevice. It was always daylight on the mountain tops a long time before darkness lifted and revealed Unionville.”

After a short time in the mining town, Twain wrote that he discovered a shiny piece of rock that he knew had to be gold. His glee, which he called “a delirious revel,” turned to embarrassment when a more experienced prospector revealed his “find” was only granite and glittery mica.

“So vanished my dream. So melted my wealth away. So toppled my airy castle to the earth and left me stricken and forlorn,” he noted. “Moralizing, I observed, then, that ‘all that glitters is not gold.’”

Later, however, Twain made a more important discovery.

“We had learned the real secret of success in silver mining—which was not to mine the silver ourselves by the sweat of our brows and the labor of our hands, but to sell the ledges to the dull slaves of toil and let them do the mining!”

Of course, Twain’s stories aren’t the only ones told about Unionville. For instance, it began life in the spring of 1861 as a mining camp that was named Dixie by a group of miners who identified with the Confederacy—remember this was during the Civil War.

Soon, however, more people flocked to the boomtown. Most of the later residents were Union sympathizers and, after a brief political skirmish, the town’s name was finally changed to Unionville.

Another tale about Unionville is that even though it was the first seat of Humboldt County, it wasn’t really built to last.

Stanley Paher, author of several Nevada history books, has written that lumber shipped to the town was so bad that one newspaper reported that when it rained the county clerk stacked his papers into one corner of his office “where the rain didn’t come any thicker than it did outside.”

Despite the travails, Unionville managed to grow during 1862-63. During that time, it had nearly 1,000 residents and numerous businesses including ten stores, six hotels, nine saloons, a brewery and a newspaper.

The town experienced brief spurts of mining activity during the next decade before losing the county seat to Winnemucca in 1873. By 1880, the good years were behind Unionville, which slowly slipped into obscurity.

Fortunately, Unionville never completely disappeared. After mining ceased, the local economy shifted to ranching and agriculture and, in recent years, tourism.

In fact, the main thing happening in the town today is the Old Pioneer Garden Bed and Breakfast. The two-story bed and breakfast is located in a former wagon maker’s home (only the stone walls remain of the original building) and offers 11 rooms, six with private baths (775-538-7585 for reservations).

Additionally, there are other ruins of old Unionville sprinkled throughout beautiful Buena Vista Canyon, which is the site of the town. Stone walls and foundations, a few intact wooden houses, tall cottonwoods, old barns and a picturesque one-room school house (not open to the public) are among the historic survivors.

A small creek, which runs down the canyon and through the town, enhances the general sense of peacefulness found here.

And, of course, there are plenty of good stories.

Unionville is located about half-way between Lovelock and Winnemucca. To reach it, travel east of Lovelock on Interstate 80 to the Mill City exit. Head south on State Route 400 for about 15 miles, then drive west for three miles on a good dirt road.

What's Behind Some of Those I-80 Exit Names, Anyway?—Part 2

Continuing with our trip across Interstate 80—and the stories behind the names on the exit signs found along the route—the next stop is Imlay, located six miles northeast of Humboldt. Imlay was a former division point for the Southern Pacific Railroad and once served as an important stop for pioneers on the Emigrant Trail.

The area around Imlay was originally known as Lassen (or Lawson) Meadows and served as the turn off for those traveling north on the Applegate Trail to Oregon. It was also the only place with much grass and water before heading west to Big Meadows (Lovelock).

In 1908, the small hamlet of Imlay was founded by the railroad, which built a roundhouse and shops. A post office opened and the town soon had saloons, a hotel, a church and other services. The town, which grew to several hundred people, also served several local mining camps.

Imlay began to decline after the mines closed and the railroad removed its facilities. Today, about 100 people live in the community. Adjacent to Imlay is a large, strange, man-made mound of concrete, glass and scrap metal known as Thunder Mountain.

This unusual folk art creation was built in the 1960s and 1970s by a self-taught artist who called himself Chief Rolling Thunder Mountain. Today, it remains an interesting roadside oddity that is open to the public.

Four miles east of Imlay is the Mill City exit. While only a handful of houses and a few ruins remain, in the 1860s, this was the site of a mining town with several mills—hence the name. By 1868, the town had become a railroad connection for the nearby mining towns of Unionville and Dun Glen.

From Mill City, the Interstate passes through Winnemucca before hitting the next roadside stop, called Button Point. This site was named after Frank Button, who operated a large cattle ranch in the area in the 1870s. Today, a shaded rest stop offers one of the best views of the bends and bows found along the meandering Humboldt River.

Six miles farther is the Golconda exit. In 1868, the railroad opened a freight station here, which was named after a famous town in India noted for its diamonds (the name apparently signified that it was a place of great wealth).

In the early 20th century, a resort hotel and spa was erected to take advantage of natural hot springs in the area. The resort operated until 1961, when it was destroyed in a fire.

Continuing east, the next exit is Iron Point, a railroad siding built in the late 1870s (it still serves in that capacity for local mines). The name is derived from the reddish, iron-ore rocks found in the region. Iron Point also overlooks the Pumpernickel Valley—surely one of the most descriptive names on the Nevada map. The valley was named for a nearby bread loaf-shaped mountain.

Stone House, located about nine miles away, is the next nowhere exit and gained its name from a stone Overland Stage station, built in the 1870s, that was once located here.

About five miles from Stone House is Valmy, a tiny enclave named after a French battle site. It was said that the local tribes continually fought over springs in the area. In 1910, the railroad established a supply stop for its trains to re-water and re-fuel. Today, the town offers gas, food, and lodging to travelers on the interstate.

About six miles from Valmy is the Mote interchange. What you see is basically what there is to Mote. Nothing. Mote was originally a railroad siding and that’s all it’s ever been.

Next up is Battle Mountain, located 10 miles east of Mote. The community was established in 1867 by miners who found silver and gold in the region. The name is apparently derived from either the fact that Indians attacked a wagon train in the area or they raided a road crew—no one is exactly sure. In the late 1860s, the Central Pacific Railroad established a station at Battle Mountain.

About 13 miles from Battle Mountain is the Argenta exit, a railroad siding established in the 1860s. The name, derived from the Spanish word for silver, also applied to a nearby mining camp which was picked up and moved to Battle Mountain in 1870. Ten miles from Argenta is Dunphy, a rail siding named after a nearby ranch.

The next noteworthy exit is Beowawe, located 7 miles from Dunphy. Beowawe is the site of a once-famous cluster of geysers—including one that rose more than 30-feet-high.
Unfortunately, in the 1960s, the geysers ceased to erupt when a geothermal power plant was built nearby that diverted the underground hot water.

Ten miles from the Beowawe interchange is the Palisade exit. From here, travelers with four-wheel drive vehicles can head 10 miles south to the Palisades, a 12-mile canyon with spectacular rock cliffs split by the Humboldt River.

Additionally, you pass through the ruins of Palisade, a former railroad town on the river that served as the connecting point for the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Eureka and Palisade Railroad.

Ten miles east of the Palisade turn-off is the mining town of Carlin. Originally a railroad stop, Carlin was named after William Passmore Carlin, a famous Civil War officer (Union side). About seven miles from Carlin, you pass through the 1,900-foot Carlin Tunnels and head toward Elko. Along the way, take time to notice the magnificent stone pillars located next to the interstate. These unusual rock spires were formed by erosion.

From Elko, the interstate continues to the town of Wells and along the way passes a handful of other nearly forgotten exits, including: Halleck, named for Camp Halleck, a 1860s fort once located 12 miles south of the highway; Deeth, a small ranching community that was once a railroad station; and Oasis, a roadside stop named after a local ranch.

From Oasis, it’s a straight shot to Wendover, the last Nevada stop before entering Utah, which has its own share of forgotten or unusual exit sign names.