June 11, 2021

After leaving Arizona, we made our way north by way of eastern Nevada, going through Caliente, Ely and Wells, NV.

On the way there, we drove along the backside of Great Basin National Park. I could see Wheeler Peak in the distance. We drove to the top of it when we visited the park last year. The 13,000’ peak still had snow on it.

 In Ely, we stopped for four nights so we could ride the Nevada Northern Railway and visit the Museum. The Railway is a National Historic Landmark and the museum complex includes a rail yard on 56 acres with 63 structures to explore.

We enjoyed a 90 minute ride in an old passenger car pulled by a steam locomotive.

The ride took us through the hills around Ely to a large copper mine and back. Along the way we learned about local history.

As we head out of town and uphill, the smoke gets blacker.

Copper was used for wiring homes for electricity in the late 1890s. This was once a thriving mine and is still being mined today.

On the way back, we were told that sometimes the train gets held up by bandits, but we didn’t see any that day. We did, however, see the graveyard and fake western town nearby.

On our way there and back, this fellow with his little dog on the back rode along the highway parallel to the railroad track.

As we arrived back at the depot, we see the rainbow at our journey’s end as the locomotive lets off steam.