A trip to Elko is a beautiful experience traversing Ruby Valley
The Ruby Mountains rose before me like a jagged, impenetrable wall.
Much like our southern border - I just had to throw that in.
A saw tooth ridgeline descends to relatively smooth sides surrounding the entire western edge of this massive Ruby Valley.
The 11,000-foot tall range stretches for approximately 80 miles in Elko County in northeastern Nevada.
To the east lies Ruby Valley, and the west lies the Huntington and Lamoille Valleys. The Ruby Mountain range is within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Enough of the geography lesson.
I was heading west to head north toward my destination - Elko, Nevada.
Sometimes, directions can be confusing. Go north to go south and then west to go east.
Traveling is fun, but sometimes it can leave a person scratching their head, wondering who designed the roads for the byways.
“Joe,” a road engineer may have said. “Let’s do this instead of that and make drivers crazy.”
I had never been to Elko. I had never even heard of Elko - but it does have a ring to it.
I had phoned Laureen earlier in the morning before leaving my camp and told her where I was heading.
“Why are you going to Elko?” she asked.
“I’m going to Elko to see some elk in Elko,” I replied.
The roll of her eyes was audible through my cell phone.
Fall colors are amazing on drive to Elko
But first, I had to drive through and around Ruby Valley.
As the beginning of the fall season was upon us, the colors of foliage were amazing.
Leaves turning yellow, red, and amber. Leaves dropped, and some trees were confused - half green and half turning color.
It was a sight to see.
As residents of the High Desert, we usually don’t get to see many varieties of plants changing colors unless we watch the Hallmark channel - there, the colors change in each sappy movie, no matter the time of year.
“Aren’t the fall leaves wonderful this time of year,” asks an actress who appears in every other Hallmark feature.
“Yes, they are,” returns her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, who becomes her betrothed in the last ten minutes of the production. “Funny, it’s almost Christmas, and the trees are still turning color.”
“Ah, ‘tis is the season,” she responds.
Besides being beautifully open and gorgeous, Ruby Valley was also the site of the 1860 Pony Express Station,
The building was moved from Ruby Valley in 1960 and can be seen and oohed at in Elko, 60 miles away today. It is one of only two out of forty-three stations still in Nevada and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rumor has it that the other 41 are in storage in Nevada’s state capital of Carson City.
“You never know when we might need another tourist attraction,” a member of the governor’s staff may have joked.
The road through the valley is quiet - I like quiet, but this is genuinely deafeningly quiet.Passing a horse close to the roadway reminded me of how quiet it was in this remote section of Nevada - it raised its hoof to its mouth and neighed “sh.”
Large swaths of farmland intermingled with cattle and horse ranches, greeting me as I leisurely drove along the black asphalt highway.
A driver must be alert and cautious every quarter of a mile. A large sign warning the driver that it is open-range territory means cows and horses can meander onto the highway anytime they want.
“Check this out, Bessie,” a cow may say. “I’m going to jump out and scare the senses out of that oncoming driver.”
“Silly cow,” Wilbur may reply. “Cows don’t jump.”
Who lived in Elko before it was a town?
This is and was Native American lands. The Western Shoshone tribe has called the valley home for many generations, and in 1863, a treaty was signed between the Shoshone and the United States by then Governor James W. Nye of the territory of Nevada and Governor James Duane Doty of the territory of Utah.
The government did not confiscate the land as it did in other sections of the country, and the Shoshone allowed the government to traverse across their property unhindered.
Thus, the railroad, telegraph lines, stagecoach routes, and other means of travel and communication could exist there unmolested.
Twelve chiefs signed on behalf of the Shoshone, and all lived happily ever after with no scrabbles.
The area became a nucleus for pioneers to venture to and start a new life: farming, ranching, and mining.
So, when traveling within designated tribal lands, the driver must be aware of cattle crossing on the road.
A person who hits and kills a cow is in a lot of trouble.
My research indicates that a person guilty of hitting a cow can look at one to three years in prison and fines upward of five thousand dollars.
Whenever I cruise through tribal lands, I truly cruise with three eyes on the road.
“What are you in for?” a hardened homicidal maniac may ask in the prison yard while eyeing you like a steak on a hibachi.
“I ran over Buttercup.”
“Start the coals, boys.”
Ruby Valley is the location of the Himalayan Snowcock. The fowl, a member of the pheasant family, usually finds its natural habitat in the highlands of the Himalayan mountain ranges.
For some reason, a person transported them over the protest of a Shaolin monk in the 1960s and relocated a few here in the valley.
They flourished and have become a wonder for those who can figure out which bird is which. This is the only location they can be found in the United States.
Rumor has it that the birds like the legal gambling in nearby Elko and were tired of watching humans do the grasshopper routine all day.
History of Elko Valley is rich
History of the valley abounds around each twist and turn of the highway.
Brand new, bright red barns stood erect next to nearly collapsed log-framed homes and outbuildings.
It was like driving through a time warp. One moment is the 21st century, and the other is back to the 19th.
Stopping here and there to snap a photo or two of these centuries-old structures was awesome and sad.
Strong-willed folks came into this valley and made a life for themselves and their family.
Hard work and determination that can only be admired today. No easy access to anything but brains and sinew.
“Pa,” little Willy may have said.
“How do we dig a well for water for us and our stock?”
“Well, little Willy,” the father may have replied, “let me check with Mr. YouTube.”
Nope, back in the day, nothing but learned knowledge dropped down by generation after generation to make a go of it in places like eastern Nevada.
No simple task.
Walking around such properties, be it an old, dilapidated barn or house, reminds the traveler of bygone days. Those days and those memories of strong people settling in some challenging, remote sections of our country and making a go of it.
I stood outside my truck's comfort and looked around the beautiful valley.
Elko is an enchanting location
It was enchanting. The midmorning sun was caressing the lands like a welcoming friend. Birds were chirping, bees were buzzing, cows were mooing, and horses were doing whatever horses do in the midmorning.
Looking to my left on one of my stops, I noticed about a half dozen cowboys wrangling up a bunch of cattle into an oval wood-fenced corral.
I wanted to take a photograph of this iconic scene.
Knowing my editor, Eric, would love the still shot and probably enter it into a national newspaper contest, I walked over to the wranglers.
“Howdy, Wranglers,” I yelled. “Mind if I take your photo?”
One of the men, probably all of twenty-three, looked over at me.
“Why?”
I smiled, not wanting to give away my chances of winning a national contest for best photograph.
“Because you guys look great atop your horses.” Perhaps that came out wrong.
That comment even had the cows look toward me with disbelief.
So, down the road, I drove, my vision of standing at the podium with a trophy for best photographer ever gone.
Heading to Elko was a beautiful experience traversing Ruby Valley—a place I had not planned on visiting but was thrilled to have done so. An adventure is not only a journey but a time to enjoy the unexpected, and this lush green valley was worth the trip and perhaps another in the future.
John can be contacted at: beyersbyways@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: A trip to Elko is a beautiful experience
