September – October 2018

Highlights in this Issue

Along with the Great Nevada Picture Hunt, which you can find on page 34, the Silver State Scavenger Hunt winners are announced on page 22. This annual contest traversed some of the state’s railroad history, and participation was off the rails this year. We visited the Camel Safari in Bunkerville a few months ago—that story is on page 24—and in September, the Fallon Cowboy Fast Draw Competition takes place; read all about these gunslingers on page 56.

A fascinating look at how Nevada’s borders came to be is on page 62. I guarantee you’ll be surprised at how differently shaped our state could have been once you read it. Our final feature on page 72 takes a look at some of the train mishaps that have occurred in our history. These disasters were unfortunate, but the importance of the railroad to Nevada’s future kept these iron horses on the right track.

Issue Cover September – October 2018

What’s Inside

Cowboy Fast Draw

SHOOTING FROM THE HIP Cowboy Fast Draw Association brings back the romance of the Wild West. BY ANNIE FLANZRAICH In a wooden barn on the outskirts of Fernley, a red-haired woman stands patiently, sizing up her target. She leans back, and settles her weight into her lower body. Her right hand rests lightly on the handle of a six-shooter shea ... read more

Bounding the Silver State

A treaty with Spain, a skirmish with California, gold strikes, frontier astronomers, a stubborn surveyor, and plenty of errors combined to create Nevada’s unmistakable shape. ... read more

Locomotives Calamities

During the night of Oct. 1, 1903, on the Southern Pacific line near Beowawe, The Atlantic Express and No. 219 trains barreled down the tracks; one headed east, one headed west, respectively. The only problem with this seemingly normal scenario was that the trains were on the same track, heading not in opposite directions, but directly toward each other. In the dead of night, two gigantic hunks of metal weighing thousands of tons and traveling at high rates of speed, collided head on. ... read more

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Camel Safari offers a truly exotic adventure. STORY BY MEGG MUELLER In a corner of the harsh desert landscape some 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas, a camel, armadillo, porcupine, and llama walk into a yard. If you’re waiting for the punch line, you might want to go hang out with the sloth, because there is no punch line. That’s just the ... read more

Hudson Root

Back in 2012, Hudson Root got a call from his grandmother. He was only 12, but he was already her tech guy, helping her with computer and cellphone problems. Hudson began helping some of his grandma’s frien ... read more

Read More