August 2024
Yerington, Nevada
Founded by Italian dairy farmers. The brown dessert opens up into the greener Mason Valley. Mountain snow replenishes the aquifer each year providing irrigation for all the crops. Lots of produce crops like leafy greens!
Many moons ago, 4 young men had a lot of fun as college roommates at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. One of those happens to be my Uncle Ralph. Another is his high school buddy Rod McMullen. They lived in apartment 6D.
Rod found his way to Yerington, Nevada in the early 1980s for a job teaching art and coaching football. He quickly integrated into the community.
In the 1990s, the old school building built in 1912 was condemned. But locals banned together to save it and turn it into a performing arts center. Many people have invested their talents and money to make this a cultural hub in small town Nevada.
Those college boys from apartment 6D focused efforts on the bar area in the space under the stairs. It was dubbed “6D Speakeasy.” This Cheers-style place is run by friendly volunteers.
If you find yourself within a few hours of this dessert oasis I highly recommend stopping in. The speakeasy is currently only open on Fridays and special occasions. Check Facebook for updated hours.
The Yerington Inn is a good place to stay.
Rod gave us a tour of the valley starting with the museum in town. It’s full of well kept artifacts from the beginning of settlements in the area.
Ther’s gold in them thar hills!
Copper mining is a big industry around here and they still find gold amidst the copper. Technology now allows them to separate the flakes out.
Agriculture is the other leading industry. If you see a Nevada Fresh label it came from here. The fields we saw included Sweet vidailia onions, Alfalfa, Broccoli and Kale.
I cook with onions a lot. Seeing where they’re grown and getting the highlights of how they’re harvested gives me a greater appreciation for these layered gems. It’s a process!
Migrant workers hand harvest the onions into 100 lb sacks that are transported to drying sheds that can keep them fresh through the off season as they are distributed to your local grocery store.
Grimes Point Archeological Site
As we head toward home we seek out points of interest. The Hidden Cave tour is by appointment only but walking around the carved rock was worth a stop. Google it for details.
Loneliest Highway in the US: U.S. Route 50
Aptly named! Not much traffic and miles and miles, and miles! between towns. The landscape was interesting though. You’d go from flat sprawling grass or desert to winding mountains and then back down into the flats.
Church Window Tour
St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Austin, Nevada’s is oldest Catholic church building (1866) in the state. It appears to not be up and running anymore since we had to peak through windows. Thankfully they were clean enough we could get a clear view of the artwork that depicts the life of Christ and others with St. Augustine.
Do you see in the painting closest to the alter (front of the church) with the man and a child? That's one of my favorite St. Augustine stories. My re-telling: St. Augustine was walking along the beach one day contemplating the Trinity, trying to understand that God is 3 in 1 - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
He sees a boy running back and forth carrying water from the ocean to a hole in the sand with a seashell.
Saint: what are you doing?
Boy: I'm trying to fill this tiny hole with the great big ocean!
Saint: Oh, dear child, that's impossible.
Boy: Yes, and you could never possibly understand the Holy Trinity.
Then the boy disappeared. Some speculate he was an angle. Others say it may have been the Child Jesus Himself. Either way it's a great lesson about how God reveals Himself to us bit by bit. Us humans can't possibly grasp ALL of God's Goodness at once.
Ward Charcoal Caves
The beehive shaped caves were used to process silver ore that was discovered in the area in the 1870s. They are still in great shape from my viewpoint. "Once mining ended, the ovens were used to shelter travelers and even had a reputation as a hideout for stagecoach bandits!"
Baker Archeological Site and the edge of Nevada
The clouds this day were beautiful going from dark and stormy to big and puffy with the sun beaming through. The archeological site was not as impressive as the other things we've seen. We ran into BLM folks - that's Bureau of Land Management if you're confused - who said they're planning a museum there soon.
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