Away from the Crowds in Nevada

Albert Szukalski’s Last Supper is a set of twelve hooded plaster figures standing atop a hill below Daylight Pass and resembling Death himself. This is located near the ghost town of Rhyolite. It is named after the artist who sculpted this art installation in 1984. The sculptors, as Szukalski claims, take inspiration from da Vinci’s painting of Christ’s Last Supper. They are located on the grounds of the Goldwell Open Air Museum and await visitors.

Beaver Dam State Park is located by the Utah border. It offers lovely scenery with deep, stream-cut canyons, mixed conifer forests, and trails to explore. There are multiple waterfalls. Beaver Dam Creek is packed with trout. There are tree-shrouded campsites in the designated Watchable Wildlife Area where you can see wild turkeys and bobcats.

The Bristlecone Pines of the Great Basin are known for their age and ability to survive in the harshest of weather conditions. Two bristlecone pine trees, one dead and one alive, stood in the Great Basin National Park. The dead tree Prometheus was approximately 4,862 years old and was cut down, but the living tree, Methuselah, is approximately 4,850 years old and stands protected in the national park.

The Clown Motel is among the most unusual motels in the US. Word of warning: do not visit if you have coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. This motel is all about clowns on the edge of the Nevada desert.

Here you can see a collection of clowns and clown décor. It gets better the motel is next to an abandoned cemetery.

The International Car Forest of the Last Church in Goldfield is an art installation representing a large field of forty painted and graffitied autos balanced in unusual formations. This was the creation of a man named Mark Rippie and an artist named Chad Sorg. The two collected cars, buses, trucks, and vans, and when installed, painted them in bright colors and added different caricatures. Later, they left the site as is, and it can still be seen here.

Lehman Caves near Baker are located in the Great Basin National Park. This is a cave system with more than 300 unique rock formations, animals and insects, and endless stalagmites, stalactites, and helictites. The Lehman Caves were listed as a National Monument in 1922 and were included in the Great Basin National Park in 1986. They were discovered in the 1880s and were once a burial ground for Indian tribes. Guided tours are available.

Nelson Ghost Town is in Nelson in the El Dorado Canyon in the El Dorado Mountains. Originally the town was called El Dorado, named by the Spanish explorer who discovered it in 1775. It was one of the major gold mine towns in the area and was left abandoned after the gold rush was over. Nelson is close to the Colorado River and was known for rich deposits of gold, silver, lead, and copper. The mine was active until 1945, and in 1974 a flash flood wiped out what was left of the town.

Pyramid Lake near Reno got its name because of the pyramid-shaped rock formations seen above the waterline. Some of these iconic rock formations are known to house a rare species of pelican. What is haunting is what is beneath the lake. Legend has it that a Paiute tribesman fell in love with a mermaid/serpent, and when he brought the love of his life back to his tribe they rejected the “creature.” Enraged, the serpent cursed the entire lake. Soon after, another serpent disguised as a baby attacked the woman who tried to feed it. The beast agreed to spare the woman’s life only if the tribe allowed it to live in the waters of Pyramid Lake eternally. Pyramid Lake is known to claim at least a few lives (of fishermen) every year.

Sheldon Wildlife Refuge near the northern border of Nevada was established in the 1930s to rehabilitate the nearly extinct pronghorn antelope. (pictured above) Here you can enjoy high-desert tableland panoramas, lush springs, waterfalls, fish-filled lakes, and winding canyons. Lose yourself among the solitude and natural beauty. Along with the pronghorn, the residents here include greater sage grouse, migratory birds, mule deer, and pygmy rabbits.