NEVADA SCENIC BYWAYS – LAMOILE CANYON AND METROPOLIS (Elko and Wells NV)

 

Lamoile Canyon is near Elko NV and is reached by a paved road. It ends with a traffic loop at about 8500 ft. Several hiking trails radiate out from the loop. Even in late August many snowfields remain from last winter. It is in the Ruby Mountain range.

 

The bare rock  in the center is smooth, evidence that a glacier had passed down the valley.  Information on the road side signs indicates that more than one glacier scoured the valley.

View down the valley from the picnic area where we lunched..

The stream is fed by melting snow from the peaks.

The sky was a dark blue, contrasting with the aspen trees. One never sees the sky this blue at lower elevations or in cities.

This is a side valley to the main valley, showing the classical signs of past glaciations.

     METROLPOLIS GHOST TOWN NEAR WELLS NV

In the early 1900s developers bought a large cattle ranch near Wells NV, laid out a townsite,  built a dam for irrigation water impoundment and began recruiting people to buy farm land to be irrigated by the impounded water. The developers built a 50 room 3 story hotel and an imposing 3 story school. Buyers flocked there. A railroad spur was built by the Southern Pacific to serve the new city. But the developers did not secure the water rights, and downstream landowners successfully sued to protect their older water rights. Without adequate irrigation water, the venture failed, leaving behind the ruins of large buildings built to serve the populace of the city.  Most ghost towns were centered on mining. But this ghost town was centered on agriculture.

Visiting the site is a challenge as no good maps are readily available to tourists from the Wells Visitor Center nor the Forest Service office in town. The roads to get there are paved for the most part,and the gravel roads are smooth enough to drive 35 to 40. However,the school entrance and the higher parts of the ruined hotel are visible from county roads.

Imposing entrance to the 3 story school.

Here is the basement of the 50 room hotel. It reminded me of the ruins of Roman Baths in Europe but in a much different setting!

Here is the rather  permanent sign for the Metropolis main cemetery. On the post at the right is a list of names of those buried there and the location of their graves. We found the cemetery by standing on the first floor of he school and looking around for unusual things. The dark green bush in upper right center was our clue that there might be something of interest nearby.

The cemetery is not well maintained, but it is still being used as we noticed a headstone for someone who died in 2009. Jo noticed animal holes with entrances a least 8 “ in diameter.