Richard N. Velotta
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The sun had just set, Venus appeared in the west, and the razor-sharp mountain horizon silhouetted against the darkening sky.
We were headed toward Alamo on the Great Basin Highway when my wife turned to me and said, “I really do love Nevada.”
It was a simple thought, but she put in words what many of us take for granted.
So many of us focus so much on our state’s problems — the roller-coaster economy, our struggling schools, the lack of funding needed to cure our ills — that we lose sight of what we are surrounded by.
How fortunate we are to be in a place that not only has the creative energy to envision and build a world-class strip of resort hotels but a landscape so vast and diverse that we can drive and hike to unimaginable landscapes and never see another car for hours.
On Thursday, Nevada will officially observe its 149th anniversary, kicking off a yearlong sesquicentennial celebration that will end Oct. 31, 2014, on the state’s 150th birthday.
Those who have never ventured beyond the familiar confines of Clark County should make the effort to explore the rest of the state in the coming year.
A good start might be Lincoln County, where my wife and I recently traveled to support bicyclists participating in the Park to Park Pedal, a 103-mile ride through four state parks.
About 250 people started at Kershaw-Ryan State Park just outside Caliente, a small railroad town at the end of the Delamar Mountain range, then passed through Cathedral Gorge, home to a maze of slot canyons.
The cyclists battled a 10-mile, 1,400-foot-elevation rise leading to the old mining town of Pioche, then cruised through two more state parks housing scenic reservoirs, wildlife and pinyon pine, juniper and sagebrush trees.
Lincoln County scratches only the surface.
Lake Tahoe is a treasure. Big Bend of the Colorado offers a great alternative to Lake Mead. The Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park is one of the quietest places I’ve ever been outdoors.
It’s time to celebrate Nevada. Get out there. It will invigorate your soul and make you appreciate once again this land we call home.