If you are in the southern half of Nevada, check out Bonnie Springs Ranch!

  Click on the photo for an external link to their site. The ranch has been there forever, but the destination has been there a long time too, started in the mid 50's. Complete with a main street, gunfights in the street, a hanging (the way a lot of outlaws would have liked it ; you know, hang, then come back in two hours and hang again :) ) and a chapel with all the fixings for a wedding 'dun up right'. There is a train to haul you into Old Nevada, and a free petting zoo chock full of critters and creatures. When the day is done, the restaurant and bar are worth a visit and what a meal! This is one of my local favorites.

 If railroading is your game, and what a game, then head to a couple of different locations! Ely, in Northeastern Nevada is home to the Northern Nevada Railway. Check 'em out at www.nevadanorthernrailway.net  or nn.railfan.net .  Steam rides and Nevada in its purest high desert form! This is a gotta see. They will even give you lessons then let you be the engineer!

A second railroad and probably even more reknown is the Virginia & Truckee Railroad in Virginia City, NV. Two bangs for your buck!! Yes, there is a Virginia City , Nevada. It is home to the Comstock Lode, a host of wealthy mines and the V&T RR which has kept Hollywood in steam for many years. Check out their websites at: www.steamtrain.org   and  www.nsrm-friends.org.  This ride promises to get longer with each passing year. I've ridden it. It's a MUST do.!!

Who doesn't remember Bonanza! Well, the set WAS here  in Nevada and open for all kinds of activities, from breakfast in the mountains to a walk down 'main street' to a tour through Ben's house.        2004 NEWS: The  Ponderosa Ranch has been sold. The 2004 season opened April 17, 2004, and as expected, closed for good at the end of the season, in September. No one has said what the disposition of the buildings and all the collectibles will be.

This graphic property of Ponderosa Ranch   For more on the  sale, click here.

VIRGINIA CITY!! The Queen of the Mining Towns. And what a town she still is today. For everything you could possibly want to know about this grandest of the grand ol gals visit www.virginiacity-nv.com.Hanging off the side of Mt. Davidson, there is no place in Nevada that I'd rather go. A beer in the Bucket of Blood, a few hands of poker in one of several saloons, sitting in the Piper Opera House or even listening to a concert there....ah this town has it all! Mark Twain worked here at the Territorial Enterprise. The Bank of California experienced a scandal as a result of activities here. The mansions are phenomenal. So check it out, online and then in person.

And we can't overlook Tonopah! Here is a mining town still thriving and doing a wonderful job of hanging on to the old. For info, visit www.tonopahnevada.com and check out the Central Nevada Museum  and the Tonopah Historic Mining Park. Wyatt Earp was a partner in the Northern in Tonopah in 1902. This city was one of the last real wild mining boom towns in the country. To see some pictures taken in 2005 click HERE

Last, but not least, the State of Nevada has a great website on travelling through our great state at www.travelnevada.com/territories. Check out Pony Express country, Pioneer territory, Cowboy Territory and of course our two metro areas--Reno and Las Vegas.