Travel List: Eureka, Nevada

eureka opera house

I've mentioned it a few times...we love to travel.  Some of our best trips have been not too far from home, and many are based upon exploring historical places.  Ghost-towns are a favorite for us and especially nice if there are surviving structures to photograph!

eureka hotel

newspaper office

eureka, nevada courthouse

A mid-19th century lead and silver mining center, Eureka is one of Nevada's best-preserved mining camps with dozen of historical sites.  The Eureka Opera House was built in 1880 and is now used as a convention center and cultural art center.  The original Eureka Courthouse, built in 1879, is still in use, and the Eureka Sentinel Museum and local cemeteries are both points of tourist interest.

eureka historical museum

We haven't explored Nevada yet but this town is one we're putting on our Travel List!

More info about Nevada, Eureka and the Pony Express area of Nevada.

Images from Pony Express Nevada website, 2009.

Road Trip through Central Oregon

We hit the road on Saturday (7/5) for a long-planned run through Central Oregon to Shaniko, OR. Shaniko is a semi-ghost town in Sherman, County, whose claim to fame was as the wool shipping capital of the world in the late 1800's. Driving out through the Columbia River Gorge and then east of The Dalles, we also visited Wasco, Moro and Grass Valley en route.

Between Wasco and Moro we took a detour off Hwy 97 to capture footage of a wind farm. At least 100 turbines stood silently in the wheat fields like an outdoor modern sculpture gallery spinning in the breeze.

(Wind Farm by Tina, Pfeiffer Photos 2008)

The town of Wasco was incorporated in 1898 and a handful of the original buildings still stand...just perfect for our camera to capture them in their fading glory.

In Moro, the Sherman county seat, main street is the place to find history. We had fun trying to peek into the windows of the abandoned movie theater; it's last run was "Once Upon a Time in America", starring Robert Deniro, in 1984. We visited with the proprietress of an antique store across the street who shared with us that the original screen, seating and projector were still intact inside the theater. She suggested we consider buying the building to refurbish and bring it alive again as a family venue.

Grass Valley is one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of towns. We found plenty of good photo opportunities here including this wonderful abandoned pioneer chapel and school. We also learned that this is the home of the Easter Bunny, and they have a sign to prove it!

(Home of the Easter Bunny by Tina, Pfeiffer Photos 2008)

To view more photos from Central and other places in Oregon, and to purchase please visit my Flickr Gallery and Etsy shop.

Copyright Pfeiffer Photos 2009-2009 - all rights reserved.