![A stone hut and shepherd's corral in Warm Springs. In the background, young rams played at locking horns in the shadow of the mountain.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5693e75/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5346.jpg)
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A stone hut and shepherd's corral in Warm Springs. In the background, young rams played at locking horns in the shadow of the mountain.
Christopher Smith
![On Ely's main street, motels and restaurants sometimes struggle for success in an economy based on mining and the nearby prison.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4e29f7f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5386_0.jpg)
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On Ely's main street, motels and restaurants sometimes struggle for success in an economy based on mining and the nearby prison.
Christopher Smith
![Looking through the window of a shuttered restaurant in Ely.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e5ae193/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5451x3357+0+139/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5388_0.jpg)
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Looking through the window of a shuttered restaurant in Ely.
Christopher Smith
![On Ely's main drag, classic cars -- some abandoned, some for sale -- dot the street.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c8ca8f4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5483x3377+0+138/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5401_0.jpg)
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On Ely's main drag, classic cars -- some abandoned, some for sale -- dot the street.
Christopher Smith
![Don Allison, an Ely resident, is going for his daily three-mile walk in Ely. "We have a lot of community pride here," says Allison, a counselor at the state prison.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5f22e08/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5418_0.jpg)
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Don Allison, an Ely resident, is going for his daily three-mile walk in Ely. "We have a lot of community pride here," says Allison, a counselor at the state prison.
Christopher Smith
![A sleepy Easter Sunday in Ely.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a803973/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5409_0.jpg)
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A sleepy Easter Sunday in Ely.
Christopher Smith
![Ely has several community murals that celebrate the town's history and heritage, but even some of the business signs have a striking presence.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b769b68/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5387x3318+0+137/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5444_0.jpg)
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Ely has several community murals that celebrate the town's history and heritage, but even some of the business signs have a striking presence.
Christopher Smith
![Theresa Hamilton moved to Ely two weeks ago from Reno. Her reason: a steady job clerking at a hotel. The second reason: "I really love the peace and quiet," she says.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/31b242a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5440_0.jpg)
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Theresa Hamilton moved to Ely two weeks ago from Reno. Her reason: a steady job clerking at a hotel. The second reason: "I really love the peace and quiet," she says.
Christopher Smith
![At the Ward charcoal ovens south of Ely, the beehive-shaped structures burned wood to create charcoal, which in turn was used to smelt ore, fueling the area's mining boom in the late 1800s.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b3faac6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5564x3427+0+141/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5540_0.jpg)
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At the Ward charcoal ovens south of Ely, the beehive-shaped structures burned wood to create charcoal, which in turn was used to smelt ore, fueling the area's mining boom in the late 1800s.
Christopher Smith
![Bill Hally is a semi-tired Ely resident who works part-time at the prison as a technician in charge of the inmate phone system. "Ely is a great place to live," he says. "Everyone knows everyone else. The other side of that, of course, is that everybody knows your business."](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cb8e3d1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5086x3133+0+129/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5475_0.jpg)
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Bill Hally is a semi-tired Ely resident who works part-time at the prison as a technician in charge of the inmate phone system. "Ely is a great place to live," he says. "Everyone knows everyone else. The other side of that, of course, is that everybody knows your business."
Christopher Smith
![The "backyard" of Ruby Mountain Brewing Company President Steve Safford -- fittingly, at the foot of the Ruby Mountains.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b4baa2e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5479x3375+0+139/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5584.jpg)
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The "backyard" of Ruby Mountain Brewing Company President Steve Safford -- fittingly, at the foot of the Ruby Mountains.
Christopher Smith
![Ricky and Delaine Spilsbury of the Ely Shoshone tribe. Native Americans still play an important role in the state's culture and identity.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/018cac6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d2-5488_0.jpg)
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Ricky and Delaine Spilsbury of the Ely Shoshone tribe. Native Americans still play an important role in the state's culture and identity.
Christopher Smith
![A view of snowy Golconda Summit in Northern Nevada.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3534ce9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d3-5608.jpg)
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A view of snowy Golconda Summit in Northern Nevada.
Christopher Smith
![John Arant, owner of The Martin Basque restaurant in Winnemucca. "Solid food and tradition sells," he says of the restaurant whose menu hasn't changed for decades.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0b7a542/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d3-5694.jpg)
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John Arant, owner of The Martin Basque restaurant in Winnemucca. "Solid food and tradition sells," he says of the restaurant whose menu hasn't changed for decades.
Christopher Smith
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/afaa5e1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5596x3447+0+142/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d3-5720.jpg)
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Christopher Smith
![A quiet street in Winnemucca.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/76fa3bf/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d3-5750.jpg)
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A quiet street in Winnemucca.
Christopher Smith
![Fred Lewis, curator and caretaker of the Thunder Mountain Monument in Imlay. The structure created by Frank Van Zant is a sculptural commentary on the treatment of Native Americans at the hands of whites.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4cbb066/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d4-5925.jpg)
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Fred Lewis, curator and caretaker of the Thunder Mountain Monument in Imlay. The structure created by Frank Van Zant is a sculptural commentary on the treatment of Native Americans at the hands of whites.
Christopher Smith
![Thunder Mountain Monument, created by Frank Van Zant, is rife with images of violence and suffering, a criticism of white settlers' treatment of Native Americans.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5009725/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d4-6064.jpg)
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Thunder Mountain Monument, created by Frank Van Zant, is rife with images of violence and suffering, a criticism of white settlers' treatment of Native Americans.
Christopher Smith
![A view of the snowy mountains on the way to Gerlach.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ca12b94/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5544x3415+0+141/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d4-6108.jpg)
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A view of the snowy mountains on the way to Gerlach.
Christopher Smith
![Detail of a sculpture made from bike parts in Gerlach.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/043d6cb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d5-6169.jpg)
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Detail of a sculpture made from bike parts in Gerlach.
Christopher Smith
![Tatsy Guild of Planet X ceramic gallery, Gerlach, NV.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ad657fd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d5-6265.jpg)
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Tatsy Guild of Planet X ceramic gallery, Gerlach, NV.
Christopher Smith
![Planet X pottery gallery, Gerlach, NV](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d6a0991/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d5-6198.jpg)
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Planet X pottery gallery, Gerlach, NV
Christopher Smith
![Driving up to Pyramid Lake, Nixon.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8aa272d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5424x3341+0+137/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d5-6308.jpg)
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Driving up to Pyramid Lake, Nixon.
Christopher Smith
![St. Mary's in the Mountains Catholic Church, Virginia City.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0c4214b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fdc_road_trip_d5-6403.jpg)
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St. Mary's in the Mountains Catholic Church, Virginia City.
Christopher Smith
![Father Sommer of Virginia City.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/52f9681/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5107x3145+0+130/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d5-6437-edit.jpg)
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Father Sommer of Virginia City.
Christopher Smith
![Virginia City.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5b986ab/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6535.jpg)
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Virginia City.
Christopher Smith
![Virginia City.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/59aee49/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6543.jpg)
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Virginia City.
Christopher Smith
![Amy Smith, a resident of the Virginia City area, works at The Roasting House coffee shop.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/99a4fc0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6649.jpg)
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Amy Smith, a resident of the Virginia City area, works at The Roasting House coffee shop.
Christopher Smith
![C Street in Virginia City, a former mining town that has found a second life as a tourist town.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a8bc49f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6607.jpg)
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C Street in Virginia City, a former mining town that has found a second life as a tourist town.
Christopher Smith
![A "hoop house" on Lattin Farms that helps in growing greens.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5ff093c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6773.jpg)
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A "hoop house" on Lattin Farms that helps in growing greens.
Christopher Smith
!["It's important that people know where their food comes from," says Rick Lattin, owner of Lattin Farms in Fallon.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/86626e8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5287x3256+0+134/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6785.jpg)
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"It's important that people know where their food comes from," says Rick Lattin, owner of Lattin Farms in Fallon.
Christopher Smith
![Lattin Farms in Fallon comprises 400 acres, and "grows everything from apples to zucchini," says owner Rick Lattin.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a4147e7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6756.jpg)
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Lattin Farms in Fallon comprises 400 acres, and "grows everything from apples to zucchini," says owner Rick Lattin.
Christopher Smith
![Lattin Farms of Fallon grows organic produce and sells it as farmers markets, and also by subscription.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/33de34e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6752.jpg)
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Lattin Farms of Fallon grows organic produce and sells it as farmers markets, and also by subscription.
Christopher Smith
![Don Keele of Lattin Farms in Fallon.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ac20d4c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5350x3295+0+136/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6788.jpg)
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Don Keele of Lattin Farms in Fallon.
Christopher Smith
![Sand Mountain Recreation Area attracts both off-roaders and photographers drawn by the dramatic dunes.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5b8c396/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4689x2888+0+2/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d6-6831.jpg)
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Sand Mountain Recreation Area attracts both off-roaders and photographers drawn by the dramatic dunes.
Christopher Smith
![Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park grew out of a major ichthyosaur fossil find in the area in 1928.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/302beea/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d7-6927_0.jpg)
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Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park grew out of a major ichthyosaur fossil find in the area in 1928.
Christopher Smith
![Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park features the fossils of nine of the ancient aquatic reptiles.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/27ec124/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d7-6988_0.jpg)
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Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park features the fossils of nine of the ancient aquatic reptiles.
Christopher Smith
![The main tower of the Crescent Dunes solar plant outside Tonopah glows from the intensity of sunlight deflected toward it.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7d8a60f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5604x3452+0+142/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d7-7020.jpg)
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The main tower of the Crescent Dunes solar plant outside Tonopah glows from the intensity of sunlight deflected toward it.
Christopher Smith
![The Crescent Dunes solar project outside Tonopah produces power by heating molten salt with sunlight.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/84fbe53/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5616x3459+0+143/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Fblog%2Fdc_road_trip_d7-7106.jpg)
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The Crescent Dunes solar project outside Tonopah produces power by heating molten salt with sunlight.
Christopher Smith