Of Poets and Emigrants

From January 24 through 31, Elko will be the site of the 25th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, an event celebrating life in the rural West. Besides poetry, the week is filled with music, stories, films, and photography. Many of the activities are at the Western Folklife Center, located in Elko's Pioneer Building. The Cowboy Poetry Events Schedule will show you everything going on at various venues around Elko. You can buy tickets online for those events with a fee.

In conjunction with the Poetry Gathering, the Bureau of Land Management's new California National Historic Trail Interpretive Center will be open from January 28 through January 31, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors will see the Trail Center's signature art sculpture, a 10-foot-tall bronze "Miner and Elephant", and an exhibit titled "Wagons, Mules and Men", by artist Nick Eggenhoffer. The Southern Nevada Conservancy will be selling books about the California Trail. All profits go toward the BLM mission of interpreting and preserving the history of emigration along the California Trail. At 2 p.m. each day, you'll be able to watch the 1930 John Wayne movie "The Big Trail." According to Trail Center Manager David Jamiel, "This is an opportunity for people to stop in, learn about what an elephant has to do with the California Trail, discuss how Hollywood's version of history might be different than what really happened, and find out about future Trail Center exhibits and programs."

BLM representative Gary Koy told me that the Center is not yet open on a regular basis. While more exhibits are added over the next few years, tours will be available on a pre-arranged basis. There is also a meeting room that can be reserved free of charge, with donations accepted and appreciated. For more information, call the California Trail Center at (775) 934-2467.

Sources: BLM Nevada press release and phone interview with Gary Koy, BLM representative for the California National Historic Trail Interpretive Center.

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