Two Days in Elko
Elko welcomes artists, miners, buckaroos, and visitors from all over the world.
When Jeff asked what I wanted for my 76th birthday, he wasn’t much surprised when I said, “A weekend roadtrip will do it up nicely. Oh, and a hug-and-run with Val and the grands on the way out of town.” I’m easily pleased these days. When you’re trying to downsize, you don’t need a lot of gifts. Time with family and a bit of travel will suffice.
In keeping with our promise to take over-nighters once in a while, Jeff and I planned a trip to Elko, NV. A few years ago when Val did a summer internship there, she showed us all her favorite haunts. Besides a peek inside an iconic tack store and a couple of watering holes, she took us on a hike up Lamoille Canyon. We attended the Basque Festival followed by a jaunt to Jiggs. It’s a tavern twenty-six miles south of Elko that’s popular with those who wander Nevada’s backroads. And of course, our trip was not complete without dinner at the Star Hotel. Pleasant memories all around..
So, the plan included pilgrimages to The Star for dinner and a shopping trip at J.M.Capriola’s. Just opening their door and getting smacked in the face with the aroma of leather is all I need. If I find a little something among the silk wild rags or a shiny trinket in the silver department, that works too. Gotta get me some of that buckaroo bling.


We wanted to check up on the recovery of Lamoille Canyon too. During a trip to Salt Lake, we stopped by this verdant oasis in the Ruby Mountains. Cresting the hill between Elko from Silver Creek, we spotted smoke billowing at the west end of the Ruby range. By the time we arrived at the mouth of the canyon, responders had already deployed. We spent about an hour photographing beautiful scenery and stretching our legs before continuing our long drive to SLC. By the time we emerged from the canyon, fire had reached the entrance in full fiery menace. We beat it out of there just in time. (fire photo by Sue Cauha)pe during trip to SLC, UT)
Fast forward to September 2025. To our joy, Lamoille has recovered with new tree growth so thick and lush, we could barely see the charred snags of aspens burned in the fire. Already, autumn peeked up through the incessant greenery as a harbinger of the golden spectacle to come.
With only a couple of days to wander around, we fulfilled our pilgrimage to The Star on a very crowded Friday night. Everybody was in a jovial mood. Nary a political word was heard nor a voice or fist raised among the miners, buckaroos, locals and visitors crammed into that space.And the picons and other libations flowed by the gallon. While a somber line of Newe (Shoshone) trooped through the restaurant to the back dining room, we soon heard clanging bells and laughter emanating from their gathering. The crowds spilled to the sidewalk table area, greeting each other as friends as well as co-workers.
For the first time since it paused ten years ago, the Sky Fair hoped to return to its annual exhibit of aircraft, both military and recreational. The gentleman who gave us a lift on a golf cart shuttle pointed out his two planes: a 1940s vintage Army Air Corp trainer and his experimental aircraft with foldable wings. I wondered if the trainer was like the one my father flew in the Army Air Corps after WWII. Jeff poked around a Zenith 750 and found it too small for tall men. No surprise there. The man who owned it stood at 5’11” and only had a couple inches of headroom. The Sky Fair attracted families as well as aviators to see the planes as well as take helicopter or hot air balloon rides. I could see my grandson running amok from plane to plane, spinning his four-year-old dreams.
Mining brings people from all over the world to this remote town. We saw lots of mixed race families and friendly interactions in cafes and at our hotel. Obviously ICE had not discovered Elko yet. Or maybe, as in Carson Valley, the rural sheriffs don’t allow raids and kidnapping on their streets. Instead, sheriffs check immigration status only upon arrest for a real crime. Such law enforcement policies take the edge off of normal daily life.
Because of this international population, Elko has a few surprising eateries. Jeff was more surprised than I by The Blue Moon, a very busy sushi place. Both of us, however, were thrilled to find Odeh, a Middle Eastern restaurant bringing that cuisine to the Great Basin. Our poor waitress mixed up our orders between a couple of tables, but we all forgave her and ate huge portions of hummus, dolmas, and felafel. I did miss getting the tabouleh and Baba ghanoush, however.
We failed to get our leather aroma hit from J.M. Capriola’s, but late Saturday afternoon, we took off for whatever party the Jiggs Bar would celebrate. There are only about a dozen or so people in Jiggs itself, but those little desert bars become magnets for lonesome folk in need of camaraderie. When we visited the tavern with Val, we were the only ones around. The whole town seemed locked in an afternoon snooze. Within minutes, though, the bartender showed up, ready to start the festivities. Our lively chatter alerted others that the evening’s bacchanal had begun.
So, Jeff and I wanted some more of that jolly crowd, if they were still around. Also we wanted to check out the taxidermy we saw during our last visit. One unfortunate beast was so poorly portrayed, we couldn’t tell what it was. Some kind of oppossoraptor or skunkasaur.

After about forty-five minutes of driving over hills and vales, we still hadn’t arrived in Jiggs. It’s right on the highway with an old school house on the left and the bar right across the street. Thinking we had passed it, we turned around before we got totally lost. Jeff tripped the odometer and found, to our chagrin, we’d only traveled 24.8 miles. We missed Jiggs by a little over a mile. Such is life for the faint of heart.
We did, however, see some beautiful ranches raising lots of cattle on rich, verdant hay pastures. And it was a gorgeous evening driving along a country road. That alone gives me a feeling of bliss and distance from the angst-ridden affairs of the world. To me, there is nothing more bucolic and reassuring than a herd of cows in a well-managed pasture. It gives me a feeling of wealth.
Sunday morning opened to the long drive home. Before we hit the freeway, though, we wanted to check out Elko’s collection of murals. Already we had seen many tucked here and there to surprise us with their spontaneous presence. Around every corner, it seemed there was a glorious work of art. The epicenter of the annual mural festival is Roy’s Market on the corner of Idaho and 6th Street. Smack in the middle of town!
Both sides of the store features over a dozen small murals painted within structural panels. Parking behind the store, we could take time to get up close to the murals on the back wall. Perpendicular to this display is a huge mural entitled “Be the Poem Be the Song” that spans the entire side of the Western Folklife Center on Railroad Ave.
Pipes and other utilities didn’t hinder artists from using their assigned spaces. In fact, that appeared to be an element of mural design. There was a large, colorful butterfly painted on a back alley wall that bent with windows, utility boxes, and buttresses. Again, that only made it a playful challenge as the artist skillfully rendered the subject’s shape and colors in three-dimensional form.
Here’s the Explore Elko murals page for a closer look at these amazing works. One motto on the murals resonated with me. Welcome to the Creative West. It honors thousands of artists and writers who have found an inspiring and supportive place in Nevada to create.
Of all the fun things we did this trip, the murals highlighted the whole set. What a great way to end a visit to a town we will undoubtedly return to again.
Sadly, I couldn’t find out who painted that vast Be the Poem. Be the Song mural, but apparently, it was the theme of the 40th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, inspired by a poem by Buck Ramsey.
Serendipity strikes again. This weekend,Carson City not only held its own air show, but the Third Annual Mural and Music Festival added several new murals to the cityscape. Here’s an article from Carson Now about a collaboration between a 9-year-old boy and a Spanish doctoral student from UNR to create a mural about road safety and active transportation.
All photos by Jeff and Sue Cauhape.
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What a fun and amazing trip. I so loved your pictures. Those murals are amazing and the surrounding area looks like my cuppa tea. Here's to overnight date nights! Big hugs.
Classic Sue Cauhape! Loved every word. It is all new to me. Thanks for including the link to the Elko Mural walk. Those are amazing. As are your photos. You are fortunate to have a partner who likes to look around and meet new people. Thank you, Sue.