Elko Trail Days

Encampments

California Trail Days
California National Historic Trail Interpretive Center
Elko, Nevada
Friday and Saturday May 28 & 29, 2010
10:00 a.m. Till 5:00 p.m.
Free Admission

Located 8 Miles West of Elko Nevada on Interstate Highway 80 at the Hunter Exit 292

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
California Trail Center 775-738-1849 or Gary Koy at 775-934-2467

Living History Encampments: Visitors will enjoy walking through the trail camp. Volunteer interpreters will be in 1850s costumes and will answer questions about what is being displayed and answer questions about the equipment and history of the California Trail.

Newe or the Western Shoshone People Exhibits:

Visit a real Shoshone wickiup and learn about Shoshone life-ways.

Crafts: Willow weaving
Story telling
Food preparation
Medicine: Native herbs
Commerce and Games

Emigrant Camps

Emigrant Wagon camp: See full size emigrant wagons and visit with the volunteer interpreters about the kinds of experiences faced by overland emigrants as they traveled overland to California. Learn about the different types of people who went west and the equipment they took. Try to figure out for yourself what you would take if you were going to take a 41/2 month, 2,000 walk across America.
Live Oxen: Meet Bull Wackin’ Kass and her two hard working oxen Ezra and Job. Kass will be there to answer all your questions about the care and training of oxen as well as demonstrate how you would go about putting them into yoke and connecting them to the wagon.
Black Smith Camp: Ever seen a real black smith at work? Here is your opportunity to see the hot iron hit the anvil.
Topographical Engineers: How the West was Surveyed! Meet Captain James Hervey Simpson of the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers who laid out the Great Basin portion of what is now U.S. 50 in 1859 as part of a wagon road.
Dutch Oven Cooking: Sample trail fare and see how meals were prepared along the California Trail.
Wheel Wright Camp: See the almost lost art of making wagon wheel
Pony Express: There will be a reenactment of pony express riders passing a mail pouch and a presentation on this brief but colorful part of western history
Military Camp: Meet a member of the Third California Volunteers who portrays a soldiers who served at Fort Ruby (1862 – 1869) and at Fort Hallack (1869 and 1874). See the equipment they used, the clothes they wore, the weapons they used and discover what life was like for the soldier serving in the Great Basin during and shortly after the American Civil War.