The vast Great Basin with it seemingly endless pattern of desert valleys divided by rocky ranges, and its seemingly endless foot sucking salt flats presented emigrants with a view and experience that they just couldn’t explain to others back home. Indescribable gave birth to a saying, “Seeing the elephant” as in, another sight one is hard pressed to describe to someone who has never see it.  I think driving across this can get tedious sometimes!  I can not even imagine walking across it.

North Central Nevada region of the BLM has built the California Trail Interpretive Center in Elko.  We have visited a few similar museums but each has a bit different way of presenting the story of the emigrant flood to the West….these guys did a nice job