7-3-2025 Elko, NV Part I

 It was a hairy drive to Elko.  The wind was brutal, blowing us into the oncoming lanes a few times, which stops the heart.  But we made it and we are settled down at the Iron Horse RV Resort in Elko.

 Today, we drove out through the countryside to Lamoille.  We remember having been here before but it was a great refresher course!  O’Carroll’s Café was serving lunch on their pretty patio decorated with crystals and hanging flower pots filled with fluffy flowers.  The Ruby Mountains are the backdrop to this little town and at over 11,000 ft. elevation, they are blue and topped with snow.  Just north a bit, the Humboldt Mountains still have their snowy peaks as well.  Why are they called the Ruby Mountains?  The original explorers found red stones in abundance in the area and thought that they were rubies.  They were actually garnets but the name stuck.

O'Carroll's Cafe patio

Sitting on the patio

The Ruby Mountains

The Lamoille Presbyterian Church has history dating back to 1904 when the construction began.  The original cost of the church was $3,899.15.  Over the decades, many upgrades and maintenance projects took place and make the original cost of the church look like a fraction of a down payment.  The stained glass windows, protected against weather and vandals with sheets of Lexan, are assessed today at $142,000.  At one point about 50 years back, the Presbyterian congregation numbered so small and the expense of maintaining the facility became such a stretch that the church was opened for Catholic mass services.  DEI don’tchaknow.  Now the “Little Church of the Crossroads,” is an historic landmark and is said to be the most photographed church in the country.  (I don’t know how they know this.)

Catholic Deer?  
Presbyterian Deer?  He wasn't saying.

Little Church of the Crossroads

The deer herd was just hanging around.
Makes me hungry!

No trip would be complete without a stop in Jiggs, NV, so we were told.  The GPS said, “In 1 mile you will arrive at your destination.”  This was confusing.  There was nothing but fields and brush for as far as we could see.  At last, we approached about 5 buildings, a plaque, a phone booth and a gas pump and found that we had arrived at the metropolis of Jiggs.  “Reliable sources,” say that the population of the town is 5 adults, 4 children and a dog.  It was originally a haven for outlaws, which explains what the plaque says, “The area produced two Nevada governors, a US senator and two murders.”  You decide who the outlaws were.  There is one business that still thrives:  The Jiggs Bar and yes, business is brisk at the bar and the pool table.  Interesting… rustic, remote and, in its own small way, quietly happy.  I only have one question:  Where's Albertson’s?

Jiggs Schoolhouse?  We weren't sure.
No plaque and all closed down.

A real phone booth!
I tried to drop a quarter in
but the slot was jammed.

The Jiggs Community Hall

The one open establishment,
thank you, God!