Lincoln County Nevada Photo Festival
September 2024
This past September, I had the pleasure of participating in Nevada’s Lincoln County Photo Festival in and around Pioche, NV. This event encompassed a full weekend of ‘golden hour’ photography in several locations such as Main Street Pioche, Cathedral Gorge, Godbe Mill, Bootleg Cemetery as well as Spring Valley State Park and Echo Canyon State Park. Our three days were certainly filled with explorations and clicking shutters.
Day 1- Main Street, Pioche
Our first afternoon, under the threat of a storm with nearby thunder and dark skies looming, was spent touring Main Street Pioche. Now, Pioche isn’t a ghost town but it’s main street sure looks and feels like a ghost town, with it’s abandoned buildings, storefronts and remnants of a bustling mining town. Some of the original buildings, built in 1870 still stand.
Day 2, Part I- Early risers get the best shots!
With sunrise just around 6:30 am, we met at the Overland Hotel super early and drove out to the Pioche Aerial Tramway where we watched the sun rise over the horizon. This tramway is the only one that still stands in all of Nevada and at sunrise, it is quite a site to behold. From here, we went over the Bootleg Cemetery for more perfect golden hour lighting where we walked among the tombstones and below the tramway carts. We completed our morning tour at the Godbe Mine where there was an abundance of photo opportunities. What an interesting place to behold, with so much history, remnants and eerie sounds. So far, I had totally fallen in love with Pioche and all it’s mysterious buildings, stories and views.
After more explorations in town and a tiny siesta, we met up again with the group to drive through and explore both Spring Valley State Park and Echo Canyon State Park. One of our initial goals was to seek out some wild turkeys which at nearly dusk were hard to find. What we did find were plenty of deer, cows, birds and horses. The views throughout the canyons were unbelievable with the glow of the setting sun. The rock formations offered interesting shapes and reflections upon lakes and marshes. We also witnessed a spectacular sunset over Echo Lake. It was quite an adventure to say the least.
Day 3 - Cathedral Gorge is Magical!
Our final day was another early morning to catch that precious golden sun rising. Camping at Cathedral Gorge the night before was such a different experience and waking up to the sun slowly peeking over these unusual and dramatic spires was beyond exceptional. Eventually, we made our way over to explore towering slot canyons with spiky textures with proof of frequenting birds. These layers of volcanic ash were deposited millions of year ago to create this moon like appearance easily witnessed while walking through wavy hallways. These narrow canyons are particularly interesting with all the different textures of the rock faces, each corner offers a different view with varying lights. It is beyond a cool and unusual experience!
After spending nearly three full days in Pioche I learned a ton about this town. Would I go back? You better believe it! I would spend at least an entire day perusing their main street, walking among more of the abandoned homes and businesses, visit the Gem Theater, purposefully making time in the evening to capture it’s shining lights. I would explore more of Cathedral Gorge, perhaps hike the Miller Point or Juniper Draw Loop Trail or both! I would also love to camp in the Spring Valley State Park looking for those wild turkeys and visiting my new favorite horse and waiting for the sun to set in those gorgeous canyons. Perhaps, I’ll see you there too.