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ELKO, Nev. – Learn about the many travel routes that have crossed Nevada in the past 180 years and build your own wagon at the California Trail Interpretive Center.

The Trail Center is presenting a variety of family friendly programs throughout August. The following programs are free and open to everyone:

August 3, 10:00 a.m.:  How to Make Lye Soap

Lye soap has been used to wash clothes for hundreds of years. Learn both traditional and modern techniques for making lye soap.

August 4, 2:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Program: Build a Wagon

Learn about the different components of a covered wagon, and how they all fit together. Then, Jr. Rangers will build their own model wagon to use on the California Trail.

August 10, 10:00 a.m.: Basque Dancing

The Elko Arinak Basque Dancers will perform a variety of folk dances. Many of the dances are illustrated stories of traditional lifeways from the Basque Country. The dance group, first formed in 1967, has performed throughout the United States. The dancers took part in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in July 2016.

August 10, 7:00 p.m.: Evening Program: Cooking with a Dutch Oven

Cooking expert Duane Jones will demonstrate how to prepare delicious meals in a Dutch oven, just like the pioneers did!

August 11, 2:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Program:  Pioneer Art Walk

Join Volunteer Susanne Reese for a guided tour of the Trail Center. Kids will have the opportunity to dress up like pioneers, explore a wagon, build miniature log cabins, and learn about history through the Center’s beautiful, brilliant murals. Ages four and up.

August 17, 10:00 a.m.: Investigating Fort Ruby: “A Bleak Inhospitable Place”

Fort Ruby was a remote military outpost established in 1862 in Ruby Valley, Nevada. About 100 military personnel protected an emigrant, stage, and mail route through Overland Pass. Fort Ruby soldiers were tasked with keeping peace in the area until the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869.

Between 2005 and 2014, archaeologists from the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with Passport in Time volunteers and local Native American tribes, collaborated to conduct research at Fort Ruby. Excavations revealed building foundations and artifacts that shed light on the lives of Fort Ruby soldiers.

Chimalis Kuehn, an archaeologist with the U.S. Forest Service, will describe the history of Fort Ruby, along with highlights from archaeological investigations. Learn why one soldier referred to Fort Ruby as “a bleak inhospitable place.”

August 17, 7:00 p.m.: Evening Program:  Songbird:  Telling the Paiute Story

Christina Thomas, a woman of Paiute, Shoshone, and Hopi descent, will share her rich knowledge and insight into her people’s heritage.

In this interactive presentation, Thomas will explore the performing arts of traditional singing, drumming and dancing. She will provide lessons in the Paiute language and tell traditional stories, and will share knowledge of traditional foods and plants. Thomas will also discuss the history of the Great Basin native peoples, and provide her unique perspective on contemporary Native American issues.

This event is produced through a partnership between the Trail Center and Nevada Humanities, and supported by Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

August 18, 2:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Program:  Storytelling with Quilts

The pioneers used quilts to tell the story of their time on the California Trail. Come and learn how the pioneers shared their stories and then tell your own on a paper quilt.

August 22, 7:00 p.m.:  Evening Program:  California Trail Center Evening Hike

Bring your hiking boots and water bottles for a guided evening hike at the California Trail Center. On the hike, BLM Range Technician Steph Fredrick will discuss many topics including alien, invasive plants and disturbance responses in the Great Basin.

August 24, 10:00 a.m.: From Schooners to Studebakers: The History of Transcontinental Travel in Nevada

The California Trail brought hundreds of thousands of emigrants through Nevada on their way to California, sparking the flame of a bright future in transcontinental travel. Interstate 80 follows the old pioneer trail, but there were other routes established between the end of the Gold Rush and the construction of the Interstate Highway System, further opening the doors for eager travelers seeking new beginnings.

August 25, 2:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Program: Sling it!

What did Great Basin children do for fun 2,000 years ago? Play with slings! Slings have been used as toys and weapons around the world for thousands of years. 2,000-year-old slings made for children were unearthed in Lovelock Cave. Join Park Ranger Greg Feathers and learn how to use this ancient throwing device.

August 31, 10:00 a.m.: Ten Graves for Every Mile: Death on the California Trail

Despite the hardships of life on the California Trail, historians estimate that only six percent of emigrants died on the trail. However, death touched nearly every wagon train that crossed the country. Diseases and accidents contributed too many trail side funerals and impacted the pioneers for the rest of their journey. Join Jordan Thomas to learn more about how, why and where emigrants perished on the Trail.

The California Trail Interpretive Center is located eight miles west of Elko on I-80, Hunter exit 292. The Center is open seven days a week, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.