A Modern Journey on the Trail: The California Trail Interpretive Center Announces October programs
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ELKO, Nev. – Learn about a modern day journey on the Trail at the California Trail Interpretive Center. Trail Center Park Ranger Erika Schaubach described her experience as “beautiful monotony.”
The Trail Center is presenting a variety of family friendly programs throughout October. The following programs are free and open to everyone:
Oct. 1, 2:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Program: All About Bats
Join BLM Biologist Beth Wood as she discusses bat facts, and learn more about these fascinating, flying mammals.
Oct. 7, 2:00 p.m.: Fall Basque Dancing program
The Elko Ariñak 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.
Oct. 8, 2:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Program: Animal Clues: Scat and Tracks
Put on your detective cap and use your magnifying glasses to help the Animal Clue Crew solve a mystery. Join Ranger Erika for a family scavenger hunt.
Oct. 14, 2:00 p.m.: Beautiful Monotony: A Modern Journey on the California Trail
What difficulties does the California Trail pose to modern travelers? Join Ranger Erika as she recounts her solo 3,000-mile road trip from Virginia to Nevada. It is a story of hurricanes, lost keys, full hotels, late night camp check-ins, and lots of podcasts.
Oct. 15, 2:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Program: Mountain Man Stories
The mountain men of the West created fantastic stories. Join mountain man and living historian Kerry Tuckett for stories about these rugged individuals and their adventures in the American wilderness.
Oct. 28, 2:00 p.m.: Kill the Indian, Save the Man: American Indian Boarding Schools
From the late nineteenth century and long into the twentieth, United States government officials sanctioned the kidnapping and forced attendance of American Indian children into assimilative Indian boarding schools. Lieutenant Richard Henry Pratt, founder of the state-sponsored Indian boarding school model and Indian War veteran, infamously said, “Kill the Indian… and save the Man.”
Learn about how Pratt’s words came to characterize the Indian boarding school era, and what that would mean for Indian peoples today. The speaker is Jens Camp, an American Indian Studies graduate of Arizona State, and a research associate with the Great Basin Institute at the California Trail Interpretive Center.
Oct. 29, 2:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Program: Flint, Steel and S’mores
Join Nevada Outdoor School interpreter Tim Burns and learn how the mountain men created campfires with flint and steel. Following the program, enjoy making s’mores around a crackling fire. Ingredients for s’mores provided, while supplies last.
The California Trail Interpretive Center is located eight miles west of Elko on I-80, Hunter exit 292. The Center is operating now under its winter hours schedule and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information about the California Trail Interpretive Center, call (775) 738-1849. Visit the Trail Center online at www.californiatrailcenter.org or https://www.facebook.com/californiatrailinterpretivecenter/.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.