Desert Speaks

Crossing The Great Basin Desert

In the 1950s, Life magazine labeled Highway 50 "the loneliest highway in America." Not much has changed along the road in northern Nevada. P art of the reason it is so lonely is that it crosses the Great Basin D esert. During the trip across the basins and over the ranges that make up this landscape, The Desert Speaks studies the fascinating geology that is key to understanding the region and its natural and human hist ory. Take a ride into the past and board a steam-powered train, crucia l to the settlement of the area. This program also includes a tour of Ruby National Wildlife Refuge - one of the few respites for Canadian g eese, sandhill cranes and other migrating birds in the Great Basin.