As I travel the country I often pass by places that have interesting names. So when I pass through a place named Jackpot it piques my interest.
A drive from Reno to Yellowstone takes me through some very barren desert terrain. One of the loneliest stretches is when I get off interstate I-80 in Wells, Nevada and head north towards Twin Falls, Idaho. At Wells the highway US93 sign reads “Jackpot – 68 miles”
For the most part this highway is a well-paved two lane road traversing badlands and buttes. As far as I can tell this section of the country in uninhabited.
At 70mph it’s an hour drive until I’m asked to slow down as I enter the town.
The first thing I see are signs for food and gasoline services
As its name suggests Jackpot is home to several casinos tempting visitors with a penchant for gambling.
There are several casinos here. Jackpot sits on the Idaho state line and is the first stop for gaming for visitors traveling from the north.
My guess is that the north south distance of Jackpot is no more than a mile. At north end of town is this sign as you leave Nevada.
So there you have it. An appropriate name for a hopefully lucrative stop off for gaming. Good luck to you.
Still Interested in other places?
These are a several more places that you may never have heard of:
I’m a dyed in the wool traveler. In my travels I sometimes run across a place that bears a “funny” name – a place that has an unfamiliar moniker.
Not long ago after taking in the scenic wonders of Death Valley National Park I pointed the rental auto towards my destination: Las Vegas
Shortly thereafter I encountered one of the places with a strange name.
I turned onto a side road and followed it a couple of miles to find a ghost town. Judging from the many weathered foundations here, Rhyolite must have been fairly active years ago.
The Overbury Bldg opened in 1905 housed offices.
The Rhyolite schoolhouse built about 1910 for 250 children
The Cook Bank was first occupied in 1907.
An artistic silhouette of miners at work
When I returned home I spent a few minutes to find out the history of Rhyolite.
The rhyolite mineral is a volcanic substance containing quartz. About 1904 rhyolite was discovered in the area and a large number of prospectors moved to the area in hopes to strike it rich. When electricity came to Rhyolite a large mill was built to mine and process the ore. But the 1907 financial panic soon affected the town, businesses and residents. The mines and mill slowed production and workers left. By 1916 the town was effectively shut down.
If you’re interested you can visit this ghost town by driving from Las Vegas to Beatty, NV and then driving on NV-374 west about four miles.
Still Interested?
Here are a few more places that you may never have heard of –
I’ve made countless cross country trips by car usually traveling our Interstate Highway system. When I pass by a “strange” name, I’ll jot the name down and do some research on the place when I return home.
One of these places is Beowawe.
Bewawe is located in eastern Nevada a few miles south of Interstate 80.
Some say that its name is derived from the Paiute language who inhabited the area and means gate. But there are several other interesting and humorous tales about the origin of the town’s name which you can read here.
In the late 1800s, nearby mining operations sent the ore to Beowawe for shipment by rail. The railroad also brought supplies for the ranching operations. For decades it remained a small town to support the nearby ranching industry.
During the 1940s and 1950s several visits by the USGS to examine the hot springs and geysers in the Whirlwind Valley area where Beowawe is located. Researcher Nell Murbarger discovered that this “remote pocket in the mountains of north central Nevada with a colorful terrace and boiling pools provide an amazing spectacle for the few people who venture over the treacherous road that leads to this spot.”
Geyser Field in Whirlwind Valley, Bewawe – Photo Credit: Oleh Melnyk, 1978
In the late 1950s tests were conducted to determine if these natural hydrothermal features were capable of generating electrical power. Consequently a plant was built to capture the hot water and steam. Unfortunately the geysers of Whirlwind Valley disappeared with the plant’s construction.
Photo Credit: “Plazak, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia CommonsResources: Murbarger, Nell, “Geysers of Whirlwind Valley” Desert Magazine, January 1956, Vol. 18, Issue 1. To visit Beowawe take exit 261 off of I-80 and drive a few miles south.
Still Interested?
Here are a few more places that you may never have heard of –
