Some lone peaks, a stretch of badlands and buttes, and a couple of north-south–trending ranges usher US-93 down a long basin toward the little junction town of Wells (pop. 1,346). Just under 70 miles from Jackpot at the interchange of US-93 and the I-80 freeway, Wells was named by the Central Pacific Railroad, which chose the site for a depot and town to make use of the plentiful springs in the hills a few miles northeast. The old downtown—take a right on 6th Street and another right at the light—is the most intact abandoned railroad row on the entire mainline across northern Nevada. Wells provides an explicit illustration of the West’s transition from rail to road to superhighway: The newest action in town is at the east and west exit ramps of I-80; the “strip” between the exits is 6th Street (old US-40), the vintage, pre-interstate place for action in the 1950s and even 1960s, but now derelict around the edges. Commerce along the 125-year-old tracks is, of course, extinct.

  Wells is situated at the northeastern base of the scenic East Humboldt Range. To get into the mountains, go under Wells’s west exit ramp and follow the signs; the paved road climbs to 8,400 feet, passing one campground and terminating at another. For details, contact the USFS ranger station (775/752-3357) at the west end of town.

  Continuing down US-93 affords a different view of the East Humboldts. Ten miles south of Wells, you can take a right on Hwy-232, which makes a loop through luxuriant Clover Valley at the eastern base of the mountains, one of the most bucolic basins in Nevada. About six miles in from the highway is a right turn onto a rough dirt track. Look up to see Hole-in-the-Mountain Peak. The tallest peak in the East Humboldts (11,276 feet), it features a 30- by 25-foot natural window in the thin rock 300 feet below its summit, which gives you a spectacular little patch of blue (or silver, orange, or purple, depending on the time of day) right through the top of the range. Compelling.