Lovelock, Nevada

Lovelock is an old railroad town now located on the I-80 in western Nevada. In this part of Nevada, the I-80 follows the original route of the California Trail along the Humboldt River. The town gained a bit of fame when on Valentine's Day in 2006, they dedicated the new "Lover's Lock Plaza" in downtown near the courthouse. The concept of the plaza is based on an ancient Chinese custom of symbolically locking one's love on a never-ending chain somewhere high up in China's Yellow Mountains. There's no Yellow Mountains around Lovelock but after the transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869, there were Chinese laborers scattered all over the West, including here in Lovelock.

The Lovelock Cave Back Country Byway heads south from Lovelock for 20 or so miles, down close to the Humboldt Sink and the Lovelock Cave, a spot where archaeologists discovered woven-reed duck hunting decoys made by Native Americans more than 2,000 years ago.

Lovelock is the county seat of Pershing County. Mining and ranching are big in this area.