The boom-and-bust rhythm shaped not just the state’s economy but its identity — a place built on promise, reinvention, and stories that survived long after the mines ran dry. It’s easy to picture Nevada as a stretch of dusty nothing between Las Vegas and Reno. The boom-and-bust rhythm shaped not just the state’s economy but its identity — a place built on promise, reinvention, and stories that survived long after the mines ran dry. Once braved by wagon, then rail, and now car, it’s still the best way to cross the state. —Janna Karel, Eater, editor, Southern California/SouthwestCredits