Ed Spear talks about how Fire and Ice came to be and some of the coolest features of the event. We loved the fireworks despite the bitter cold night air. The sound of the fireworks echoing through the canyon was truly unique, and the cannon was a cool addition to the event.

Previously:

• Fire and Ice 2008 – Harley Haslem
• Fire & Ice, Cave Lake State Park, 2008
• Ely, Nevada – January 2008
• Traveling Nevada to trip along Highway 50

First time Fire & Ice Festival sculptors Harley Haslem and his friends and family created this sculpture of a miner, “The Prospector” won first place at the Cave Lake State Park event. Photo by Charlie JohnstonLate in the morning on the second day of our Ely road trip, Ryan and I decided to put off lunch and get out to Cave Lake State Park immediately following our diesel train excursion. We had driven more than 300 miles east across Nevada and were anxious to finally see the sculptures at Ely’s Fire & Ice Festival.

A short drive south on U.S. 50, then east on State Route 486, and we were at the lake. After a few minutes adding layers under our jackets – the temperature lingered somewhere in the upper 20s all afternoon – we made our way onto the ice. It...

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Scenic Highway 50: The Loneliest Road in America offers several towns with rich histories along its path.The crew here at Traveling Nevada will be taking off and cruising through the state next weekend to hit up the Fire and Ice Show at Cave Lake State Park. We’ll be driving from Reno to Ely along Highway 50 and stopping along the way to meet a few folks and see a few of the attractions in Austin and Eureka.

The trip ought to be a good one. We’ll be hitting Austin first as we head east and meeting with Jan Morrison, who runs a nonprofit group that’s renovating the old church there. She also has her finger on the pulse of the town that serves as Nevada’s geographic center and can show us a few things as we spend a little...

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Fire and Ice: An octopus sits atop a frozen lake. Photo courtesy of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.The 2008 White Pine County Fire and Ice Show, held at Cave Lake State Park January 18-20, is going to be a sight to behold. What started out as one man sculpting a trout on top of a frozen lake has turned into what the American Bus Association calls one of the top 100 events in North America, and draws hundreds of people to the state park located in White Pine County.

The three day festival has become a competition for the best snow and ice creations. Steve Gray, park supervisor at Cave Lake State Park, says that the competitors don’t really take it that way, though.

“They’re just out here having fun and building stuff,” says Gray.

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