Eureka marks loneliest road's highest point by Mark LaPointe, Outpost Staff In this package: Hwy 50 - only lonely if still Fallon - gateway to 50 Austin - nostalgic past Ely - boomtown of the 90's Baker and Great Basin N.P.   Driving 75 miles east down Highway 50 will bring you to the small hillside town of Eureka. By this point, you'll probably be more than ready for a little lunch and gasoline for your vehicle. Eureka provides an excellent outpost for travelers with a couple of filling stations and restaurants along the main route through town. The Eureka County Courthouse is one of several buildings that demonstrate Eureka's prosperous past. Photo courtesy of Nevada Commission on Tourism Again, if you're looking for history, take a while to visit the town and sites such as the 1879 Eureka Courthouse or the old Eureka Theatre and Opera House built in the same year. The Eureka Theatre and Opera House was recently restored to its original glory and won the National Trust for Historic Preservation's coveted National Preservation Honor Award in 1994. Much of the town's history can also be found in its six cemeteries. Here the story of Eureka's past can be read on the headstones of those who helped bring this former mining town to its largest population of 6,000 persons. Although the town is only a fraction of that size today, its greatness can be seen and felt while walking its streets.     copyright 12/11/97 Nevada Outpost http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost Nevada Outpost is produced by students at the Reynolds School of Journalism, University of Nevada, Reno Copyright 1999 Nevada Outpost http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost  TOP