We wrote this book to let people know about a place we know well, a vast and beautiful landscape that lies hidden behind the clanging slot machines and roulette wheels that people associate with Nevada. This is a dynamic landscape created by glaciers, vast lakes, desert winds, and explosive volcanism. We lead you to active faults that have produced violent earthquakes, hot springs where steam escapes from far below, ghost towns where men once toiled for gold, and 10,000-year-old petroglyphs left behind by ancient inhabitants. We'd like to invite you on a trip that may change your mind about Nevada; we'll be your guides, but the land itself is the storyteller.