Virginia City, Nevada

(June 4, 2009) We got into Virginia City, NV late in the afternoon. We got a spot in the Virginia City RV park overlooking Boot Hill.

It was dinner time by the time we got settled so we went into town (just a few blocks) and got some dinner. We ate at the Chinese Restaurant there and I have to say, it was probably the worst Chinese meal we’ve ever had. They people working there were all very nice but oh my…..the food was just awful. We were going to walk around some more but the wind picked up and a heavy rain followed to we beat it back to the camper and settled in for the night.

I have to say this campground had the nicest shower facilities we have ever encountered. It was just like being at home. They had 6 shower rooms, all were sparkling clean, decorated nicely, each room had pegs for hanging clothes, towels etc. each room had a large bench to sit on, electrical outlets for a hair dryer and each had a toilet and washbowl. I could write a whole Blog entry on campground showers & bathrooms. Some are deplorable !!!! This one gets an A+. I wrote a review on their website and we also called them after we got home to tell them how we appreciated their accommodations.

Friday morning, we checked out of the campground and drove into town to explore. We’ve been here before but Virginia City is such a neat little town. There’s board sidewalks and you never know what you’ll see. This particular weekend they were celebrating their 150th Anniversary. We were wishing we could stick around and enjoy all the events but after a few hours we needed to move on.

When we were last here, there was a fund raising drive going on to restore the steeple and front of the St Mary In The Mountains Catholic Church. I was happy to see that they apparently reached their goal and the work was in progress. This beautiful church dates back to 1875.

You can pan for gold..

Didn’t every western town have a Bucket of Blood Saloon?

This place was so neat! Down this alley were all kinds of shops, the one on the right was a consignment shop with some of the neatest stuff I’ve ever seen. Lots of antiques and stuff from the 1950’s.

The Suicide Table (a Faro table) is located in the Delta Saloon. It’s reported that back in the 1800’s former owner Black Jake shot himself at the table, after loosing his entire life savings in one evening.

I think every old west town has a Ponderosa Saloon too. From this saloon you can take an underground mine tour. We did that last time we were here. It was very interesting and it gave me a new respect for miners.

The walk in vault inside the Ponderosa

Two cowboys (or bank robbers) in town, hanging out and having a beer.

An old ore car at the end of a parking lot. As you can see it’s actually sitting on a little piece of track.

The Silver Queen Hotel and Wedding Chapel is the home of this unusual wall hanging. The Silver Queen’s dress contains 3,261 silver dollars and her belt contains 28 twenty dollar gold pieces. This picture is a tribute to Virginia City’s once great silver mining industry.

As I mentioned earlier, this was the weekend of their 150th anniversary celebration so there were lots of folks in different outfits from the past.

These cow pokes were coming into town after months out on the range (I think).

Leaving Virginia City, heading down into the Carson City area, the road is narrow and slow going.

Our next stop was at the home of Bob’s 91 year old Aunt Helen and her two son’s and grandson, just outside Carson City. All the guys were away, so we went to visit her and spend the night so she wouldn’t have to be home alone. She was so glad to see us and I think relieved because her grandson has two dogs that needed fed and exercised and it would have been difficult for her.

Bob and his Aunt Helen looking at old pictures.

Bob out exercising Roxy & Tucker. They are a handful !!!! But sooooo sweet!

Aunt Helen’s grandson came home early the next morning. He plays in a band and they had a gig in Reno so he got home as soon as he could. Bob’s cousin Andy was in southern California making the rounds of places that sell his Jerky. And his cousin Ian was over in Truckee, CA taking his turn at their caboose where they sell the jerky and Ian’s beautiful candles.

(June 6, 2009) About 11:30am we hugged Aunt Helen goodbye and headed out for Truckee. It was a miserable drive around Lake Tahoe, foggy and raining….couldn’t even really see the lake. I was really disappointed at the weather.

This was the best view of Lake Tahoe I could get.

But we finally got to Truckee and found the caboose and Ian.

After a nice dinner at the Italian place just to the right of the caboose, we went over to the apartment that the guys use while they’re in Truckee and visited with Ian until the wee hours. When we left him, we came back to this parking lot and spent the night in front of the caboose. The next morning we were up and ready to hit the road about 8:30am. We did drive down thru Truckee but there wasn’t much open.

I love it that this old Flying A station has been restored and is being used.

After driving thru town we were back on the freeway heading for Susanville, CA.