Virginia City

Wed, 8/24/11:
Goose Meadows NF Campground, Truckee, CA:  Drove over to Virginia City this morning.  I drove for a change to give Mike a break.  Back on Rt. 80 again and down the big hill 30 miles or so through the Truckee River canyon or valley to Reno and then south on 395 and then northeast on 341. Reno is a lot bigger than we thought.  Going south on I395 is where Reno is expanding.  When we got on 341 and started up over the mountains we saw warning signs of wild horses in the area.  Never saw any however.  We went up, up, up over the sagebrush-covered mountains and then down into the historic Virginia City.  Looks pretty much like it did back in the 1800s.  Gold was discovered first, but it’s mostly noted for the silver mines.  Still have wooden sidewalks.  A guy named Samuel Clements worked in one of the mines here. It was said that he was the worst miner ever.  He wrote a book about his experiences, “Roughing It”, which I bought at the local book store.  Should be a good read. He ended up on the editorial staff of the Territorial Enterprise, however, writing for the first time under the name of Mark Twain.  We took a train ride up to Gold Hill and back.  Then walked around Virginia City for a while and took a little tour.  Had lunch at the Sawdust Corners Rest. We also discovered that a guy by the name of George Hearst, father of William Randolph Hearst, made a fortune as a broker here in Virginia City. Who knew?  Drove back down through the mountains, back through Reno, and then back to Truckee and our site.  Another beautiful day.  Mid-80s up in Virginia City, 96 in Reno.  Probably low 80s back at Goose Meadows on the Truckee River.  

Denizens of Virginia City

School (kindergarten through 12th grade) built in 1875, complete with flush toilets 

Newspaper where Mark Twain first wrote under this pseudonym