Sunday - Virginia City

Before we headed out to find Virginia City we sat outside in the sun and talked about our next move.  The weather looks ok for us to make our next stop (Tuesday)  June Lake at a National Forest Service campground called Oh Ridge.  It is a primitive campground, meaning there are no hook-ups whatsoever, but the views will be unbelievable.  I think it is at 7600 feet  of elevation, so we expect  to get quite cold at night.  We'll have to make sure we have full propane tanks for heat and have a full tank of diesel so we can use our generator to recharge our batteries while we're there.    A new experience for us.

When I told my friend Barb Sullivan that we were going to Virginia City, she expressed concern that we were taking Beluga on "those roads".  I assured her we weren't, that we were driving up in the jeep.  How steep could the roads be, I thought!    Well....she was right.  We drove out of Reno on 395 south and connected with 341 into the mountains.  Why do I do this to myself I ask....Dave asks the same thing.  I seem to direct us on  to the most jiggy, high altitude roads I can find, me who hates heights!    This road fit the bill perfectly.  I took very few pictures of the journey because I found it difficult to take my hands off the center console and I certainly couldn't look out over the spectacular vistas when they occurred on my side of the car.

We came to a scenic overlook and stopped so I could take a few pictures away from the edge.

looking back toward Reno (see downtown in the distance?)

I zoomed in on it for you

this is looking in the direction we'll go when we leave on Tuesday

I think that is our Tuesday road down there

this was taken after we came down a bit, on the other side of the summit, whew!

Virginia City is one of the cities that started the Gold Rush.  It is the home of the Comstock Lode, the "mother lode".  During its heydey, this Victorian town was home to 30,000 people and upwards of $400 million dollars (in 1860's dollars) worth of gold and silver was mined.    It is on the  National Register of Historic Places.

Today, the buildings stand as they were, but the first floors of most of "C" Street (the Main Street) are occupied by tacky tourist shops.  We ignored them and strolled the rough board sidewalk.
It was a bit anti-climatic after the thrilling drive there...

guess which is the Catholic church and which is the Episcopal...

beautiful multicolored glass chandelier and ornate ceiling

this chandelier was hanging in a fudge and ice cream shop!

Dave spied these beautiful plums as we walked past some sweet  cottages

I wonder if this little guy came from the BLM adoption center?

We were tired when we got home and our favorite bbq spot was closed on Sunday (Dave had his mouth all set for brisket and beans) so we got pizza and salad instead.  Dishes done, dogs out, now for Masterpiece Theatre.