Peggy and I have passed through the Carson City, Nevada, area but it was many years ago. We do not remember visiting any of the available attractions here during previous visits. Now we have nothing but time on our hands, we started our exploration today by going to Bodine’s Casino and getting chicken fried steak for me and a veggie omelet for Peg. Their chicken fried steak is a good deal for the cost but certainly no match for Dean’s in Clackamas.
After breakfast, we escaped from the casino with our wallets intact and drove the 15 miles or so to Virginia City. I remember always seeing the dot designating the location of Virginia City on the map that would catch fire during the title sequence at the beginning of the TV western serial, Bonanza.
Virginia City is a strange assortment of old mining community, upscale shops in old buildings, old houses with fabulous architecture and wild horses wandering around downtown. There was no parking available on the main drag due to many aimlessly wandering tourists saturating the area but ample parking can be had a block or two away.
Despite some of the magnificent architecture, the foundations of the buildings in town are predominantly crap and I am surprised the structures continue to cling to the sides of the very steep hill where the town is situated. We spotted a few tall structures with what is referred to in the slang as an “Irish Door,” which is a door covering an opening in a lofty part of the outside wall of a building that does not have the required stairs on the exterior. The first step out the door would be fatal. The big retaining walls required to hold up a community of this size should have been massive, robust structures but they were actually quite flimsy-looking and not plumb. I am glad we do not live beneath any of them.
Wild horses were wandering around on the back streets, nibbling at apples and grasses in the spaces between the houses. The big stallion that was shepherding a big harem of mares would develop a fifth lag anytime anyone approached his stuff. The horses looked very healthy.
There is a lot of interesting Americana on the roads leading in and out of Virginia City. Old vehicles dot some sections of the landscape. On the way back into Carson City from Virginia City, we stopped to look at a few of the abundance of whorehouses. They don’t look too good on the outside but I suppose all the interesting stuff goes on indoors.
We finished up our exploring for today by driving through Carson City to get a look at some of the gorgeous residential and municipal architecture. The Comstock Mine, one of the biggest producers of precious metal in the world, is nearby and some of the affluent early inhabitants built magnificent wood and stone buildings that still stand.
Some pictures of Virginia City and Carson City stuff can be seen if you click here