Virginia City and Lake Tahoe

Tuesday, October 11, we found ourselves in Carson City NV. This is the capitol of Nevada and we saw the silver dome of the capitol building as we drove into town. We have been here before, so we decided to visit Virginia City. Virginia City is an old mining town, now turned into a tourist attraction, high in the hills north east of Carson City. The road is advertised as a 15% grade, so it was a little intimidating driving around. We went through Silver City which is where the largest silver mine was found (called the Comstock Lode), then through Gold Hill where gold was found in the valley below the hill, and ended up in Virginia City. We spent an hour or so walking around looking at the antique shops, jewelry stores, gift shops, saloons, hotels, and museums. There is lots to do, but it was all a little too “Old Westie” for us! We even passed on taking a ride on the shortest train line in the West. On the way down we marveled at all the destruction the mining had created in the hills – abandoned equipment, tunnels, and denuded hills with terracing and deep pits.

On Wednesday we decided to drive around Lake Tahoe. This could have been a beautiful drive – the lake is a gorgeous blue, the surrounding forest was lovely and the deciduous trees were all turning color.


However, this must be the time of year when California and Nevada do their road work (the shoulder season between summer and the winter snows). It started out with the highway patrol pulling all the cars over so a caravan of “Wide load” vehicles could pass. Then we hit the one way roads with flaggers stopping cars. There must have been a dozen spots as we attempted to follow the road around the lake. We found where the Truckee River exits Lake Tahoe in Tahoe City. We drove over the bridge and marveled at how little water was in it considering how much water was in it when we saw the River in Reno. We missed the entrance to Emerald Bay State Park camp ground, but did manage to get into Fallen Leaf National Forest camp ground just outside South Lake Tahoe. They are closing this weekend, so at least we timed that right! Now we are recovering and will carry on tomorrow.