Week 9   

Monday June 30, 2014

Non-Travel Day

 
This morning we stayed back at the camper to accomplish some required domestic chores . After Lunch we headed north east to “Virginia City”, during its boomtime the mines around the city produced millions of dollars in gold and silver, equaling billions today. Most of the city has
been rebuilt at one time or another as several fires in the earlier years destroyed many of the buildings, but there are still many original buildings. We started our visit by taking a tram tour around the city, and were glad we did as we learned a lot about the history of the city and surrounding area. After the tour we walked along the main street, over old style wooden boardwalks that were extremely uneven, to Old West style saloons and shops of all kinds, we even stopped in a vintage ice cream and candy store for some ice cream. The highlight of the afternoon was our visit to the Silver Queen Saloon and Hotel for a drink at a wooden bar that dates back to the late 1800s; another feature of the saloon was a floor to ceiling picture of the “Queen” that is adorned with 3,261 silver dollars, which is a tribute to the miners of the Combination shaft that is 3,261 feet deep. While having our drinks we spoke to the bar tender who informed us that the place, along with many of the other nearby buildings, was haunted; and that many of the hotel guests have had encounters with the spirits. The building also has historical value, in that in 1862 at this site Samuel Clemens became Mark Twain. The town was literally built on the side of a mountain, walking from where we parked to the main street we had to walk up what seemed like a 45 degree grade. We definitely had a great time this afternoon.