Reno, Tahoe and Virginia City

Still hanging out in the west - very far west.  Almost in California west.  Well - actually we did make it in to California.

 

RENO, Nevada



We saw plenty of police officers but not one from "RENO 911"
also saw lots of homeless or semi-homeless folks - did not think
they were too photogenic.

 

Reno Riverwalk - The Truckee River runs out of Lake Tahoe in California and winds it's way
through downtown Reno.

No kayakers playing in the river while we were at the Riverwalk but there were plenty of people
and dogs playing in the freezing cold water.



I was going to ask this guy if he had caught anything but then
I noticed his left ankle with it's pretty little bracelet. 

 Lake Tahoe, California

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft , making it the second-deepest in the United States. Additionally, Lake Tahoe is listed as the 26^th largest lake by volume in the world at 122,160,280 acre feet.

As you come in to the north side of Lake Tahoe you pass
by Squaw Valley - site of the 1960 Olympics.



Squaw Valley - the town was very cute but we did not stay.  It was Saturday and totally packed
with tourists.  Those darn tourists are such a pain.

Try as we might - I don't think we got any pictures that capture the beauty of Lake Tahoe.



Had a hard time finding vantage points from which to take pictures.
Why in the heck we went on a Saturday is beyond me.
Every parking lot was jammed beyond capacity so we mostly just drove around.



The sky and water were so totally blue and the mountains so green - it was breathtaking.

 

 

Virginia City, Nevada

 

Virginia City sprang up as a boomtown on top of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver deposit discovered in the United States, in 1859. Though at its peak in the late 19th century it had over 15,000 residents, the mines' output declined after 1874, and as of 2010 the population of Virginia City was about 855. 

 

Of all the tourist towns we have been to - this one takes the cake for rude people.  And I don't mean the other tourists - but the people who live and work here.  I think they are trying to put on the old miner, curmudgeon, mountain man face - and it just comes across as rude.

 

Virginia City is also the city where the TV show Bonanza was supposed to take place.

 

We took a tour of a silver mine that is right in town and under
a bar.  This specific mine was a complete bust but
the tour and the tour guide were good.

I was not thrilled when I was told that I had to
wear a hardhat.  However, very shortly thereafter
I found out why I had to wear one and was happy to

 

 Just a building in Virginia City.

 

 One of the rude locals!

(oops - nope that is Monte!)

 

 

 I cannot remember what church this was

but it was pretty.

 Mine tailings from long abandoned mines

dot the countryside around Virginia City.

 

Our westward trek is over and it is time to start moseying our way east.