“USA 🇺🇸 ~Road Trip’n in California and Nevada”

• July 23, 2021
• By Pen
• 2 Comments

We had the best day!

We made it into Nevada, from California, and after going through Reno, we made it as far as Lovelock; aka as the middle of nowhere; Nevada.

In total, we just had a 13.5 hour day. That was not the plan when we started out at 7AM, but we just kept going and saw so much. We are happy travelers.

⬆️ We stopped in Carson City, Nevada for an early dinner, or late lunch, then we could start looking for lodging, as we drove further. We found a decent hotel for $89. Again, no WiFi, after confirming WiFi, so the manager said we could get $10 off a pizza. (We did not imbibe). This, after passing up two other hotels that were almost $200 a night, along the same desolate route; probably with no internet, either, so we did okay. 

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CALIFORNIA

California, a western U.S. state, stretching from the Mexican border along the Pacific, for nearly 900 miles. Its terrain includes cliff-lined beaches, redwood forest, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Central Valley farmland and the Mojave Desert.
The city of Los Angeles is the seat of the Hollywood entertainment industry.
Hilly San Francisco is known for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and cable cars.

This morning, we drove from Bishop, California, to the amazing Ghost Town called Bodie. There are many old mining towns to choose from, for a visit, all over California, and we have been to many, but not Bodie. We have both wanted to see this old mining town for a long time, so today was that day.
On the way, we saw a coyote, a bunny rabbit, hawks, a lizard, and many chipmunks; the tiniest chipmunks we have ever seen! Maybe they were babies?

The ghost town of Bodie was really interesting to visit, and with amazing history! Another added bonus was getting to use my new Fuji XT-3 mirror-less camera for the first time! I love it. It is so much lighter to pack around, with my neck issue. I still have a lot to learn, with the correct recipe of setting, but it’s great! I will be getting another lens, as the 55-200 is best for landscape. I need an 18-55 or there around, for close-in work. Currently, for said close-in work, I used my iPhone 11; (for now)

Bodie Ghost Town
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Bodie, California is a town frozen in time, and preserved by California State Parks in a state of “arrested decay.” Bodie became a State Historic Park in 1962, and maintains the buildings just as they were found when the State took over the town. The Parks management team do not restore the buildings, instead choosing to simply preserve the buildings in their aged and weathered, 1880s appearance.

In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880!
By then, the town of Bodie bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters, prostitutes, and people from every country in the world. At one time, there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Among the saloons were numerous brothels and “houses of ill repute,” gambling halls and opium dens; an entertainment outlet for everyone?
On a daily basis miners would emerge from the mills and head for the bars and the red light district to spend their earnings. The mixture of money, gold and alcohol would sometimes prove fatal. Newspapers reported that townspeople would ask in the mornings “Have we a man for breakfast?” Meaning “Did anyone get killed last night?’
Some records show that a “Wm. Body” took a ship from New York, around the horn, to end up in San Francisco. Factually, it isn’t clear if that’s the same man who was prospecting near present day Bodie. In any case, the spelling of the name was changed at some point, before the majority of the people made their way to Bodie, and it stuck.

Today, even though Bodie is down a dusty, bumpy, slow, 13 mile-long road, off State Highway 395, it’s amazing how many people are aware of this once glorious town.
There’s a story about a little girl whose family was moving from San Francisco to Bodie, and who, depending on those telling it, wrote in her diary either: “Good, by God, I’m going to Bodie” or “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie.”
Bodie was known to be a very dangerous town during the boon days of the Gold Rush, like many, newly “sprouted” up towns were, during Gold Fever.
I read accounts where there was a shooting every day in Bodie, and the second busiest business, besides all the saloons, was the morgue. Bodie was a notoriously dangerous Wild West town, infamous for the violence that accompanied its many saloons, brothels, gambling dens, and red-light district.

Aside from the adult-aged wild men and women of the west, it is well know that a three-year-old boy, attending a birthday party, back in the day, was served jello instead of the “expected” birthday cake, making him angry, thus setting a fire, and burning the entire Main Street down to the ground!
What about the lynching mob of hungry and desperate gold miners, who planned a coup to kill the entire Chinese working crew, hired to build the first railway in Bodie, so they could get the work, instead of the foreigners! Lucky, their coup was foiled, and did not end in the result of wiping-out the entire China Town and their inhabitants.

I could go on and on with crazy stories just like these, so one can surmise, quite easily, Bodie may very well be responsible for keying the original term of “The Wild, Wild West!”

Only the church and one house had doors open for limited access. The rest of the inside photos were taken through dirty windows. But, it was so fun to look in every single old residence, as we wandered around.

Often times, when mines slowed down, or even closed, back then, people would simply pack up their personal belongings and leave everything else behind, in order to beat others to mining jobs elsewhere. It was also very expensive to move all belongings, so the families would often find the next gold mining town, to have the abandoned home to move into.

Today, roughly 110 buildings remain intact, with Bodie often hailed as one of the best examples of a Western gold mining town.
It was mentioned there is something called the “curse of Bodie,” which claims that anyone who takes anything from the town, will have bad luck. As a result, “souvenirs” people have stolen keep getting sent back to the local ranger’s station with letters of apology.

A Park Ranger giving a history lesson on Bodie, in front of the old church.

Did you know Bodie is the coldest part of California, during the winter months? 15 feet of snow is not unusual every year, with temps that drop down, way below freezing.
Sadly, the gentleman Body (Bodie) did not live through a blizzard, shortly after discovering the wealthy gold vein. He would never know what he started.

For complete history, here is a link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/a-history-of-bodie-americas-most-notorious-ghost-town/%3famp=1 

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Leaving Bodie, ⬆️ we got back on to U.S. 395, and into Antelope Valley, and decided to make our way to Lake Tahoe. Along the way we had nice views of Mono Lake.

Lake Mono ⬆️

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NEVADA ⬇️
Nevada is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, the 19th-least populous, and the 9th-least densely populated of the U.S. states.
For more information, do check out this link. Nevada is quite interesting!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.onlyinyourstate.com/nevada/facts-about-nevada/amp/

We crossed over into Nevada, and not long after, traveled where the fire was blazing over the mountain ridge and the smoke was thick. (Near Topaz) Fire crews were standing by with heavy equipment and trucks to meet the flames and to to to keep the fire from jumping the Highway. I was driving, or there would have been photos. It was a bit intense for sure!

UPDATE: shortly after we made it through the burning area, U.S. Highway 395 was closed and the surrounding area evacuated. The fire did manage to hop the Highway, after all! So sad!🥲

The fires continued to be present from Nevada, all the way into Oregon. Here is a shot, looking back. after going beyond that first fire we encountered. ⬆️
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Lake Topaz in Nevada, is also a very beautiful place ⬆️
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⬇️ ⬆️ Arriving at Lake Tahoe, we drove around, with no intentions of staying, but it is such a pretty place to be in. It was also very packed with travelers, so parking was a nightmare, and getting photos was harder than I imagined. The few shots I did take, we had to illegal park for a few minute. Lake Tahoe is quite popular.

Daryl used to bring his family to Tahoe, and did a lot of boating in the summers and skiing in the winters. I too had visited Tahoe before. When I was a young girl, my family also visited the film set of the Ponderosa Ranch, from the TV series; Bonanza. I remember seeing all the original horses the cast members rode. Big thrill for this horse lover!

The Ponderosa Ranch was a theme park, based on the television western Bonanza, which housed the land, timber and livestock-rich Cartwright family. The amusement park operated in Incline Village, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, from 1968 until 2004. While the tv series was based on fictional characters, the ranch was very real. When the tv show ended, the ranch sold for 38 million dollars.

These are the horses I got to see From left to right: Buck,  Sport, Cochise, and Chubb

⬆️ Not my photos, but who remembers, Bonanza? This was the era when I visited the ranch.

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CARSON CITY, Capital of Nevada ⬇️

⬆️ From Lake Tahoe, we drove through Carson Valley and into Carson City and stopped only for a meal ⬆️
Carson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada, named after the mountain man “Kit Carson.”

The State Capitol Building, built in 1870

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From Carson City, we drove through Silver City, and on to Virginia City, which is not to be missed! I also visited this same old western town when I was a young girl, on vacation with my family.

Daryl and I enjoyed walking around this town, soaking up the opportunity of taking a trip back in time.

VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA ⬇️
“The Richest Place on Earth”

Virginia City sits about forty minutes southeast of, and almost a couple thousand feet of elevation up the Geiger Grade, from Reno, and about twenty-five minutes northeast of Nevada’s capital, Carson City.
Built on a mountain side in the Virginia Range, the town’s stunning “hundred mile view,” eastward…..

……can be taken in from many restaurants, saloons, and hotel rooms. But before there even was Reno, Carson City, or even the State of Nevada itself, there was a “silver strike up in them thar hills,” and the biggest in the history of Silver mining, at that time.

It was here, in these western mountains of Nevada, where the “Comstock Lode” became America’s first major silver strike. More than 100 mining companies dug these hills from 1859 to 1892, taking out more than $350 million in silver and gold.

⬆️ From 1862 to 1865, in this building, Samuel Clemens wrote for Virginia City, Nevada’s leading newspaper; the Territorial Enterprise. There, his literary skills were originally realized and it was also where he first used the pen-name “Mark Twain.”

The California gold fields called more settlers west by the 1850s, bringing thousands upon thousands more pioneers to the Nevada Territory, in hopes of finding fast fortunes.
Nevada’s first permanent settlement was established, set against the foothills of the eastern Sierra Nevada in 1851. Under the direction of Utah governor Brigham Young, Nevada’s first non-native settlement was a Mormon Station, which later became known as Genoa.
With more and more people in the area hoping to strike it rich in and along the way to California, some pioneers tried their luck prospecting in Nevada’s creeks.
Nevada’s first gold discovery happened in 1850 when a gold nugget was found along the Carson River, in what would soon become Dayton. Within a few years, many more placer miners began settling in the areas surrounding Dayton, working their way up Gold Canyon and into the mountains.
As one of the biggest turn of events in Nevada history, a mysterious blue clay that kept “getting in the way” of their gold mining, turned out to be SILVER; a realization that would lead to the largest silver strike in the world, known as the Comstock Lode, at that time and to this day!

The Comstock Lode bonanza’s 300-million-dollar boost, not only put Nevada on the map, but also helped fund the development of many western cities, enough to pave the way for some places, such as San Francisco. But, the largest silver strike in the United States, and at that time, the world, wasn’t the only flashy event that went down in Nevada’s history books. Also funded, was the building of largest manmade reservoir and modern marvel of the world, known as the Hoover Dam. In addition the “quickie” divorce, and, later, quickie marriage was also established in these pioneer days, along with a brand new standard of nightlife and entertainment was born.
Nevada history boomed, literally, in just about every decade of the 20th century. 

The Old Train Station
We missed the last train of the day, by two minutes! There use to be a 5PM train, but the new Covid-era schedule now has its last train at 4PM ~Drats!



Anyone who has spent time in historic Virginia City can attest to the undeniably comforting coo of the train whistle that can be heard throughout the city, beckoning visitors for a ride back in time.
This alluring whistle belongs to the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, one of the most famous of all American Short Line Railroads and the oldest locomotives in the state of Nevada, and has been a permanent fixture of Virginia City since 1869.
Considering Virginia City is home of the Comstock Lode (or the largest silver strike in United States history), finding a way to haul silver and gold rich ore in and out of the region was a necessity. Silver was discovered here in the late 1850s, and by 1869, construction on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad began, in hopes of connecting Virginia City, Gold Hill, and Silver City to Carson City.

For Complete History, click this link: https://vtrailway.com/about/history/

Saint Mary in the Mountains Catholic Church and Museum is an unmistakable fixture on the Virginia City skyline.
This historic church has been the grand champion of historic churches in Nevada, since it was erected in 1870.
Though there are many impressive, historically restored churches peppered throughout Nevada ghost towns, Saint Mary in the Mountains is in an entirely separate class; it’s an untouchable model of historic preservation after a series of disasters.
As the first Catholic Church in the state of Nevada, this religious institution still operates as a working Catholic Church, and welcomes all visitors to explore the free museum in the basement that outlines the history church itself; Catholicism in Nevada, and what life was like in the Comstock during Virginia City’s formative, boom years.
Father Patrick “Paddy” Manogue arrived in the Comstock in 1862, and built the first Saint Mary’s; a wooden structure (a block away from Saint Mary’s current location). By 1867, they desperately needed a much larger church to take on a growing congregation as Virginia City’s population swelled.
By 1870, an opulent, much larger church was constructed on the site you can visit today, confirming the exorbitant wealth that was flowing through Virginia City during this era. 

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⬆️ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is a historic Carpenter Gothic-style Episcopal church building located at F and Taylor Streets in Virginia City, Nevada, United States.
It was built in 1876 to replace an earlier church that had burned down in 1875.
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From Virginia City, we continue on, driving the Comstock Highway, and headed for Reno, with full intentions of staying over night there.
After arrival, we checked several hotels and all were “booked solid,” and at prices, beyond our reach. Two things were going on here:

1. Cheap hotel rentals have turned into full-time residences.
2. Hotel rooms in the larger hotels have fewer rooms open to book, (think fewer floors open) to ensure full capacity; COVID era business plan.

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We got out on I-80 and just drove. We considered boon-docking in our tent, but there was no way off the Highway, so we just drove and drove and drove.

Next stop: Oregon!

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NEVADA ⬆️

CALIFORNIA ⬆️