Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Virginia City

While in Sparks, we took a day trip up to Virginia City, NV. This is not your ordinary old mining town. During the latter half of the 19th century, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold and silver were taken out of the hills above and from deep under the town itself. This included the famous Comstock Lode, the largest strike of silver ever found in the United States.

The instant millionaires built mansions and imported furniture and fashions from Europe and the Orient.


Much of this silver was coined into silver dollars at the Carson City mint. The Silver Queen was created using 3,261 of those dollars. She's 16 feet tall and contains 210 lbs. of silver and resides in the bar of the same name.


I love how they painted the side of this building.


This duo looks like they stepped out of a time machine.


I loved the old fashioned candy store.


And we even found a 'surrey with the fringe on top'. (If you're not a fan of musicals, that's a song from Oklahoma.)


We caught the Virgina and Truckee RR as it left on its excursion. I would have preferred to see the steam engine, but I guess they use a diesel during the week.

9 comments:

  1. Didn't you ride the train? Never pass that up.

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  2. I like the old timer and donkey.

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  3. I can certainly relate to the old timer and donkey.....

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  4. Nice reminders of our visit in the early '80s ... doesn't look like much has changed :-)) Love the man and the burro photo ... the buses only sign adds to the chuckle factor.

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  5. That's a lot of silver on that dress! Do you have one just like that?

    Interesting place, it would be nice if they gave out free samples.

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  6. We stopped here once and enjoyed touring the old school house which is housed in that building in your first photo and I was shocked to see the telephone operator system..that was really cool.
    Yum to the candy--

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  7. Chicks and DUCKS and geese better scurry ...

    Looks fun! I like a town with a sense of something.

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  8. Looks like you saw some really cool stuff - love the old guy and his donkey!

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  9. My husband and I love Virginia City. We are renewing our vows on our second anniversary there in just about a month.
    The old timer and the donkey are Bernadette(donkey) and Stinky(her handler). Great duo cannot wait to go back.

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