Posted by Karen on 13-Sep-2009
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After The Great Reno Balloon Race, Lori and headed home, the long outta the way roundabout way. It’s 9am and we are wide awake, which happens when your day starts at 4am. We head south on Highway 395 and then east on Geiger Grade Road towards historic Virginia City. We take a rest stop at Geiger Lookout Wayside Park, which turns out to be an abandoned picnic area; no picnic tables or restrooms there anymore, but there are still wonderful views of the Washoe Valley and a dedication plaque to Dr. D.M. Geiger, the road engineer who first built this winding mountain road back in the 1860s. As we continued on, we came across a history marker for “Lousetown, Nevada”… it doesn’t tell the story of how it acquired that name, but can you just imagine saying you lived there! We arrive at Virginia City and find it fairly populated with visitors for the 50th Annual International Camel Races, which we weren’t attending today. We checked out some of the historic buildings like the Fourth Ward School and the MacKay Mansion and then we came in awe to the newly restored and retrofitted Saint Mary’s in the Mountains Catholic Church, which is just beautiful. The church was originally built in 1868, burned in the Great Fire of 1875, and rebuilt in 1876. Even though there were large event tents for the grand re-dedication covering the front of the building, you could still tell that it’s beautiful. The interior is awe-inspiring, there are gorgeous stained glass windows lining both side walls and the entry doors. There are three beautifully sculptured altars and all the pews are a wonderfully worn wood. Also around the side entrance, is a museum with lots of artifacts from the years. If you are in the area, this church is well worth a visit. We continued on to Carson City for lunch, but didn’t really so any sight-seeing, so Carson City will have to be a another trip. The final leg of the journey home was through South Lake Tahoe and over the Carson Pass of the Sierra Nevada to check out if the autumn foliage was changing colors yet; it’s not, so that will be another trip in a few weeks. :)
Posted by Karen on 24-Nov-2008
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Last night I arrived in Caliente, Nevada and took a motel room to settle in for the night. I soon learned that Caliente is a very active train town. A train seemed to come through every half hour and, of course, a train has to blow its whistle when it passed through a town. Thankfully I also learned that I can sleep through train whistles without any problem. In the morning, stopped by the historic train depot to check it out. It also houses other businesses and city government offices. Time to head east and the last Nevada town I come to is Panaca, a small quiet town that, according to one of the history markers, is home to the oldest building in Lincoln County, Nevada. I cross the border and enter Utah, my first trip to the state (airport layovers don’t count in my book because your feet don’t touch actual earth). I stopped for a lunch break in Enterprise, Utah and explored the lovely Heritage Park they have built there. The memorials center around Thomas Sirls Terry, his wives and the contributions they made in pioneering the area. It’s a really nice memorial and park. As I head south on Highway 18 through the Dixie National Forest, I see a sign for the Overlook Monument and turned off to check it out. The walking path leads me to memorial markers that describe the horrific Mountain Meadow Massacre of 1857. It’s a somber place, but it’s kind of nice that this sad piece of history isn’t being swept under the rug. As I leave the Dixie National Forest, I arrive in St. George, Utah and am officially in red rock country–I love it! The gleaming white spire of the St. George Mormon Temple attracts me from the freeway and I veer off to view it. I can’t go into the actual temple, but they have a very nice visitor center on the grounds and I tour that. It’s sunset and I head down the Arizona Strip to Kanab, Utah in the dark.
Posted by Karen on 23-Nov-2008
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I left Sacramento yesterday and drove down east on Highway 50, “The Loneliest Road in America“, to Austin, Nevada, the middle of Nevada. I spent the night at the Cozy Mountain Motel, 12 rooms fit for a king–newly remodeled and 5-star beds–I have not been in a small motel with that nice of a bed ever; I highly recommend them if you are on that stretch of the road. This morning, I decided to explore the town a bit. I started off down the Castle Loop Road and headed to Stokes Castle. After checking out the castle I do a little 4-wheeling around the backside of Austin to the top of South Hill and view Austin from above. After a walk around the town, I get back on the road and continue east. When I see the sign for the Hickison Petroglyphs, I turn in to explore them. I have no idea what the petroglyphs mean, but I think they are so neat. These aren’t among the best I’ve seen as they are out in the open and being worn away by weather and tourists. Further along Highway 50, the next city is Eureka and I took a walk around their quaint historic downtown. I saw the “Bartine Five-Hole Outhouse” and could just imagine the converstations when it was a busy night in there… LOL! I continued east on Highway 50 and as the sun was going down, I turned south and headed towards Cliente, Nevada in the dark.
Posted by Karen on 31-Jul-2008
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Today was a walk around downtown Nashville. On my way downtown, I spy a history marker, of course I stop and check out the place of Captain Ryman’s former house, he played a large role in Nashville history. Once I got downtown, I didn’t really have any specific plans or really know what there was to see, so I started at Fort Nashborough, which is where the hotel tour guide said a bus tour started from. Fort Nashborough is just that, an old fashioned fort on the river bank and shows some of the history about the founding of Nashville. I continue walking down First Avenue, so on one side of the street is old brick buildings and on the other side is the new Riverfront Park on the Cumberland River banks and the Coliseum, home of the NFL Tennessee Titans, is across the river. Strolled up and down the streets, through the oldest downtown area on Second Avenue, and on over to historic Printers Alley to check it out and to find a local geocache. It’s still evident that this was at one time the “men’s quarters” for Nashville. The Downtown Presbyterian Church is a captivating building to look at; It didn’t appear open today, but I understand it is an active church still today. The Arcade, Nashville’s first shopping center, was the perfect place to find an ice cream on this hot muggy day. Just up the block was the Tennessee State Museum and I decided to view the many rooms of history and artifacts they have inside. Free admission and well worth spending some time viewing the exhibits. There is a lot of history in this area and Tennesseeans are very proud of their part in the forming of our wonderful nation. The Ryman Auditorium was the next notable building I saw. The Ryman started life as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, a place to hold gospel revival meetings, and eventually became associated with country music in the 1943 when the Grand Ole Opry moved there. Continuing on, past the Church Street Park, with the interesting puzzle painting on the building side. The Hermitage Hotel just looks impressive and stately on the outside; the fancily dressed doormen definitely help with the image. The Schermerhorn Symphony Center is a gorgeous elegant building with fountains and statues. My final walk in downtown was across the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge to check out the river and the city skyline from an elevated spot; it’s a very peaceful spot to sit and relax for a bit.
