Week 177: Reno, NV
Jun. 19 - 25, 2022
Sunday, we spent the last day in Isleton doing pre-moving day chores and laundry. It has been a nice relaxed stay here.
Monday, well, Elard discovered where the new air leak is! It is on the air hose that connects to the Jeep to provide braking. We were able to jury-rig it so that we can make it to Reno. I was happy that we didn't have any trouble getting the rear slide retracted either. The move from Isleton to Reno was uneventful, but filling up the motorhome was painful. Less than it would have cost us in California but damn! Our new park, Sparks Marina RV Resort is really nice. The sites are concrete, LEVEL, and the patio is AstroTurf with a tree. I wish they would allow us to wash the RV in place, it is nasty from the dust at the last 3 places. There is a car wash just behind the RV park and it has an RV bay so we can take care of that when we leave. Of course, when I say WE, I really mean Elard LOL. We were able to walk to the local Lowe's to get the part we need to fix the air line so we got a little exercise and solved a problem.
Tuesday, we did a Lake Tahoe road trip. WOW, this lake is beautiful...I mean beach beautiful. The water is marbled blue green and crystal clear. I didn't quite realize how big it is. What a beautiful place to live. We stopped at several turnouts and trail head access points. I loved the clear kayaks we saw a group of individuals in. The surrounding mountains form a nice backdrop too. We drove nearly 360 degrees around the lake from Reno to Incline Village, Bonsai Rock, South Lake Tahoe, Emerald Bay, and up to Tahoe City where we left the lake. We returned to Reno via Truckee. We stopped for a very late lunch at the Washoe Public House. Its another Diners, Drive-Inns, & Dives joint. The food was okay but I don't know that I would go back. Its tough to decide if the quality has fallen since the show aired or if it is just the lack of staff from the shutdowns.
Wednesday, we started the day with a quilt shop stop. Windy Moon Quilts was a pretty little shop with friendly staff. Next we visited the National Automobile Museum. Bill Harrah, of Harrah's Hotels and Casinos, had amassed a 1400 car collection of historically significant cars. After he died and Holiday Inns purchase Harrah's and the collection, they said they were going to sell the collection. There was a huge outcry from the locals so Holiday Inn donated 175 of the cars to the non-profit that would form the National Automobile Museum. It is an awesome museum. We ended the day with a grocery pickup and some porch time.
Thursday, I did some work on the travel quilt. Elard worked on trying to improve the tail light brightness on the Jeep when its connected to the motorhome. We actually got some rain today... I think the last time we saw rain was when we were in Tucson, in March. I'm not complaining for sure but it is kind of wild to consider. Of course I think that will change as we get into Oregon and Washington in the next few weeks.
Friday, we explored Virginia City. We started with a ride on a steam locomotive train, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. The railroad began in 1870 by the Bank of California to haul all the silver and gold out of the mines that they had repossessed. We did an out and back ride, going out in reverse and the return going forward. We passed thru a tunnel and stopped near the Consolidated Virginia mine. Our guide said that 4 men who would become known as the "Bonanza Kings" began working in the mine. They would work 1, 8 hour shift for which they were paid $4.00, then they'd work another 8 hour shift for a share of ownership in the mine. After a few months they owned the mine. They let half the miners go and continued operation for a month but had not found enough ore to continue operation. They said lets dig one more day and wouldn't you know it they struck an ore body so large it would become known as the "Big Bonanza" and stimulate the entire area for the next 10 years. It made all four of the men "Jeff Bezos" rich. Next we visited the "The Way It Was" museum. They had a nice mix of mining stuff and life outside the mine. I didn't realize that Mark Twain was working here in Virginia City at the Territorial Enterprise newspaper. He came out west, following his brother, and tried his hand at prospecting. Not being successful at that he accepted a job as a reporter at the newspaper in 1861. Here he heard a tall tale about a frog that in 1865, would become the short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and, as they say, the rest is history. Next we strolled up the main street window shopping and stopped at the Bucket of Blood Saloon. it has been in operation since 1876 and their lights are all antique oil lamps converted to electric. I couldn't find any info on where the name came from but, the beer was cold and tasty. We continued our stroll thru the historic buildings and shops. We stopped for lunch at the Palace Restaurant & Saloon. The food was good even if the service was a bit slow. I enjoyed the town a lot more than I thought I would.
Saturday, chores and outside time. I enjoyed most of the day outside stitching on the travel quilt.
Make Life An Adventure!