{"id":783450,"date":"2011-01-25T11:30:20","date_gmt":"2011-01-25T19:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homeschoolblogger.com\/leigharev2\/?p=783450"},"modified":"2011-01-25T11:30:20","modified_gmt":"2011-01-25T19:30:20","slug":"renotahoe-day-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/2011\/01\/25\/renotahoe-day-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Reno\/Tahoe – Day Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

While researching things to do with kids in Reno, I learned how seasonal that area is. \u00a0Most attractions were closed, so I had to expand my horizons. \u00a0I learned that we were within an hour of Carson City, rich in history. \u00a0THEN, I discovered Virginia City! (Insert Bonanza song…bum ba da bum, ba da bum bum…), just as close!<\/p>\n

So, for day two, the boys and I headed out for our own little western adventure day trip to Virginia City<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Virginia City was at one time, the 4th largest city in Nevada. \u00a0It was a Boom town, full of mining and saloons. \u00a0After the area was mined out, it became a ghost town, until some time in the 70’s(?), when people decided to restore the town and revive it for its historic value. \u00a0Now, it is extremely popular to visit during the warmer seasons. \u00a0The towns folk dress in old western attire and there are plenty of attractions to enjoy.<\/p>\n

Visiting in the winter, mid-week, the place was reminiscent of the ghost town it once was. \u00a0All the museums and stores were closed, but some opened later in the day.<\/p>\n

This is the Fourth Ward School and Museum. \u00a0 Built in 1876, it became the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Haunted Mansion…
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We had just watched a documentary on Wyatt Earp and were excited to find this…please note ‘R’s “Cowboy sneer”, something that was common on this trip.<\/p>\n

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Bucket of Blood Saloon…since 1876…
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Again…cowboy sneer…
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The Silver Terrace Cemeter<\/a>y…<\/p>\n

This started in the 1860’s, when the town was being built. \u00a0It is much bigger than I anticipated and we did not see it all. \u00a0One interesting thing we discovered was that the majority passed away between their 20s – 40s. \u00a0Of all the tombstones we looked at, the oldest I found was one woman at the age of 60.<\/p>\n

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OK, here’s where our visit turns spooky-cool. \u00a0The boys went one way and I went the other. \u00a0Soon, I hear \u00a0the boys yelling, “mom, we found bones!”. \u00a0My first thought was that of course, they were animal bones. \u00a0But then I got to thinking…”well, we are in an old cemetery…caskets back then probably deteriorate….hmmmm”, and beelined to the boys, saying “don’t touch anything!!”<\/p>\n

They found one long bone, three small bones, and a medium sized one. \u00a0After careful consideration, I could not be certain that they weren’t human and decided to call the cemetery attendants to see if I was supposed to report this.<\/p>\n

I sent in pictures and they assured me they were animal bones, but would not be more specific…anyway, it made for a fun, eerie morning…
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View from cemetery toward the town…
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Our next stop was the Catholic church, “St. Mary’s in the Mountains”. \u00a0This is the oldest Catholic church in Nevada, built in the 1860s.<\/p>\n

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Underneath the church is a museum that contains many of the original items. \u00a0The docent showed us a phonograph that used cylinders instead of albums…
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From 1957 to 1959 a group of monks (Known as the “Mad monks of St. Mary’s), who did not believe in ornamentation of the church, destroyed the church’s original altar, balcony, and choir loft. \u00a0Funds have been raised and continue to be raised to bring the church back to its former glory. \u00a0One thing they do is sell a wine called “Mad Monk Wine”. \u00a0It comes from Napa. \u00a0I bought a bottle of the cab. \u00a0It’s decent.<\/p>\n

A huge fire swept through Virginia City, destroying many buildings and homes, including the church in 1876. \u00a0 Father Jelliffe used portions of the stained glass in 1876 to make this work of art, titles, “Marriage at Cana”…
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Walking through one of the old saloons, at the very back, was a mining tour…I think it was the Ponderosa Mine Tour. \u00a0Being mid-winter, midweek, we were the only visitors. \u00a0The tour was only 30 minutes, but we learned a ton in that short amount of time.<\/p>\n

Our guide showed us a map of all the mining stakes in Virginia City. \u00a0He said that the lots on both sides of them made millions of dollars, but the lot we were touring made a little over $400 dollars.<\/p>\n

He also shared the story about a man name Sutro who built a tunnel for 4 million dollars to help keep the mines healthy. \u00a0When he discovered that the mines were drying up, but no one else knew, he sold the tunnel for 8 million, moved to San Francisco and became mayor…<\/p>\n

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This is where dynamite was stored. \u00a0When they re-opened this mine, they found a bunch of dynamite over 100 years old. \u00a0Old dynamite is extremely unstable, and a professional company had to come in and properly dispose of it.
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This is a picture of the original ponderosa pine structure, with the newer support alongside.
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This was the entrance to a side shaft that goes down about 100 feet. \u00a0Men would work in teams of two. \u00a0One man would go down with a big bucket and fill it with ore and the other man would haul it up. \u00a0The average height of a miner was 5’4″, and the average lifespan was 42. \u00a0Alcohol was an issue because at that time it was the cheapest and easiest way to alleviate pain.<\/p>\n

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Some samples of rocks collected…
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Same rocks under a black light…
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It is insane to imagine how the miners mined! \u00a0This is a picture of the guide showing the star drill that was positioned by one man and hit with a hammer by another man. \u00a0As mining became more advanced, the “widow maker” (on the right) was created. \u00a0This was a faster drill that caused scalding and death when it went through rock too quickly and hit geothermal pockets.<\/p>\n

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Lanterns and torches were never used in mining, although movies might tell us otherwise. \u00a0They took up too much oxygen. \u00a0This is the amount of light that the miner would have…
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We also learned how miners would have their own male canary with them at all times. \u00a0Male canaries love to sing and need more oxygen than humans. \u00a0When they stopped singing, the miners knew it was time to get out asap…<\/p>\n

Next stop, the Old Washoe Club. \u00a0This was a millionaires club that had members like Mark Twain, actors, and state politicians. \u00a0Although we are not into ghost hunting, apparently this is a popular spot for those who do.<\/p>\n

They have a spiral staircase that was featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” as being the longest of its kind without a supporting pole.
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We also visited the crypt in the back, where they stored corpses when the ground was too frozen to dig. \u00a0Things you just don’t think about…
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Lunch..then, doughnut break! \u00a0Little doughnuts are made in one of the gift stores. \u00a0We sampled the apple-cinnamon, and the chocolate. \u00a0Both are soooo yummy!
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Next stop…the Territorial Enterprise. \u00a0This was Nevada’s first newspaper. \u00a0Mark Twain worked here. \u00a0It ran from 1858 to 1916. \u00a0Had a revival in 1952 and is still being sent to subscribers by mail. \u00a0They have a little museum below a gift shop that shows the original printing press, and the desk where Mark Twain worked…
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Mark Twain’s desk…<\/p>\n

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We drove back to our hotel, and finished the evening with a couple games of bowling. ..
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While researching things to do with kids in Reno, I learned how seasonal that area is. \u00a0Most attractions were closed, so I had to expand my horizons. \u00a0I learned that we were within an hour of Carson City, rich in history. \u00a0THEN, I discovered Virginia City! (Insert Bonanza song…bum ba da bum, ba da bum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-783450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-fun"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}