Summer Vacation

Just got back from a week's vacation -- visiting family in Carson City, NV. While we were there we took a couple of touristy side-trips! (Click the pics for a larger view.)

Trip 1: Lake Tahoe

We drove up to the lake one morning for lunch and a little shopping. We stopped at Vista Point along the way to admire the view. The kids complained mightily, but we made them get out of the car anyway.

There's a rocky little outcropping perfect for a little climbing.

Afterwards, we drove over to an outlet mall on the California side. Tahoe has a funny art project going on all over town -- fiberglass bears, all in the same pose, but all painted differently & fancifully. We saw dozens of them as we drove around the lake. This one, standing on the grass at the mall, is titled "Big Water Bear" and is supposed to represent deep water.

This one is titled "Beary Fast" and stands in the little village at the base of the Heavenly gondola. We ate lunch there, at a Mongolian barbecue place. Yum!

Trip 2: Virginia City

Two days later, we went up to Virginia City, which is nothing like the old TV show made it out to be: it's an old mining town perched on the side of a hill riddled with mineshafts. In its heyday, over 40,000 people lived there, drawn by the discovery of the Comstock Lode. Now maybe a tenth of that inhabit a touristy ghost town.

We visited "The Way Things Were" museum, long on mining artifacts, if a bit dusty & dull. They also had this bit of silliness in the front yard.

A mine tour was a welcome relief from the heat of the day -- the temperature inside the mine is a constant 55°F. A goofy old guy, approximately as old as God's uncle, gave a very imformative tour of the old Best and Belcher Mine, which managed to produce next to nothing despite being right smack next to the Comstock Lode. It's a fun tour & highly recommended if you are ever in the area.

Of course, there was also some shopping for saltwater taffy.

As always after a trip, it's good to be home.