Lake Tahoe and Virginia City
Nov. 24th, 2016 06:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranBack home again now, but before I left, I took a bus tour to see Lake Tahoe and Virginia City.
Lake Tahoe was attractive, but very windy. The lake itself never freezes, but some of the nearby creeks had frozen over.
The wind had also worked up a sizeable swell. There were even people surfing, although they must have had very thick wetsuits.
After a drive around the northern part of the lake, it was on to Carson City, the state capital of Nevada, and then Virginia City, and old gold and silver boom town.
Virginia City is famous for a lot of things. At one stage it was one of the world's richest mining towns.
Since a lot of the landscape of southeastern Australia is also defined by various gold rushes, that was a lot that was familiar. Old mine heads and tailings. Incongruous buildings in the middle of nowhere. Tales of coach and railway robbery and plenty of storied saloons and gambling dens.
These days the saloons and bars cater mainly to tourists.
This one is noted for the spectacular view from the rear window.
Here's the view itself, although the shot was taken from just outside the town.
In the peak season, they have re-enacted gunfights and other kitschy attractions. Virginia City is also known for its association with the tv series Bonanza, but the association was mostly lost on my tour group (consisting of two Australians and the rest all Taiwanese). I vaguely remember watching a few episodes when I was very small, but it was only on for a short time.
Another claim to fame is that this was the place that Samuel Clemens first used the pen-name "Mark Twain", while writing for the Territorial Enterprise. Some parts of Roughing It were also set in the town.
In more recent history, the Red Dog Saloon was famous for its role in the psychedelic music scene. Inside the walls are lined with posters advertising Janis Joplin, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and the Charlatans.
And on the way back, a glimpse of some wild mustangs. Not the best photo, but our bus was charging back down the mountains at the time.
Lake Tahoe was attractive, but very windy. The lake itself never freezes, but some of the nearby creeks had frozen over.
The wind had also worked up a sizeable swell. There were even people surfing, although they must have had very thick wetsuits.
After a drive around the northern part of the lake, it was on to Carson City, the state capital of Nevada, and then Virginia City, and old gold and silver boom town.
Virginia City is famous for a lot of things. At one stage it was one of the world's richest mining towns.
Since a lot of the landscape of southeastern Australia is also defined by various gold rushes, that was a lot that was familiar. Old mine heads and tailings. Incongruous buildings in the middle of nowhere. Tales of coach and railway robbery and plenty of storied saloons and gambling dens.
These days the saloons and bars cater mainly to tourists.
This one is noted for the spectacular view from the rear window.
Here's the view itself, although the shot was taken from just outside the town.
In the peak season, they have re-enacted gunfights and other kitschy attractions. Virginia City is also known for its association with the tv series Bonanza, but the association was mostly lost on my tour group (consisting of two Australians and the rest all Taiwanese). I vaguely remember watching a few episodes when I was very small, but it was only on for a short time.
Another claim to fame is that this was the place that Samuel Clemens first used the pen-name "Mark Twain", while writing for the Territorial Enterprise. Some parts of Roughing It were also set in the town.
In more recent history, the Red Dog Saloon was famous for its role in the psychedelic music scene. Inside the walls are lined with posters advertising Janis Joplin, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and the Charlatans.
And on the way back, a glimpse of some wild mustangs. Not the best photo, but our bus was charging back down the mountains at the time.
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no subject
Date: 2016-11-24 10:22 am (UTC)I'm slightly bemused by the resemblance of Virginia City to a downmarket English seaside resort...
no subject
Date: 2016-11-24 10:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-11-27 01:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-11-27 07:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-11-27 08:34 pm (UTC)The landscape is so arid! The first shot of Virginia City looks like it could be Afghanistan--although the buildings are all wrong. I'm sure it was much more lively back in Mark Twain's day. Funny to see the bar sign showing him as a young man. Mainly, you only ever get pictures of him as white haired, with white mustache.
And how cool to see genuine wild mustangs!
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Date: 2016-11-27 11:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-11-27 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-11-27 11:28 pm (UTC)