Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Did you know…
LakeTahoeistheseconddeepestlakeintheUnitedStatesandthetenthdeepest
intheworld.It's22mileslong,12mileswide,andboasts72milesofshoreline.
2. Carson City
With the High Sierra in the rearview mirror, the drive leads to Carson City, the state's cap-
ital, which was named for frontiersman Kit Carson. While much of the land seems barren,
looks are deceiving; the region has great biodiversity and yields a wealth of precious min-
erals. In fact, one of the richest veins of silver and gold ever discovered, the famed Com-
stock Lode, was unearthed in nearby Virginia City, luring miners by the thousands in the
mid-1800s.
A small city sprang up almost overnight, and as area mines began to pay off, tycoons
set about building impressive mansions. One of the earliest, the Bowers estate, still stands
some10milesnorthoftown;madeofgranite,itcost$200,000tobuildandfurnishin1864,
then a staggering sum.
3. Dayton
Like a carpet rolled out for royalty, Rte. 50 runs on one long strip to the northeast, crossing
a sagebrush plateau on the way to Dayton. In earlier times the town was a Pony Express
station and the site of Nevada's first gold strike.
Virginia City, about seven miles to the north via Rte. 341, was nicknamed the Queen
of the Comstock. Historical tours are available of the former boomtown, once home in the
mid-1800s to some 25,000 people, including a young reporter with the pen name Mark
Twain.Amongthemanyrestored buildings aremansions, churches, banks,saloons,andan
opera house.
4. Fort Churchill State Historic Park
With the silence of the desert intensifying, sagebrush and sand are constant companions as
the road continues on toward Fort Churchill, reached by a short side trip to the south. The
old adobe army post was built in 1860, then abandoned nine years later. A visitor center
tells the fort's story, but it is among the crumbling walls that sightseers can most palpably
feel the isolation of the place, especially when the wind whips by.
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