Journey through the Comstock Lode Gold Hill, Nevada June 11, 2012

                               Me and Nevada near Virginia and Truckee tracks at Gold Hill

Directions: I continue my journey through the Comstock Lode with a stop at Gold Hill.  Gold Hill is located 3/4 of a mile south of Virginia City in the Comstock Lode Historic District. The town is easy to get to from Highway 50.

History:  In 1859 as news of the discovery spread throughout the west, large groups of settlers arrived at Gold Hill to make money. At first the new arrivals lived in temporary shelters made from canvas tents, potato sacks and blankets. It wasn't until much later that Gold Hill had permanent structures.

Gold Hill soon rivaled Virginia City because of the construction of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad as well as the opening of more mines to the south. The construction of the railroad facilitated the transport of ore to mills along the Carson River. Ore no longer traveled by wagon trains. Increased mining activity directly to the south at  the Crown Point, Belcher and Yellow Jacket mines cemented Gold Hill's importance to the Comstock Lode. By 1873 Gold Hill had public and private schools, a town hall, banks, lodges and churches. These mines continued to produce until 1878 when production slowed and the town started a slow decline.

Today there is an increased push to mine in the area. In fact a strip mine is opening near Silver City, Nevada. Talking to folks in town it is widely known that there are still rich deposits left in the hills. The new mine has become a source of controversy to the area residents with some supporting it while other residents oppose strip mining. (Information from Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps by Stanley Paher).

 

                         Downtown Gold Hill today

                                             Historic structure in Gold Hill

                                          Mining remains in Gold Hill

                                   Gold Hill mercantile

                                          Mine hoist near Cabin 18; reportedly haunted

                                          Picturesque mining structure

                                Mine that you can walk up to. Respect property and do not climb on anything.
                                                    Below: Ladder to nowhere

Journey through the Comstock Lode Dayton, Nevada June 11, 2012

                                                           Restauarant in historic Dayton


Directions: Dayton, Nevada, is located on Highway 50 about 12 miles northeast of Carson City. It close to Virginia City and Gold Hill making it possible for a day excursion to all the historic towns.

History:  The discovery of gold in 1849 in Gold Canyon led to the creation of a tent trading post. For the first ten years of its existence Dayton was a struggling community known as Chinatown because of the large number of orientals in the area. Communities nearby attracted more residents for a long time.

By 1861 Chinatown, renamed Dayton, becamea  milling and shipping center for the Comstock Lode. the Pony Express had a station in town and many shippers had warehouses in the area. There were at least a dozen   prominent mills on the Carson River among them the Rock Point, Woodsworth and Douglass mills. At the heighth of milling in the area Dayton mills collectively had over 180 stamps to process ore.

The population dwindled in 1878 but a population managed to remain in town for a number of reasons. A decline in Comstock mining in 1878 led many residents to move to other strikes in the state. The town never attained ghost town status becuase of the Carson and Colorado Railroad which maintained Dayton as a shipping center. In 1929 a revival occurred with placer mining in 1929 formally ending in 1941. Today Dayton is a small community with historic buildings and interesting mill ruins along the Carson River.

 Historians have long argued whether Dayton or Genoa, Nevada, is the first settlement in the state. What the argument centers around is whether a lose group of tents or small group of prospectors can be considered a settlement. (Information from Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps by Stanley Paher)

                                                         Dayton school house

                                             Headstone in Dayton's cemetery showing the importance of immigration to the Comstock lode

                                              Interesting headstone in the cemetery

                                             In mining camps throughout the west babies and small children died because of disease or lack of care.
    

                                           This cemetery had a large number of unknown graves.

                                 Commemeration to a serviceman

                                 Historic building in town   Below: Ruins of Rock Point Mill near Dayton                   

Pony Express Reenactment at Mormon Station Genoa, Nevada June 14, 2012

                                         Riders at Mormon Station

Every year the Pony Express Association does an annual reride along the oringal Pony Express route from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacremento, California. On even years the ride travels east while on odd years it travels west. The reride is a ten day reenactment of the delivery of mail along the historic 1,966  mile route. During the reride over 500 horses and riders travel about two to three miles a piece while wearing traditional clothing. This is alot less than the 75-100 miles the horses rode during the orginal Pony Express days. For many communities along the Pony Express route this is a big summer event with parades and festivities. Supporting events like this keep our history alive for future generations. (Information from www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/06/0613_tvpony.html)

On this particular day I am watching the exchanging of the mochilla at Mormon Station in Genoa, Nevada. Mormon Station was a stop between Friday Station at Lake Tahoe and Carson City, Nevada. The event started with riders carrying flags representing the eight states the Pony Express passed through followed by the rider carrying the mochilla.

                                               A rider carrying the United States flag
                             

                                               Riders carrying flags representing some of the states

                                         Riders representing the Pony Epress at Mormon Station

                                 Pony Express rider coming in
                                 

                                         Exchanging of the mochilla; Below rider leaves for Carson City
             

Lake Tahoe Trail Hike Spooner Summit Trailhead June 12, 2012

                                                             Nevada with Lake Tahoe in background
Directions: Spooner Summit Trailhead is located approximately 30 minutes from Carson City, Nevada, on Highway 50. Highway 50 enters Lake Tahoe on the eastern side of the lake halfway between Incline Village and South Lake Tahoe.South Lake Tahoe is approximately 20 miles to the south. This is truly one of the splendid lakes in the United States.

Information on the hike: Spooner Lake Trailhead is one of the many access points for the Tahoe Rim Trail, a 165 mile backpacking trail which circles the lake. Marlette Lake and Spooner Lake are also popular destinations from this trailhead. Spooner Lake is the shortest destination at two miles. For my hike today I wanted to get a good view of Lake Tahoe from above to accomplish this I did not know how far I would have to hike. The trail started of in the pine trees moderately climbing toward Snow Lake Peak. Within the first three miles there were two or three overlook spots for Lake Tahoe or points east. After four miles the views of Lake Tahoe start to get very good. After five miles Nevada and I stopped at a rock outcrop where we ate some lunch and then hiked back to the car. Today I hiked over 10 miles on a moderately strenuos trail.

                             Great view of Lake Tahoe with mountains and trail in foreground
                                

                                          Lake Tahoe

                                                Lake Tahoe with rocks in the foreground
                                                    Below dead tree with sky

Nevada State Railroad Museum June 11, 2012

                                       Virginia and Truckee Railroad passenger car number 9

On my second day in Carson City I visited the Nevada State Railroad museum. It is located on Carson Street in the downtown area. Because of budget cuts the museum is open Friday-Monday. To see the museum it costs $4 for a day pass. During the summer the museum offers special excursions for a special rate.

The museum has an impressive collection of rolling stock from the Virginia and Truckee Railroad which supplied many of the Comstock Lode towns with supplies. Included in the collection is three  Baldwin Steam Engines which  have been restored to former glory. Inside the building is history on the Comstock Lode mining railroads and the Transcontinental Railroad. Hollywood used many of the old locomotives and cars in old movies before the state bought them. This museum is worth a stop if you are in Carson City.

                                       Baldwin Locomotive Number 23                                       

                                         Inside a Baldwin Steam Locomotive showing the valves

                                                     Top of Steam Engine
                     

                                               Front of Steam Engine at museum; Below engine which would have worked on Nevada's railroads

Carson City Rendevous June 10, 2012

                                        The three canons at the Mountain Man Encampment

The Rendezvous takes place every year in the State Capital of Caron City, Nevada. It is a celebration of Nevada's history. Over the course of three days a visitor can listen to live music, see booths with many different crafts and watch live reenactments. The reenactments take place at the Mountain Man Encampment,  Native American Encampment and Civil War Encampment. At the Mountain Man Encampment demonstrations with muskets and canons occur throughout the day. In the Native American Encampment viewers watch traditional dances by Paiute Indians. Finally, three times during the day a mock Civil War battle between Union and Confederate troops takes place on the Big Field.  The Rendezvous is fun for the whole family and best of all if you don't buy food or crafts it is free.

                                        Up close at one of the canons

                                       Canon demonstration

                                        Another pic of the canons

                                       Soldiers participating in the Civil War Reenactment

                                      Civil War Reenactment on the Big Field

                                       Civil War Reenactment at fictional Mill Creek
                                  

                                    Traditional Native American dance

                                          Children performing for visitors

Cave lake State Park May 27, 2012

                                               Cave Lake from Cave Lake Trail

Location: Cave Lake State Park is located 15 miles southeast of Ely off of US. 93 in eastern Nevada. The park features a 32 acre reservoir at 7300 feet in the Schell Creek Range. Temperatures during the summer can be warm in 90s and during the winter cold with snow on the ground much of the time.

General Information: To use the facilities at the park a fee of $10 is assessed at the front; it is waived if an individual camps for the night (cost of $14). Activities during the summer include fishing, hiking and camping. There are two campgrounds: Elk Flat Campground and Lake View Campground. A Nevada license is needed to fish at the lake.  During the winter snow mobiling, snow shoeing, and ice fishing are popular activities. Animals include brown trout and rainbow trout in the lake with elk, muledeer, bobcat and moutain lion in the surrounding range. Flora is sage brush, scrub pine and choke cherry.

Hiking: Visitors can hike four developed trails in ranging from easy to strenuous. The easiest trail is a three mile round trip along Steptoe Creek. The Cave Springs Trail is a five mile moderately- strenuous hike that takes you into the hills. The Cave Lake Trail is a strenuous 4.5 mile climb to an overlook of the lake. The Twisted Pines trail leaves the overlook trail and rejoins it after a couple miles. All the trails are easy to follow and worth whle. The Cave Lake Trail offers the best views of the area. (Information from www. parks.nv.gov/parks/cave-lake-state-park/)

                                                             Interesting pine
                                     

                                       Scenery in the Schell Creek Range looking north

                                       Schell Creek Range off trail

                                                              Cave Lake at lakeside