Carson City

Carson City was the official start of our trip down Hwy 395. We stayed at the Nugget Casino, just a block or so from the state capitol building! The capitol was built in 1871, after Nevada became a state in 1864.

We did a self-guided tour of the capitol. For me, the highlight is this statue of Sarah Winnemucca, a Northern Paiute author, activist and educator. The detail of the fringe on her outfit is amazing!

We got to tour the assembly chamber, but the senate chamber was closed for renovation.

The Supreme Court chamber.

After the capitol tour, we did the Kit Carson trail, which showcases the city's historical district. They give you an excellent map, and all you have to do is follow this blue line.

The Governor's Mansion was built in 1909. They were decorating for Halloween, hence the crane...

Orion Clemens was Nevada's first and only territorial secretary. His younger brother, Samuel, (aka Mark Twain) visited often.

We saw this adorable house that was not on the tour, and stopped to talk to the owner, who was out in the yard. It should be on the tour, because it was a former governor's mansion before the current one was built.

And remember the John Wayne movie, "The Shootist?" This was one of the locations for the film -

And John Wayne is still there, looking out the window!

We saw deer, wandering around town, perfectly at ease.

The next day, we went to Virginia City, a big mining town back in the day.

There were a lot of saloons back then, and a lot are still here!

We stopped by the old Courthouse/Jail, now a museum.

My friends were in trouble, but I bailed them out...

We went in the Silver Queen, a 135-year-old hotel. The highlight is a 15-ft-tall painting adorned with more than 3,000 silver dollars. The dollars came from the ore mined here and coined into silver dollars at the old Carson City mint.

This guy's been playing roulette here for a very long time!

We stopped to talk to "Stinky." You might think that's the donkey, but it was really his owner!

We also walked around the old cemetery -

And met another new friend!