Running on Eddie: Virginia City Nevada

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Virginia City Nevada - Downtown Area

Introduction

The last part of touring Virginia City was actually seeing the downtown area. This area is lined with old buildings and while walking down the wooden board lined streets, one can almost hear the jingle of one's boot spurs in the echos.

Seriously, the entire area just reeks Western History. Aside from the tourist t-shirt shops, there are old-style saloons with beautiful rows of boozy bottles. Also there are stately churches, mansions and buildings from the late 1800's that just litter the area. Combine this with the fact that there are wild horses that litter people's backyards, it isn't any wonder there aren't gun fights in the street.

The Drive There

First off, the drive from Reno to Virginia City takes you off the beaten trail a bit. You must do some serious climbing up some switch back roads that offer stunning views of the Carson City / Reno Valley. There were so many spots where one is just simply tempted to pull over and snap pictures.

Also with the drive one could feel the effects of the elevation climb. Reno sits at about 4500 and by the time you reach the summit of the climb, I suspect we were at 7000 feet.

Either way, I managed to snap a bunch of pictures during some of the turnouts:

Wild Horses

Part of the charm of Virginia City is that there are literally wild horses roaming the area. We were pleasantly surprised to find them up close and personal. We also saw them in bunches on the train tour we took.

They seemed used to people as we were able to drive up fairly close to them and get a few pictures:

St Mary's in the Mountains Catholic Church

One of the most prominent features of Virginia City is the Catholic Church. You can see the steeple from just about every spot in the city. Built in 1868 this church is the city's most awe inspiring feature. I didn't have time to take the free tour but the building was a masterpiece to take pictures of:

Of course there was a protestant church that was equally as cool looking:

Fourth Street Ward School

At the far end of town I found the Fourth Ward Street School. This school was built / used in 1876 and still remains well preserved. It is also serves as a museum. Again, I was pressed for time and didn't really have time to explore it, but this build definitely stood out:

The Downtown Area

After dropping Shari and her mom off at a trinket shop, I wound up walking the entire boulevard to get a vibe of the city. I was constantly in awe at some of the old buildings, the panoramic views as well as the western flair that captured my imagination. I wound up snapping a bunch of pictures, which really don't do the city very much justice: