Road Trip to Virginia City, NV

We had errands to run so we made a fun day of it with Bob and Jenny (of course).

First stop was Carson City and its Bicentennial Tree. We told the folks about this amazing tree, but without people in the photo for a size reference, it's not as impressive as it truly is.

A long-standing belief, shared by many capital residents, is that Carson City’s oldest tree dates back more than 200 years. During the nation’s birthday celebration in 1976, the massive cottonwood on the northwest corner of Division and Washington streets was designated the “Nevada Bicentennial Tree.” It still is marked as such with a large wooden plaque.

Letterboxing was on the agenda. This stop, in Gold Hill, was called "Fireman's Friend". It was here that I found the stamp I award 'The Funniest'.

On the clues for this one, the 'hider' wrote, "Please note: This one was carved on a dare, after a bottle of wine... and with the undeniable conviction that I can carve anything, even when it's with implements available in the hotel business center." Man, I want to meet this letterboxer. What a hoot.

Virginia City, Nevada is always fun for me. There is something about being in among its decadent, diverse and important history that I just love.

For those who do not know me well, if there is a cut-out for photo opportunities, my face is in it!

After lunch in town, we drove to the cemetery. The view from it is pretty impressive.

Our letterboxing clues took us to a whole new area of the Silver Terrace Cemeteries. These are a series of terraces dramatically located on a steep, windswept hillside. As this boomtown became a more permanent settlement, there was a need for a cemetery. Beginning in the 1860s, a wide variety of fraternal, civic and religious groups established burial yards on the hillside.

While looking for the hidden letterboxes, we also discovered hidden history within the grave sites and their tombstones. This is an amazing cemetery and demands multiple trips. Explorations can happen anywhere, and today's was pretty exciting.

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