It seems that our road home to Chandler always takes us by old friends. This year is no exception. Our first stop is an overnight in Medford, Oregon, to have dinner with a high school friend of mine and her husband, Lois and Al. Lois and I last saw each other around 1968. We had managed to keep track of each other through Christmas letters for a lot of years, but something happened, and we lost touch. Lois found me on Facebook about a year ago. We have a lot to catch up on. More people rent a car for a long period than buying a car these days. There must be a reason for that. For some, a long-term rental is much more advantageous, you can check This website for more info.
An evening at a great neighborhood Italian restaurant — in my opinion the best kind — was the perfect setting to hear what has been going on in each of our lives. We are both retired now and life is good. Lois and Al, thanks for a great evening. We have to get together again when we come back to see Crater Lake in warm weather!
From Medford we travel across the northeast corner of California to arrive in Carson City to visit a friend of mine from flying days. Mary was married to a captain with TWA and they lived in Phoenix at the same time I lived in Phoenix. Dave and I got to know each other as we commuted back and forth to LAX. When John and I became an item, we discovered that John and Dave knew each other as well. From there we moved very comfortably into a foursome of good friends. Mary lost David to cancer about 17 years ago. I lost John 7 years ago. It is going to be good to check in and catch up with each other.
As it turns out Mary has settled into a very comfortable lifestyle with Bob, a retired law enforcement guy. The two of them are now very active in search and rescue operations around the Carson City area. In fact, I am so enthralled in hearing them tell the stores, I may check it out myself when we get back to Chandler.
We spend Sunday, October 9, with the two of them. They drive us to Virginia City, a gold mining town where some mining is still going on, but the mining of tourists seems to be the most visible activity.
Mary and Bob
Our first stop is the Fourth Ward School.
Fourth Ward School
Fourth Ward School
This looks like a building where kids could sit and woolgather for hours out the top windows.
Virginia City
Virginia is a mining town built on the side of a mountain. The streets or either up the mountain or down the mountain. This set of steps is rather impressive to move from one block to the next. Bob actually owns a house here and has it rented out.
Virginia City
The main street of Virginia City has board sidewalks, lots and lots of tourist shops, and a feeling that it is a town from the past.
Virginia City
Virginia City
Nothing?
This sign speaks for itself!
Suicide Table
The story of suicide table is an interesting one. Considering all the ghosts that inhabit this town, one has to assume that there was something perhaps at work behind the scenes here.
Suicide Table
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Virginia City
Opera House
In its heyday Virginia City was the cultural center of the Comstock. The opera house was the venue for many famous artists of the time, including Lily Langtree, John Phillip Sousa, Al Jolson, and in more recent times Tennessee Ernie Ford and Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain.
These boxes were the place where “money” sat to see and to be seen. The view of the stage wasn’t the best, but the view of the box from the audience was perfect. The upper box was where gentlemen took their ladies of the evening when they wanted to take them to a show. There was a gauze curtain that covered the opening so it remained a “private” viewing point.
Opera House
Stage
The stage was higher in the back than in the front. Since all of the seating was flat on the floor level, this allowed for better viewing of the stage.
Heating
The heating was taken care of by two wood stoves, one on each side of the stage. With the high ceiling, one has to think it may have been a bit chilly in the winter away from the stoves.
The floor was also mounted on springs, making it a very desirable floor for dancing.
Ghost?
There are supposed to be several ghosts that haunt the opera house. Our guide, who is playing the piano for us, suggested that we might want to take a picture up and to the right of her. Sometimes images appear in the picture. One has to wonder if the images that this picture captured were ghosts or fingerprints on the lens. We can’t be sure, can we.
Mary and Bob were impeccable hosts. Back at the house for dinner, we had a lovely dinner of bar-b-cued tri-tip that Ed bar-b-cued to perfection. It was a fun time catching up and hearing all the stories of the search and rescue. Old friends are good friends. Thank you Mary and Bob for a wonderful visit!
Mesquite
From Carson City we drive to Mesquite, Nevada, with a stop in Tonopah, Nevada, for an overnight. All we can say about Tonopah is that it is about 50 miles the other side of no where. The RV park we stayed in had all the amenities for only $10 a night with the Passport America rate, but the guy that signed us in could have easily starred in an Alfred Hitchcock thriller.
We manage to arrive in Mesquite right on time though. The plan is to meet up with Bob and Megan, our friends from Rockville, Utah. They agreed to meet us there so we could have an evening together. They have just recently become the proud owners of the Cortez parked next to our Bounder.
Megan and Bob
A fun evening of Mexican food and good conversation with good friends is a great way to end a magnificent trip. Thank you Bob and Megan for driving to Mesquite. It was great seeing you!
From Mesquite it is homeward bound. An overnight in Kingman, Arizona, is all we need to wrap up another great season of travel. Thursday, October 13, we arrive in Chandler.
This has been an amazing summer. Alaska was on the bucket list and can now be scratched off. However, there is a strong desire to return to Alaska. Whether we will have time to fit in a return trip with all the other places to see will only be told by time. We saw some amazing country and had some pretty awesome experiences. Life is so very good on the road.
Start Date: April 30, 2011
End Date: October 13, 2011
Total Days: 166
Starting Mileage: 58929
Ending Mileage: 68054
Total Mileage: 9,125
Most Miles Traveled in One Day: 351
Most Miles Traveled in One Day: 7
Average Miles Traveled Per Day: 55