Nevada Ghost Towns & Beyond

My sister has wanted to visit Las Vegas for many years, but big cities aren't my idea of fun. I wasn't excited when she suggested we meet in Vegas for a weekend to celebrate my belated 50th birthday. Then I started looking at all the ghost towns we could visit and started to get excited. Throw in excellent restaurants and spas, and it began to look like a fun-filled sister trip. As I was ... VIEW POST

Each year, the Pony Express completes a re-ride between Sacramento and St. Joseph, Missouri. This year, it is going east to west; in alternate years, it reverses. The Pony Express arrived in Genoa this afternoon. It was fun to see everyone loving history. I was hoping to get pictures of them heading up Old Kingsbury Grade, but someone blocked my car in which took an Austin Powers turn ... VIEW POST

I'm back from Thunder Ranch and exhausted! I don't know if I'll write up the trip, but it was amazing. The basic classes were a lot of fun, and this class was fun, too, but in a very different way. HIT was 1800 rounds in 3 days. It was 90-95 degrees with no shade. The head instructor called the class a little early, as everyone was exhausted. I looked down the line, and we all had bandaged ... VIEW POST

Do you know how the ghost town of Atolia, California, is related to German U-boats? During WWI, tungsten was in high demand to harden steel alloys. Atolia became the primary source of tungsten worldwide. Atolia grew to support tungsten mining. It was named after Atkins and DeGolia, two mining company executives. A post office opened in 1906, and Atolia grew to a population of 2,000. The ... VIEW POST

I had a great weekend as trail lead, taking the Dirty Girls to Pine Grove. If I had to pick a favorite ghost town in northern Nevada, it would be Pine Grove. It is relatively accessible (there are some washouts) and has various historical things to see, including a stamp mill, boarding house and cemetery. Some of the ladies had been on runs with me; for others, this was our first meeting. It ... VIEW POST