Up Close and Personal With Nevada History: The Kit Carson Trail

I like to walk. In fact, I do several miles a day. It's also a very accessible activity to do for wheelchair users while on vacation and we've come to schedule at least one big walk for each trip. We've done the massive Englisher Garten from top-to-bottom in Munich, made a 10 mile loop of Halifax in Nova Scotia, went from Market Street to Fisherman's Wharf and back in San Francisco, from Westminster to Abbey Road to Harrod's and back in London, for a few examples.

You can find some very interesting things on these walks if you know what you're looking for.

That's the case with the Kit Carson Trail, which is an historical walking tour put together by Carson City's Visitor's Bureau. The trail is a bit over two and half miles. With a few side trips and detours, ours came up to four miles by the end.

You can download a printable copy from their website, or just stop by their office at 716 N. Carson Street, adjacent to the Nevada State Railroad Museum just south of downtown. Free handicapped parking is available in the back of stop #1, the Nevada State Museum and along the streets nearby.

We've done the Nevada State Museum on a previous visit (click that link to check it out) so we just use it for convenient parking, today, and move on to stop #2, the Cavell House.

A prominent dentist, William Cavell had this house built with every possible modern convenience in 1907. The house has seen better days but, even in its current run-down condition, you can see what a marvelous house this is.

Moving up the street, the Stewart House...from 1887...was the home of U.S. Senator William Stewart. Stewart went on to be one of the founders of the Silver Party in 1892.

A block up the street is the beautiful 1862 gingerbread home of Governor John Jones who led the state from 1895-1896. 

The side treehouse is pretty fantastic.

Next door is 1864 house of Louis Prang, who started the tradition of Christmas Cards in the United States. This house is also a popular filming site for the Hallmark Channel.

The Bliss House is one of the largest of the historic homes here in Carson City. Bliss was a lumber baron and you'll find many things named after him, including Bliss State Park in Lake Tahoe where the Vikingsholm Castle sits on the shore of Emerald Bay.

Fun fact: on one of our spring break ski trips to Tahoe in College, Bliss' great grandson came along on one of them. None of us got along with him.

Across the street is the current Governor's Mansion, built in 1909 to serve as the official residence. Until then, it was up to each officeholder to secure their own lodgings.

Moving on we get to the Krebs-Petersen House built in 1914 for Dr. Ernest Krebs, who is credited for stopping the influenza outbreak in Carson City at that time. It was also used as a filming location for John Wayne's last movie, "The Shootist."

Down the Street is the Sadler House, occupied by Reinhold Sadler, when he was Governor of Nevada from 1896-1902.

In 1860 (or 1862...the printed version and online editions of this tour differ in the date), attorney William Morris Steward had a nice sandstone house built. Today, it's still home to a law office 

We saw deer on the lawn. It's Carson City's oldest standing home.

Orion Clemens lived in this 1863 home. He was the state secretary for Nevada. You might be more familiar with his brother, Samuel, who wroted under the name Mark Twain and was a frequent visitor here.

The 1868 house of George Ferris, Sr...a gentleman farmer who planted many of the trees around the capitol...is next. His son, George Ferris, Jr., went to Chicago and invented an amusement park ride...a wheel...that bears his name to this day.

We take a break and have some cold beers at Carson City's oldest saloon, a slightly divey place called the Old Globe Saloon, before moving on.

We decide to jump to the end of the tour and work our way back up so we can end up at our car. Next up is the state Capitol complex where we check out the Capitol Building. 

Mostly used for lower offices now, the Legislature and Supreme Court moved into larger, more modern buildings next door.

These are just a few highlights of the 48 stop tour. It was very interesting and a healthy way to get a close-up look at Nevada history.

Before we get back in our car, we stop by the Nugget Casino to take a few turns on their slot machines. We find another bit of pop history when we find a replica of George Barris' Batmobile parked inside. 

Done with our day of touring, we head back to our hotel in nearby Minden where we splurge on a nice Basque dinner at JT Basque, an old restaurant in Gardenerville that we've visited before.

Stuffed with a bit too much food, we retire to our room to get ready for tomorrow's adventure...which will coming soon.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2021 - All Rights Reserved

Chasing History in Baltimore

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed)  The two hardest things to do in Baltimore is to get there and to leave, at least if you go by our experience. One hard part is done after an all day flight, hard light rail ride, and a grungy walk to our hotel. We were exhausted and slept like logs last night.

At least Tim and I did. Letty was kept up by a group of cheerleaders in a nearby room.

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Now, it’s Sunday and we’re ready to see this city but we’re carless. That’s OK, it’s by choice. We are doing this entire trip via public transit, save the flights and the taxi back to the airport when we’re done.

Baltimore has a plethora of transit choices. Subway, light rail, bus, and water taxi, to name a few. The water taxi is not accessible but everything else is.

This city is one of our country’s more historic places, so let’s start our journey into Baltimore history at the big one…Fort McHenry.

This is the fort Baltimore attorney Francis Scott Key watched while being detained on a British ship during a fierce battle during the War of 1812. When he saw the stars and stripes rise above the early morning smoke after the battle, he was inspired to write a poem that was eventually mated to a British drinking tune to become our national anthem.

The number 1 bus route goes by the corner of our hotel and out to the gate of the fort, making for an extremely easy accessible trip to the historic site, although it is a bit of a walk from the gate to the visitor’s center, especially in the heat we’re experiencing this week.

In the visitor’s center, after getting tickets for the site (free for Golden Eagle pass holders and their companions), we see a moving if, at times, corny movie about the events of that night before venturing to the fort itself.

We’ve been to many an old fort like this and Fort McHenry really isn’t much different that most but it is still exciting to stand in a spot where a very famous and significant point of history occurred. There’s an American Legion convention in town this week and the site of so many veterans visiting such a meaningful spot in their lives is inspiring.

Speaking of the Legionnaires, they’ve come up with a brilliant idea for a souvenir. They’re all buying flags at the gift shop where they then take them to the fort. A docent there takes each flag and runs it up the pole where the Star Spangled Banner flew for a few seconds before lowering it and doing the same with the next flag.  Now, these heroes of America can go home with a flag that flew over Fort McHenry.

There’s a nice, but unprotected, accessible walk along the sea wall here that takes us back to the visitor’s center with great views of the harbor.

Done with the fort, we want to see some more Baltimore history. Our friend Brian told us we should visit the bar he got kicked out of when he was a teenager.  It’s in the Fells Point neighborhood.  The regular buses don’t go there but it is served by the (non accessible) water taxi and the Charm City Circulator.

This, my friends, will be your best friend when in Baltimore.  The circulator buses are accessible, come every ten minutes, and go almost everywhere in the downtown area.  They are also free.

It’s a two block walk from the hotel to the nearest Green Route Circulator stop. One of those blocks is what we can charitably call the Strip Club District but we end up in front of a police station and just wait a few minutes for the bus.

In Fells Point, it’s another two block walk to the 1600 block of Thames where you’ll find the oldest bar in the United States, The Horse You Came In On. This is the bar our friend was thrown out of and it’s next to an add-on to the original, The Horse You Rode Out On.

Both bars have a rather large step to get in but one of the workers taking a smoke break outside shows us an almost invisible little door in between both places where we can get into both bars with a wheelchair.

Once inside the circa 1775 bar, a server helps us find and accessible table we can relax at, watch football on TV, listen to the live music, and have a few cold ones. Another perk of using transit is we don’t have to worry about driving after a session at the bar.

While Tim and I have a couple of their outstanding burgers, Letty has her first Maryland crab cake. She pronounces it delicious.

Another Natty Boh (National Bohemian, the beer of Baltimore) and a shot of Don Julio, we’re feeling pretty good when we head back out in the hot and humid air of the waterfront neighborhood.

We take another scenic, waterfront walk until we get back to the Circulator stop.

Cobblestone streets, charming but bumpy for Tim’s wheelchair, lined with townhomes guide us back to an old back bay ship berth where this gent takes a nap at the bus stop. 

No, he’s not dead or homeless, just getting 40 winks.

Eventually, the Orange Line comes by. This will take us by our hotel so we can rest up and recharge a bit before getting right back on to the west side of town.

Here, we visit another historic patch of land. In 1830, the first mile of railroad track in America was laid. There are still a couple of old trains and even a wheelchair accessible train platform.

This is the Baltimore and Ohio (or B&O) Railroad Museum.

In a large, non-air conditioned roundhouse are stored many historic locomotives and livery. The Tom Thumb, the first locomotive, is here.

Outside in the maintenance shop are many more, very large, steam locomotives along with a model train exhibit. 

The displays are beautiful and the trains big and impressive but it’s damn hot today and we make our way out into a sketchy neighborhood.  We walk a few blocks east to our next historic site.

On a small street, a few blocks from the current home of the Baltimore Orioles, sits a small, three-story townhouse.  It’s air conditioned and has an elevator.  Heaven for us today.

Upstairs, a small bedroom is preserved. This is the birthplace of George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth, one of the giants of the game.

It’s a small museum and easily seen within 30 minutes.  It makes for a quick and fitting end to our historic day in Charm City.

Darryl

Copyright 2015 – Darryl Musick

Photos Copyright 2015 – Letty Musick

All Rights Reserved

Historic Dining: Eating in Some of the West's Oldest Restaurants

Snow flurries make wispy clouds across the pavement. Train passengers are told the Truckee Pass is closed with heavy snow and they’ll have to make due here on a cold Reno night until the California Zephyr can continue on the rails to Oakland.

Wearily, a passenger wanders down the street from the downtown station until he sees a cheap, basic looking hotel. Getting a clean but Spartan room for the night, the desk clerk tells him dinner is served downstairs starting at 5:00.

Showing up early, he has a stiff cocktail at the bar before being shown to a seat at a long table in the next room.  Other stranded strangers are seated with him at the table, even though the room is more empty than full. A pitcher of red wine and glasses are on the table for the diners to help themselves to and to lubricate the dinner banter.

As polite conversations start up, the food is brought out. The pea soup is exquisitely hot on this cold night. The large salad bowl has more than enough for everybody. The beans are savory. And, what’s this?  Small, thin strips of meat are served with jack cheese.

“Pickled tongue,” the server explains.

With wrinkled nose, but curious, the traveler takes a bite.  “Delicious,” he admits.

Thick lamb chops are brought, some of the best he’s ever had. After dessert, sated and maybe just a bit tipsy, the tired traveler sleeps easily until the train can resume its trip over the mountains to the San Francisco bay.

Scenes like this have played out for over a century in Nevada’s other city but at one place, you can still get a taste of that experience. The old SantaFe Hotel, behind the mammoth Harrah’s casino, still rents basic rooms and still serves a seemingly endless Basque meal…family style…in its unchanged dining room.

This is a bit of history that you can experience now. It’s not recreated, it’s not trendy… it’s just the way it’s always been.

I like to call it historical dining.

One of my favorite ways to eat is to find these old gems and have a meal the same way diners did 30, 40, maybe even 100 years or more ago. California (and a bit of Nevada) is sprinkled with such geriatric establishments.

On the corner of Geary and Van Ness lies the 70ish year old Tommy’s Joynt. It’s basically just a beer and sandwich hall.  Locals come in to get roast beef, sliced to order, and a cheap beer to wash it down.

Not fancy or pricy, but just good, solid food served the same way today as it was when it opened in 1947. Where else in The City are you going to get a solid sandwich and a mug of Anchor Steam for less than $12? The ancient dining hall and quirky décor are just gravy on top of that.

While you may not want to drink your lunch, La Rocca’sCorner in San Francisco is an old dive bar with legends about mob hits and nefarious doings in its back rooms and basements. Don’t worry about food, though. The owner usually puts out a spread that the bar flies help themselves to.

It is a true and authentic dive and the crowd here is among the friendliest you’ll find.  Not much has changed in this circa 1934 bar. Leo Larocca is no longer with us, so he doesn’t play is guitar or accordion in the corner anymore and there are a couple of TVs for sports.

You’ll still find Sy behind the bar dishing out drinks, feisty banter, and hugs for the ladies.

Going east, up high into the Sierras near Lake Tahoe, you'll find the Gold Rush era Kirkwood Inn near the ski resort of the same name on highway 88, the Carson Pass.

Since 1864, this little cabin has been keeping high country travelers warm and well fed. Have some prime rib or a satisfying sandwich as you belly up to the same bar that Snowshow Thompson sat at.

Down in the Central Valley, ice cream fans can satisfy their sweet tooth at a couple of century old creameries.

Superior Dairy in Hanford dishes out giant servings of a few flavors in their ancient shop across from the town square. Their SOS sundae is truly a sight to see.

Bakersfield’s Dewars Ice Cream and Candies has a more extensive menu in both its original location downtown and a new, more modern branch on the west side of highway 99.

Philippe’s in downtown Los Angeles is well into its second century of serving its signature French dip sandwiches (which are said to have been invented here but an equally old Cole’s nearby begs to differ) is still the place where you sit with strangers on long tables, sawdust on the floor, with a news and candy stand by the door.

Expert servers at the counter serve such delicacies as purple pickled eggs and pig’s feet from an extensive menu. And the hot mustard, oh-the hot mustard, on each table takes that basic sandwich to new heights.

Down at the beach, the Bull Pen still serves a thick and delicious prime rib in a 65 year old dining room disguised behind a dive bar in Redondo Beach.  Locals come early to imbibe and hear corny jokes from the bartender.

Well hidden in a Redondo Riviera strip mall on a block progress has passed by, somehow people find it and fill it up every night. Some of them might even be the original customers.

For more refined tastes, hungry customers head east to Rancho Cucamonga where the 1848 era Sycamore Inn delights with its steak Dianne and extensive wine list while its younger (only 70+ years) neighbor, the Magic Lamp, serves superb crab cake, steaks, and chops in its wonderfully whimsical building…built by the Clearman family of Northwoods Inn fame…fronted by a large lamp shaped sign, belching out real flames nightly.

While in the Inland Empire, after spending a day on Route 66, tasting olives from the historic Graber farm in Ontario or sipping wine from the old Galleano Winery in Mira Loma, we like to end our day as we started this story, with another Basque meal at the old Centro Basco in Chino.

Also starting life as a boarding house for lonely shepherds from the old country, the almost 80 year old restaurant has shed its rooms-for-rent, although it kept the handball court out back for pickup games. 

Run by the heirs of the Basque family that has owned it for generations, it also has dinners with others at long tables but most customers these days prefer the more traditional restaurant seating in the back half of the restaurant.

Again, diners are brought out heaping bowls of soup (their split pea is among the best I’ve had), salad, cheese, beans, pasta, vegetables, and entrée.  Tongue is only by request here but is also one of the best things on the menu.

These are just a few of the dozens of old, sometimes musty, dining and drinking rooms sprinkled throughout the west. You may find one of your own on a slow road trip sometime.

With all the establishments listed here, one of the best things is sitting back with your full stomach, reveling in the unchanged dining experience that you’re amazed still exists in this modern age.

© 2016 – Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Celebrating Weeds and Country Music on St. Patrick's Day: Dandelion Days in Jackson, California

It's a vile weed. Sure, it has some pretty flowers and kids like to blow the seeds to the wind, where they will easily germinate. They'll take over your well cared-for lawn and destroy it, if it has it's way.

Why are we celebrating it today?

From what I can tell, it was a way of getting unwanted stuff out of your life...a community flea market to get rid of unwanted things, the "dandelions" of your life...turning lemons into lemonade.

At least that's what I can surmise, there's not a lot of data on the origins of the Dandelion Days Festival, celebrated each St. Patrick's Day weekend in Jackson, California.

In an area full of celebrations, get-togethers, fairs, and festivals, this is one of the many events happening in the region this weekend. We're going to make a full day of it.

When the crowds hit, parking is scarce in downtown Jackson. While there is a bit of parking reserved for handicapped placard and license holders at the police department, those go quickly. We have to park at one of the remote lots. We choose the lot at the county administration building a half mile away.

The accessible buses of Amador Transit are providing free, wheelchair accessible rides from the lot to the festival every half hour during the day. We get there just in the nick of time to catch one.

Main Street is closed for the event. A quarter mile of narrow, minimally accessible pavement dating back to the Gold Rush is where we need to be.

Since the street's closed, we just roll along down the middle to the other end where we'll work our way back. The sidewalks here are mainly accessible from one end of the block or the other, meaning you have to do a lot of doubling back to get off and keep moving along.

Our first stop, though, is for some food. Brunch at Rosebud's Cafe will do. A sausage and egg sandwich for me, while my wife had a delicious vegetarian curry risotto, and Tim had a grilled cheese and onion sandwich to fortify us for the journey ahead.

At the other end of Main Street, at the old fire station, the firefighters are cooking up some delicious looking tri tip.

Since we just ate, we're not hungry for it but I do make a note of their cooking rigs, which are steel drums with a fire inside. Rebar across the top makes for a handy place to hang the hooks holding the meat. A lid is put on to keep the heat down and the smoke in.

Kids and adults take their picture on an adjacent antique fire truck...

...while diners set up at tables inside the cleared station to eat.

Heading back, it's a mishmash of booths selling the usual stuff...incense, woodworkings, clothes, bags, etc...while musicians here and there busk for change.

Next to the historic National Hotel, a beer garden is set up.

A few very good cover bands serenade while we sip the local suds and wine next to Jackson Creek.

On the other side of the hotel is the actual flea market...a group of about a half dozen tables...whereas most of the other booths are professional flea market businesses.

The local Lions Club, sponsors of the event, have a dessert and coffee table here and a few carnival rides beckon the kids.

Tim tells us his battery is running low so we look for a place to exit and wait while I hike back up the hill to retrieve our van. The local American Legion let's me use their lot to load up Tim and we're off.

We take a few hours to relax and plug Tim's chair into it's charger before we're off for our next adventure. It's up to the town of Sutter Creek for an evening of dining and music.

At Cavana's Pub, we take the opportunity to have some cheap Irish whiskey and wine while dining on soup and sandwiches.

Next, we walk three doors down to the Sutter Creek Theater. I had contacted the owner earlier who assured me he'd hold a wheelchair space for Tim for the general admission show there tonight.

He's good to his word and Tim sits next to him as he operates the soundboard for the show. Letty and I sit directly in front of him.

Tonight, Sophia, Helda, and Grace...the Quebe Sisters...are playing a concert here. The sisters are a group of champion fiddle players from Texas who have evolved into an outstanding western swing band.

They're very good, popular, and well known...it's kind of surprising that they're playing this 200 seat theater up in the hills of the Motherlode...but, here they are.

The sold-out show is exceptional and, with the tiny theater and audience, the sisters have plenty of time to mingle with the fans after the show.

Sophia remarks on my Sriracha shirt and I regale her and her sisters of the day the owner of the factory gave me the shirt.

The trio happily poses for a picture as we bid them goodnight and travel home after our day of festivals and music.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2019 - All Rights Reserved

Following History...Donner Pass

They say hindsight is 20/20. I can imagine that's what the Donner and Reed families were thinking later in 1847 after the ordeal they had. 

If they hadn't followed that dastardly Lansford Hastings and his shortcut that was anything but. If they'd wintered over in the Carson Valley instead of a late fall push over the mountains. If they'd tried to get some experience before they went. As they say, though, if  "ifs and buts were candy and nuts, everyday would be Christmas."

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It was four years before settlers would set up in the area as the party left Truckee Meadows in Nevada heading for Sacramento. It would be over twenty more before the area would become the railroad nucleus called "Reno."

Taking what they thought was a small risk to cross the Sierras in early November, the Donners and Reeds would get stuck in an historic snow fall and have to rely on their almost non-existent survival skills to make it through the winter in that unforgiving place.

Some would even have to resort to cannibalism...eating the bodies of those who died...to make it through. It's one of the most gruesome and infamous tales of early California pioneers there is.

We're following the path of the Donner Party, now a modern Interstate highway, also making our way from Reno to Sacramento. On this November day, 168 years later, we're in no danger of getting snowed in at what we hope is the end of the worst drought in California history.

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The story of the Donners and Reeds has always fascinated me so we make a stop at the Donner Memorial Park, just off Interstate 80 about a mile or two west of Truckee, California.

It's a chilly but dry, sunny day as we pull into the lot. A tall memorial stands at the east end. We make our way into the visitor's center to pay our fee and watch a movie about the Donner Party.

It just wasn't in the cards for them as mistakes, misfortune, or plain incompetence followed one after another. 

Out back of the visitor's center is a large rock, against which a shelter was built by one of the families. 

After the survivors were rescued, U.S. Army Captain Kearney and his troops came upon a cabin in which they found cannibalised remains of some of the party. The men dug a hole in the cabin, buried the bodies, and burned the cabin down.

It is upon the site of this burned cabin that the large memorial is built.  The rocks in the memorial, over 20 feet tall, mark the depth of the snow that harsh winter.

For us, after we pay our respects, it's on to a much easier traverse over the mountains through the pass that now bears the party's name...Donner Pass.

It's a pretty but uneventful drive where we check into the Hyatt House hotel in Rancho Cordova, cross the street, take the trolley over to Old Town Folsom, and enjoy a deep dish Chicago pizza at Chicago Fire.

It's a cold night as we watch ice skaters navigate the old train turntable while we wait for our train home.

Darryl
Copyright 2015 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved