Read Part One here.
It's gray and cool this morning at the Historian Inn in Gardnerville, Nevada. Chicken fried steak, french toast, and pancakes fortify the three of us for a day of sightseeing in the area.
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Bundled up in our down jackets, we head back towards the mountains. There, hard against the eastern edge of the Sierras, lies the tiny burg of Genoa.
Back when this was still part of Utah Territory in 1850, a group of Mormon pioneers built a fortified trading post here. When Nevada split from Utah, this was the first capital until it was later moved to nearby Carson City.
The rain is pretty steady, the ground pretty muddy, so we scratch getting Tim out of the van here but Letty goes into the general store for some trinkets and takes a few pictures.
Plans are quickly rearranged to do something indoors and we start down Jacks Ridge Road towards Carson City. Along the way, I see an old cemetery off to the side. The gates are open so I drive through, mostly hoping to get some photo opportunities.
A minute after driving in, I see this sign.
John 'Snowshoe' Thompson, a Norwegian immigrant, was a volunteer mail carrier back around the time Genoa was founded. He is famous for his tenacity in his work, delivering mail deep into the cold, upper reaches of the Sierra mountains.
He fashioned a pair of planks to scoot around on the snow...his 'snowshoes'...and is now considered one of the founders of skiing in California.
His name is legend at ski areas from Mammoth to Squaw Valley.
Soon, we find the grave with a little help from Google.
Thompson is buried here with his son, who died at 11 years old, and his wife, who lived into the 20th century.
Until a few minutes ago, I never knew he was buried here in Genoa.
We continue on to the capital and pull into the lot of the Nevada State Museum. Located in the former Carson City Mint, Silver State history abounds from the prehistoric fish that used to inhabit the inland sea that was here to the glittering casinos that now call the state home.
It's very interesting and an elevator, disguised to look like a mine shaft, gets wheelchair users to all floors.
An old coin stamping machine sits where it used to pump out silver dollars, quarters, dimes, and more. On the last Friday of each month, the staff fires it up to stamp out the souvenir coins sold in the gift shop.
A 17,000 year old mammoth skeleton sits next to a 25,000 year old horse..
In the basement is a recreated mine shaft, complete with rails for ore cars in the floor that can make it tricky for wheelchair users, especially those in oversized chairs. Tim manages to get through the tunnel but it's a bumpy tight squeeze in some spots.
Letty is impressed by the hall of taxidermied animals.
We end the day back in Gardnerville. We're fans of Basque restaurants and the very first one we ever tried was the Overland Hotel here. It's long gone but JT Basque sits right across the street.
We're feeling adventurous so we share an entree of pig's feet and tripe. It may sound nauseating but it was very delicious.
Along with the soup, salad, bread, beans, beef stew, fries, and ice cream for dessert, no one was leaving here hungry.
That's enough to sate us for the day. Tomorrow, we'll check out, do our shopping, and go home. We'll conclude this adventure then.
Darryl Musick
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