There is no unhappiness like the misery of sighting land (and work) again after a cheerful, careless voyage.

Sunrise over Virginia City. I guess it should have been a sunset for my last blog post but in my mind it may be just the beginning.

My Mark Twain adventure is officially over. I’m really sad but I have a feeling I will be “twaining” again soon.  I met a man in Virginia City who told me of a jumping frog contest in California and you can rent a frog to join the competition. He said the rent-a-frogs win sometimes even though they are against professional frogs. So hopefully I will get out to there for the competition. Of course my next dream trip would be following Twain’s footsteps in Innocents Abroad…so if anyone wants to foot that bill, let me know!

I had such a great time traveling and meeting such wonderful people. To say everyone I met was kind would be an understatement; they were unbelievably nice, beyond generous and made this journey so much more enjoyable.

Virginia City and Hannibal have become such special places to me and I’ve become so attached to their spirit, history and wonderful people! When I was in Hannibal we watched a video and one of the teachers in it said that the only way to know American history is to go to Washington, DC…I think I disagree. We have beautiful monuments, a rich history and museums with all the artifacts but we don’t have the same charm and character as Hannibal and Virginia City. They ooze real American history not by being the home of the power or the place where history is kept but by just being themselves. There is nothing fancy about either place and there are no grandiose marble statues but their stories will no doubt be better than ours everyday of the week. If you are ever near either of those places, please visit!

As for Mark Twain…I am not quite finished with him yet. I’ve just scratched the surface and I want to continue learning more about him. He is one of those amazing individuals who managed to be at the right place at the right time and made the most of those moments.  It is hard not to envy his life for his childhood, travels and experiences but he also had heartbreak and tragedy that defined him and his work. He is best known for his quips and humor but some of his descriptions of places are written so beautifully and so perfectly, I really believe no one could have said it better. Twain speaks truths about human nature, which will always be relevant and he will never go out of style.  Like Hannibal and Virginia City, I’ve grown attached to him. He’s become apart of my life and I’m not ready to stop my journey with him.

Thanks for reading my blog and maybe next summer I can start it up again visiting other places special to Twain!

Ghost hunting in Virginia City

We spent our last night in Virginia City ghost hunting and we did have contact! The Washoe Club was the location of the Millionaires Club back in the 1870’s with guests including President Grant and Mark Twain. It survived the great fire that wiped out most of the city, so it is one of the oldest establishments in Virginia City. We went in hoping to hear a story but luckily the resident ghost hunter was there to entertain us for hours about the different ghosts who haunt the bar.  He let us listen to his recordings of ghosts saying things like “help me” and one mean ghost calling his wife a nasty name. The couple staying next to us in our hotel walked in the back of the bar and the man said he sensed a young girl around 9 watching him and he was right. There is 9-year-old ghost named Josie that haunts that area of the bar!  We were determined to get contact so we sat in the crypt and just talked to our new ghost hunter friend when all of a sudden rocks were being dropped on us. At least 4 small rocks fell and hit us from above…the ceiling is not made of rock and we were in the middle of the room.  Ghosts in the crypt are known to drop rocks on people, so the only logical reason a rock fell out of nowhere, was a ghost of Virginia City was saying hi! 

Ghosts have pushed people down these stairs.

The crypt

Leave me way up here, up on the mountain*

Mark Twain says it best!

"At last the lake burst upon us--a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft three thousand feet higher still! As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface, I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole world affords."

Looking in the rear view mirror driving out of Tahoe all you can see is blue because it's all sky and lake. It is amazing!

*Phish

There were military companies, fire companies, brass bands, banks, hotels, theatres, "hurdy-gurdy houses," wide-open gambling palaces, political pow wows, civic processions, street fights, murders, inquests, riots, a whisky mill every fifteen steps . . . a dozen breweries and half a dozen jails and stationhouses in full operation, and some talk of building a church.

Virginia City is a quirky town with a rich history of the mining industry in the 1800’s. During the mining boom, the town had so many millionaires they had their own club in one of the saloons. We toured everything in town on trolley, train and foot. We went to churches, mines, mansions, schoolhouses, opera houses, antique stores, Mark Twain’s office at the Territorial Enterprise, and ended the day with a “twain” of beers or two beers as someone told us at Mark Twain’s favorite saloon.  The saloon is also famous for their clientele…the multi-year winners of the Nevada Day Beard Contest! We saw the winners of the reddest beard, grayest beard, longest beard and fullest beard. They were cool enough to take a picture with us!

We also heard so many fascinating stories about the people of Virginia City. Everywhere we went someone had a story.  Our favorite story was about two feuding miners. One miner bought property to build his dream house and the other miner, to make his enemy miserable, built his house directly next door. His reason was to take away the cool summer breeze and the warm sun in the winter.

Love thy neighbor

Mark Twain's desk

I have more pictures to post but everytime the wind blows the internet goes out, so this process has become a little tedious! Also the strong wind up here has made all the buildings in Virginia City lean right.

The mountains are calling and I must go. *

We walked into town last night and I just wanted to share what we were seeing along our walk into downtown Virginia City. I don't know if you can tell but we are very high up looking over the mountains...beautiful!

*John Muir

Road Trip to Virginia City

I'm not sure what kind of desert this was but it was white and looked like salt...a salt desert?

We made it to Virginia City! Virginia City is on top of a mountain and the ride up was really steep and super scary! Thankfully we made it up in one piece but I am already getting nervous about going back down and back up again later in the week. The drive was really pretty! We had to make a few stops just to take pictures.

I think this is the Great Salt Lake.

Outside our hotel...on top of a mountain!