If you’re like me, you watched the western Bonanza as a kid. I loved those westerns, though The Big Valley was my favorite. When I moved to California I hadn’t given it a thought until I saw how close I was to Stockton; today Stockton isn’t a great city so I never made it there. Now I live in Reno, Bonanza has come back into my mind, as you can see by the map above the main towns prominent on the map.

Virginia City is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains at an elevation of 6148’. There are hills on one side of town and pretty nice views off the opposite side. It developed as a boom town in 1859 with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the largest silver deposit in the United States which made Virginia City the richest town in the U.S. at the time. Multiple mines opened up and at its height, there were around 25,000 residence. As the mine’s output declined over the next few years, the population declined also and today only has a population of 787 residence.

Tourism is it’s main industry which attracting around 2 million visitors a year.

Why I chose to write about Virginia City, it’s an easy 40 minutes drive from my house and the drive is beautiful up through the mountain with some of the best views of the basin below where you can see the city of Reno and surrounding area.

This past winter, right after I moved here I took a drive up the mountain to look at some property, not realizing Virginia City was not very far. But as you can see, the views are pretty spectacular, especially when there is snow on the mountains.

I notice when I do my excursions, I don’t take the time to see things; I use to be so much better. I tend to want to just get to my destination, maybe as we age we lose some of that youthful curiosity that tugs at us to “stop”; I’ll work on getting it back. Because when you do stop, you can see some really beautiful things.

I’ve always loved westerns like I mentioned above. I’ve been to Flagstaff, Tombstone, Santa Fe, and Dodge City, oh if you’re from NH and of my generation, then you may remember Six Gun City. It was a theme park based upon the old west.

My parents would take us during vacation excursions, and yes, this is me. I loved horses and would eventually own two while in high school. Have you ever wondered what happened to people in your old photos like this cowboy.

I didn’t see any horses in Virginia City, but there were a few cowboys/cowgirls walking around to add to the ambiance for the tourists. There’s also a “western” themed show. I didn’t get to see it, maybe next time. I suspect there is a shootout and someone being thrown in jail.

The main tourist strip isn’t very long, but covers both sides of the street. Most of the buildings are original, having been renovated to accommodate the stores or restaurants inside.

There are all types of stores from western wear/hats to chachkies. The stuff in side looks like they’ve been around a very long time. I use to love toy guns as a kid, but do kids today love toy guns that aren’t machine gun looking?

There are a few saloon/food establishment that try to look like their versions from 150 years ago; trying to give the visitor a feel for what it was like back in 1870. The sidewalks are still made of wood and if you listen hard enough maybe you’ll hear the clink, clink, clink of a cowboys spurs.

Beyond being known for the largest silver discovery, Mark Twain got his start as a writer in Virginia City working for a newspaper.

There is a hotel and an old opera house which I think is still used for shows.

For such a small town there are way to many power lines, it’s sad in a way. I know they are necessary, but the eye noise they cause is destructive.

The Virginia and Truckee Railroad's northern terminus is located at Virginia City. A project was started in 1972 to begin rebuilding one of the nation's "crookedest railroads". The portion of line that has been rebuilt so far stretches south to Carson City and through Gold Hill. The project ran the first steam engine from Carson City on September 5, 2009, and continues to provide tourist excursions between Carson City and Virginia City on weekends. — Wikipedia

From Virginia City there is a 35 minute historic steam train ride to Gold Hill. Gold Hill is another mining town located just south of Virginia City. Today there are remnants of the original town.

As I mentioned above there is a western show, I suspect a gun fight theme, maybe gun fight at the OK corral, who knows, I didn’t make it, but did go inside the set area. So basically and themed western set within a old western town, like a store within a store.

This is one of 3 churches in the town; this one on the strip and is on the southern most portion of the tourist area. It was built in 1867 and is still a working church.

Virginia City is an interesting place to visit. If you’re passing through, stop and take in the town for a few hours. The first time I went I met a couple who took the train from Carson City to Virginia City once a year. Nice cameras can be a conversation opener so it was nice chatting for a while about equipment etc. It was a Saturday in July. It was packed and the weather was hot so I didn’t stick around for long.

I admit I didn’t go into the shops, but did see a few things I could have purchased like a hat, one can always use a cowboy hat. The toy 6 shooters brought a flood of great memories back.