October 6-13, 2021 Since this was our third visit to Las Vegas we let the search for interesting geocaches guide our choice of activities. We didn’t see a show, risk a penny on a game of chance, or eat at a buffet, but we saw some interesting and beautiful things, Read more…
October 3, 2021 The volcanic craters around Mono Lake formed between 40,000 and 650 years ago, making them the youngest mountain range in North America. Panum Crater formed just 650 years ago when magma rose toward the earth’s surface. It superheated water in the water table caused explosions, blowing out Read more…
October 2, 2021 W. S. Body discovered gold in 1859 and died a few months later. The mines in the area of his discovery eventually produced gold valued at more than one hundred million dollars and the town was named in his honor, albeit with an alternate spelling. Mining proceded Read more…
October 2, 2021 Travertine limestone is formed when hot underground water dissolves minerals, rises to the surface through cracks, and then evaporates or cools leaving the minerals behind. The hot springs we visited began forming 10,000 years ago and are actively growing. The longest is 850 feet long and 15 Read more…
October 1, 2021 Tioga Road took us from where we stayed in Lee Vining, California across the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Yosemite National Park. At almost 10,000 feet, it is the highest highway pass in California. We were thrilled with the scenery long before we got to the park itself. Read more…
September 30 and October 4, 2021 We stayed for a week in Lee Vining, California which is on the shore of Mono Lake. One of our first stops was to the Mono Basin Scenic Area Ranger Station and Visitor Center. At about a million years old, it’s one of the Read more…
September 15-29, 2021 Jane’s birthday activities included a tour of Carson City brothels. If you guess such a tour was geocache-related, you know us pretty well. All of the caches were hidden outside and the most interesting part of the experience was seeing a few wild horses. Jane’s nephew Cory Read more…
September 26, 2021 Gold and silver were discovered in the Virginia City, Nevada area in the 1850’s and activity intensified in the 1870’s with the discovery of silver. The transportation of ore, lumber, and supplies was difficult and expensive and so the Virginia and Truckee Railroad was built. The railroad Read more…
September 23, 2021 Nevada became a territory in 1861 and a state in 1864. Its capital has always been in Carson City which was originally Eagle Station on the California Immigrant Trail. The town’s founders were on the money when they left a plaza in the center of town for Read more…
September 22, 2021 Ten years ago we were following a walking tour of historic properties in Carson City, Nevada and came upon the Ferris Mansion, built in 1863. Dave’s great-great-grandfather (his father’s mother’s mother’s father) was Asa Ferris Cogswell. Asa’s daughter (and Dave’s great aunt), Helen Cogswell Trostel, wrote a Read more…