It’s spring break for me so Matt and I went exploring. We visited Virginia City, Nevada since Sugar Bowl Ski Resort sets up trips like these for it’s employees. The best part is that Matt’s the driver for these trips so he gets paid to go out to places like the Carson City Hot Springs and this trip.
Virginia City was a mining boomtown back in the late 1800′s. Now it’s a tourist spot for those looking for history, ghosts, or just a look into the way things were. I found it to be an odd little town.
The town is filled with little shops and museums. There are churches, mine tours, all sorts of things you would find in an old fashioned ghost town. I highly suggest coming between April and November since that appears to be the time their busiest and have things like staged gun fights going on.
The outside of the buildings were really interesting, but I found that the stores sold random little trinkets. Like glass dolphins and bumper stickers that said “I’m sexy.” So for that fact I was a little disappointed. I felt like the stores were having an identity crisis.
But there were some great candy shops that we enjoyed. Homemade almond brittle for Matt and dark chocolate dipped pretzels for me. Yum!
And yes, there’s fun little photo ops like these.
Oh and then there’s the bars. I really wanted to go to the Old Washoe Club since it was on the TV show, Ghost Adventures.
They had a museum, where you could enter for $2 or buy a drink. Poor Matt was the driver, but now I can say I’ve had a rum and coke in a haunted bar. As soon as you enter there’s a spiral staircase that was featured on Ripley’s Believe it or Not for being the longest of it’s kind without a supporting pole. It was very cool and pretty creepy.
Unfortunately the museum itself was kind of a let down. I hear “paranormal museum” and I thought it would show and talk about all the different paranormal investigations and evidence that has been found in the town. Sadly it was mostly paraphernalia from the different shows including signed pictures of the people in the shows, hats, cameras used, and only three unremarkable pictures of unexplained mists.
But they did have a crypt that you could enter. It was used back in the day to keep bodies frozen when the mortuary was full. It was very creepy. Matt tried to close the doors while I was in it, freaked out. Oddly enough there was a table and two bar stools? Could I have drank my rum and coke in there? Maybe but I wasn’t willing to stay too long in there.
Like I mentioned, I found Virginia City to be an odd little town. It was worth the visit, we had fun. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was an adventure at a ghost town. How often do you get a chance to step into a town with so much history? How often do you get to have a drink in a haunted bar that has been featured on tv? That was pretty nifty.
Oh and if you visit, don’t forget to check out the cemetery.
Oh wow, my wife and I went there 10 years ago. It hasn’t changed!