Virginia City And Camp Layman: ERT 2014 Day 4 & 5

Day 4 of the Epic Road Trip of 2014 was a big driving day. We left Lone Pine, drove past Mono Lake again, and entered Nevada on our way to Virginia City. Although when we stopped in Carson City, Nevada, for gas, I noticed that one of our brake lights was out. Mum wanted to fix it later, I didn't want a fix it ticket, so I insisted on repairing it immediately. After having a brief disagreement, I guided us to the nearest auto repair store. I'm pretty sure the guy at O'Reilly's had a good laugh. After getting us the correct light, he asked us if he could help us with anything else. I said, "Better Attitudes." After spending 15 minutes in the parking lot, we were back on our way. Virginia City isn't that far outside of Carson City. We'd never been there on a weekend. Boy was it crowded!

We pottered around, got some fudge and ice cream. (The verdict on the fudge: it's better in Solvang, California.) Then headed over to the cemetery. There were some really impressive markers. It's pretty dry in Virginia City, so I'm sure that's why a wooden marker could survive.

Virginia City was a mining town. The Comstock Lode was found in the area and many people became wealthy off of the silver that was discovered. As such, there would have been mining accidents.

We finished up our ice cream and continued on to Camp Layman. I had spent nine consecutive summers there as a child and was excited to revisit. This cabin ended up being our home base for a few days. After the amount of exploring and driving Mum and I had done, it was nice to stay in one spot for a little while. (Bonus, we ran into some friends we hadn't seen in years. I walked up to say hi just as one of them was telling the new owners about this family that used to come every year. That family included me! Talk about coincidences.)

On Day 5, we took it easy. I had read a story about a boy who was attacked for gold dust during the 1800s. He didn't make it, so his friend carved his name and age into a tree. There is a historical landmark at the spot: #212. As it turns out, it was a little hard to find. We followed the vague instructions and eventually stopped at the most likely spot. I suppose it was a little unrealistic to believe that this tree would still exist. It would have been over 160 years old and these forests didn't seem to have trees over 70 years. (I determined this by finding the largest felled tree I could and counting its rings.) However, after wandering around a bit, I found this unassuming marker. Even if we couldn't find the tree, at least we found the right spot.

We pottered around in Quincy for a little bit before going to check out the parking lot by the place we were going to hike the next day. After doing an unplanned short hike around that area for an hour, we headed to the Graeagle Frostee to get burgers and my favorite, an Orange Freeze. Mum and I warmed ourselves in the sun as we enjoyed the great view. We also looked up at the mountain we were going to climb the next day.