‘Carson City’ Category

 

Let’em Be Cowboys

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada –Mama, it’s okay if they grow up to be cowboys, I say; it’s a very poetic way of life. That was in evidence at the 3rd Annual Genoa Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival this weekend. “I eat my peas with honey. I’ve done it all my life. I know that might sound funny, but it keeps them on my knife.” Ken Gardner went for the ticklebone recitations, all deadpan of course, with a poem about his diapered pet chicken, and quips such as “We thought we had a problem when our town streaker told us he was quitting, but we persuaded him to stick it out for another year.” Tony Argento, pictured above, does humor too, but includes patriotic and serious performances in his repertoire, such as the Gettysburg Address. I heard him do The Silver Bells and The Golden Spurs, a tale of dueling gunslingers, with appropriate sound effects. There was quite a lineup in the big white tent labeled Mormon Station Main Stage.  » read more

 
 
 

When The Wind Blows

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, NevadaWind Warning topped the news. It was coming over the Sierra, they said, to the tune of 55 mph. I went about my business, as everyone else seemed to be doing. I wanted to check out Mills Park. I knew it had a skateboard facility, a tot playground, exercise stations, and an outdoor fitness center. I knew there was a large pavilion too. Their website http://www.carson.org/Index.aspx?page=1082 told me about a miniature railroad, and tennis and volleyball courts. I was not able to see these things however. Closed, due to high winds, said the permanent-looking sign across the drive. I took refuge across the street to watch the cloud come over the mountains.  » read more

 
 
 

Gentling

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – “I look for intelligent eyes,” Hank Curry told me, as we talked about the saddle-trained horse adoption event coming up May 19. Hank has headed the wild horse saddle-training program at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center for 10 years now. “We have as many as 1,100 horses at one time in our feed lot,” he continued, “but the ones we prepare for adoption need to be trainable and healthy.” The program is a cooperative partnership between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Nevada Department of Corrections, and the Nevada Department of Agriculture, and gentles and trains about 60 wild horses a year. I wanted to know about the trainers too; “How do you build your training team?” I asked. » read more

 
 
 

Artsy Smartsy

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – “On the side of the mountain in northwest Carson City sits one of the most beautiful art galleries in the city,” I read in Focus Magazine (Spring/Summer 2011, p 14) as I tried to learn more about this area. Since I like both mountains, and art galleries, I kept reading. Not one, but three galleries in one building at Western Nevada College, the article continued; the Main Gallery, Atrium Gallery, and College Gallery. I put the magazine down, looked up the address, and drove out West College Parkway. I found the three beautiful galleries, and I learned about the college-on-the-side-of-the-mountain too. » read more

 
 
 

In Ink and Stone

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada — A statue of Sarah Winnemucca graces the center spot of the Nevada State Capitol; a copy representing Nevada stands in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Notice the book Sarah holds in her hand. It is a telling emblem of the life of one of the most influential American Indian women in American history. Born into a legendary Paiute family in 1844, Sarah lived when the influx of white settlers began. Spending time with white families in the 1850’s, she learned the ways of the white world and mastered the English language. In the 1860’s she became an interpreter for the US Army; in the 1870’s she served the Army as a scout. So what about the book?  » read more

 
 
 

Decisions, Decisions

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – It must be terrible to live in Carson City. Every weekend, week after week, you have to decide – do I stay home, and enjoy my beautiful valley? Or, do I go east for 15 miles into the steep brown hills towards Virginia City and explore the ghost towns of mining days gone by? Or, heaven forbid, do I drive 20 miles west over Spooner Summit and mess around on the forested shores of the second deepest lake in all the country? Lake Tahoe, you know. I declare, I don’t know how they stand it. I’ve gone in both directions, now I’m taking a poll, so tell me, what would you do?

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Coming Through

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – A painted blue line shows the way, accented by bronze medallions implanted in the sidewalk beneath my feet. The pear trees are in bloom today and it’s an easy downtown walk along the Kit Carson Trail, 2.5 miles of history, where I’m promised a pedestrian’s-eye glimpse of the past. Modern-day technology in the form of a podcast reveals the juicy bits and basic facts; 64 landmarks to see, and think about. Who came here, and when? Who stayed, and who passed on through?

It’s nice that someone put this together for us to see. Good citizens and lovers of history have made sure we can follow many “trails of the past” – like the Pony Express Trail (a plaque at Robinson and Carson reminds us); and the American Discovery Trail, a coast-to-coast endeavor extending from Delaware to California. It comes through just north of town. Are you familiar with the ADT?   » read more

 
 
 

Picnic Time

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada– A picnic basket or a brown paper bag, either one will do. In fact you won’t even pay attention to what you’ve brought to eat because you’ll be gazing across blue lake waters at snow on a mountain, without a care in the world. A lop-eared jackrabbit might go hopping past, or you might spot an eagle soaring overhead. There are sand dunes in one direction, and wetlands in the other. What is this wonderland that is only a five-minute drive over the hill from Carson City? » read more

 
 
 

Minty Fresh

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – It’s green, and sports the number “1.” It looks imposing, tucked there in the corner of the Nevada State Museum; obviously important in the scheme of things, I think. I’m in the Mint section of the Museum, surrounded by stories of assays and mining and the minting of coins in Carson City, coins with the CC mintmark. The Carson City Mint had a relatively short existence, producing coins between 1870 and 1893. Built during the mining boom, the mint was closed when mining production declined. But that was not the end for No. 1, I learned, she wound up producing coins bearing the Philadelphia “P,” the San Francisco “S,” and the Denver “D” – what a story this turns out to be!  » read more

 
 
 

Warm Mashed Potatoes

Linda Burton posting from Carson City, Nevada – I don’t usually recommend restaurants. But everybody I’ve met so far in Carson City has told me Red’s was their favorite place to eat. I had to go see for myself. It’s not really a restaurant anyhow, it’s a museum that just happens to serve really, really, really good barbecue. And a lot of other good stuff.

The windmill signaled me in; what lay ahead under the patch-worked tin-sheeted roof? I walked past stone walls, carved wooden bears, an enclosed patio with a giant barbecue grill and a blazing fireplace. Laney welcomed me at the door; handed me a leaflet describing the fabulous Red “collection.” » read more