June 5, 2007

June 5, 2007

We spend the morning taking care of odds and ends. In the afternoon we head into the center of Carson City, the state capital of Nevada. It seems like a quaint little town. The capitol building is actually pretty small and is the first I have seen without a dome. We stop at the Nevada State Museum and Mint. It is only mildly interesting and I don’t learn much new. After the California gold rush, prospectors headed to nearby Nevada. A silver rush developed after George Hearst, William Randolph’s father, hit upon the nearby Comstock Lode. Nevada quickly became a state and a mint was established here to coin all the silver being mined. The state's and the mint's fortunes stumbled when the US settled on the gold standard instead of a silver one. Nevada compensated for the loss early on by being open to easy weddings, easy divorces and gambling. The rest is history.

After the museum we point the RV west and drive an hour to Lake Tahoe. We stop at the first public campsite. There are a string of them around the lake. This one is in a pretty pine forest with a sand lakefront. Our plan was to check out some of the campgrounds on the west shore but we end up talking so long to the two rangers here that we decide to stay. After parking we walk along the beach. The weather is not so great. It is windy and quite chilly. We go back for warmer clothes and then walk the meadow path leading into town. We stop at a casino for a drink and a little poker. After almost doubling my stake we head back to the RV for the night.