Feed Your Mind & Soul

Strong Body, Warm Heart, Active Spirit

How do you nourish your body, mind and spirit? I feel that it starts with being an active person – feed the machine per se! I realize that day after day over time we can get bogged down in the daily grind of life. You MAKE LIFE what IT IS though!

Some Options to Consider:

• Select Healthier Food Choices
• Get Your Exercise On
• Put Stress on the Down Low
• Love to Learn Daily
• Be Socially Active
• Explore & Adventure Extensively

I do not care for the “D” word! Instead I think in terms of changing one’s lifestyle and selecting healthier food choices. We all DESERVE to indulge and treat ourselves! Have FUN trying new foods and new ways to cook foods.

Simply EXERCISE makes your body and mind strong as well as gets the HEART pumping. There are multiple ways to get your exercise on and have fun doing it!

Put that STRESS on the Down Low. There are times where you are in control and other times where you just might have to ROLL with it.

Learn something NEW every day! Keeps the mind sharp and the spirit active. I love to learn and read as well as try new things and challenge myself.

Here’s the one I LOVE – be SOCIALLY active!!! Does this mean that you have to turn yourself into the Social Butterfly, certainly not. However, get out there and get involved in LIFE – so many wonderful opportunities out there if you are open to them.

Another FAVORITE one – Explore & Adventure Extensively! This truly can CHALLENGE your body, mind and spirit. We are curious by nature, so why not put it to good use!

BE AMAZING – BE STRONG – BE YOU FOR YOU!!!

Nevada Ghost Towns – Part 3 – Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada – Historic Mining Town

Virginia City is the county seat for Storey County, Nevada. The town is an unincorporated community and part of the Reno-Sparks area.

Fun Fact:  Virginia City is the oldest established community in Nevada. The town struck it rich in 1859 with the Comstock Lode.

I enjoy visiting Virginia City and “stepping back in time”. The town was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and is the nation’s largest Historic Landmark today. Some people may consider the town a “Tourist Trap”, but it truly is a great place to explore.

The sidewalks are made from wood and you may hear the clink of spurs around you with men dressed up as Cowboys or Lawmen with guns on their hips. You will also see women throughout your visit dressed in period clothing. Check out the shops and swing into one of the local saloons for a drink and some entertainment.  Take in your surroundings and really look at the architeture of the businesses and houses in this town – some are so ornate and beautiful.

Virginia City is a tourist’s best gamble for a fun destination that is steeped with mining history, historic people and places and may have a ghost or two still hanging out. Check out the Bucket of Blood Saloon or the Famous “Suicide Table”. You may want to make an extra stop while in town and check out the cemetery – some old grave markers in there.

Tourist Mecca – Virginia City attracts over 2 million visitors per year.

Mining Boom Town back in its heyday and now a Historic Mining Town. The town became a melting pot with new residents arriving as well as miners to work the mines.

Has anyone heard of Samuel Clemens? In February 1863 in Virginia City, writer Samuel Clemens used his famous pen name of Mark Twain. I have traveled to a few places in Northern Nevada and Northern California with connections to Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain – pretty interesting at times.

Maybe people are more familiar with the Western television show called Bonanza. Virginia City is near the site of the fictitious Ponderosa Ranch.

All Aboard – the Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s northern terminal is located at Virginia City.

Another Fun Fact:  Check out the Virginia City Spite House, which is still standing and occupied today. Here’s the story. In the 1950’s two neighbors got into a dispute. One of the men moved and built a new house. While the other man got even and bought the lot next door. He built the house less than 12 inches apart to deprive the other man of both a view and a good breeze. Talk about some sour apples!

Check Out Historic Downtown Virginia City Today – You Will Not Be Disappointed!

Nevada Ghost Towns – Part 2 – Galena

Galena, Nevada – Historic Mining & Ghost Town

Galena is a Ghost Town in Lander County, Nevada near Battle Mountain, Nevada. The population of Galena is 10 people – what draws people to stay while others have already left! Is it the place, the people or the history – what remains in a somewhat deserted town in of all places rural Nevada.

The town was formed in 1869 and the Dutch Creek Mine eeked out about a cool $5 million in silver and lead extracted from the native ore in the area. Once a historic mining town known for the size of its cemetery and that it had a park. Now a deserted ghost town. You could say the town of Galena has had several lives throughout the years.

In the 1870’s the town experienced its heyday. The population increased as well as more businesses opened along with 2 stage lines. The mining activities increased until the 1880’s when those activities started to decline and then increased again in the 1910’s & 1920’s.

Today you can see the mining ruins in the town of Galena. A Word of Caution:  When exploring, especially a historic mining camp, be aware of your surroundings. It can be DANGEROUS going into old buildings and steer clear of open shafts.

A Small Town With a Mighty History!

Nevada Ghost Towns – Part 1 – Metropolis

Metropolis, Nevada – Ghost Town

Metropolis, Nevada is a ghost town in Elko County, Nevada. The name chosen for this town just does not seem to quite fit for a rural town in Nevada. Someone was trying to be fancy to attract the city slickers back in the day! I could not imagine moving out west and living the pioneer life in the 1900’s, especially in Nevada with its desert/mountain climate – winds, drought and a variation of cold and hot temperatures.

The town was created as a project for the Pacific Reclamation Company by businessman Harry Pierce (from Massachusetts) and some other investors from Massachusetts and Salt Lake City. Metropolis was to be the hub for a huge farming district. This businessman and the investors purchased 40,000 acres of DESERT land back in 1910 for FARMING – say what! Irrigation would be key, so a dam was built on Bishop Creek to create a reservoir.

The Project consisted of building a meeting hall, a post office, a school, a train depot, and a modern hotel. If you were to visit Metropolis today you would see the ruins of the Lincoln School, the Metropolis Hotel and the Metropolis Cemetery. In 1912 train service helped increase the population of this rural town.

Unfortunately Pierce did not obtain water rights to Bishop Creek and the town of Lovelock downstream sued. The town was left with enough water for the town and a few thousand acres of farmland. This resulted in dry-farming with its share of successes and failures. The farmers experienced drought, an over abundance of jack rabbits due to killing the coyotes and a Mormon cricket invasion.

The town of Metropolis experienced its ups and downs over a 40 year period. Pacific Reclamation declared bankruptcy in 1920 with the railroad discontinuing service to the town in 1922. In 1924 the town had a population around 200 people and in 1925 the meeting hall and hotel burned down – shortly after that the last store closed in 1925. The post office was able to hang on until 1942 and the Lincoln School until 1947 (opened in 1914). The residents then turned to ranching and by 1950 Metropolis became a ghost town.

 The desert is not a very forgiving force to reckon with and will claim back what residents have taken from it! You have the survivors who stayed and stuck it out and those whose left for greener pastures. Now the town of Metropolis has its history and maybe some ghosts who still linger to add some mystery to this desolate place.

You NEVER Know What You Might Find Off the Beaten Path!