"One of the most interesting highways in Nevada, from both a scenic and historical standpoint, is the one between Reno and Carson City. The first time I had the pleasure of driving over it, I was with Governor Tasker L. Oddie in his 'sawed off' Ford. We left Reno, driving south on Virginia Street past dignified old mansions standing on velvety lawns, shaded by the fine old trees for this was strictly a residential street at that time. Soon we were in an agricultural district with productive fields, fine homes, big barns and hers of cattle grazing on pasture lands. All this was most interesting to my eyes which were more accustomed to desert scenes.

Our first stop was at Steamboat Springs, where the steam came up from the interior of the earth through cracks in the surface of the ground and made one feel as though he were standing on some kind of an inferno. These springs have been in use as a health center since 1962 as there is a medicinal quality to the water that is reputed to help people suffering from rheumatic ailments.

Leaving the springs we passed the then new road up to Virginia City, and again found ourselves in another district of ranch lands. Soon we rode down quite a hill and at the foot of it crossed the Virginia and Truckee Railroad tracks and entered Washoe City.

It was my first glimpse at a 'Ghost City' and it brought to my mind a remark once made by Charles Van Loan ament ghost towns: 'If there is any place on the earth that will make a healthy man think of disembodied spirits, it is a dead mining camp, where the people seem not to be absent but in hiding behind the doors - or just around the corner.'

The crumbling old brick building standing by the railroad tracks, with its vacant windows and iron shutters hanging by one hinge, sunken floors and doorless entrance, painted a tragic picture of a once busy community of 600 people and the County of Seat of Washoe County.

Among the other buildings there was a mill where the ore, brought down from Virginia City, was treated before being placed on cars and taken to the smelter. Then the Southern Pacific entered the scene and things suddenly changed.

In June, 1870, the County Seat and the newspaper (The Eastern Slope) were removed to Reno where the paper was published as the Reno Crescent.

The little town just died a natural death. Everything was so forlorn and dismal that we were fit subjects to spend a few moments at the cemetery, just a few yards beyond Washoe City on the right hand side of the highway.

In spite of a 'Keep Out' sign we crawled between the wires of the fence and scanned a few of the head stones, most of which were of the vintage of the 1860s and 70s. No one on the outside really wanted to be on the inside and no one on the inside could get outside if they wanted to (excepting us).

A little further along on the left side of the road we came to the largest barn I ever saw. It was so old that its roof reminded me of a swayback horse. I was told that this was the home of the fastest race horse the world has ever known, El Rey, born right on this ranch - the well known Winters Ranch. Soon we came to the mansion, and a more dreary house I have never seen. It was in an overgrowth of untrimmed trees and badly in need of gallons of white paint to bring out its many really good points. Across the street we saw what remained of the grandstand and race track where El Rey was trained.

The next interesting place that we came to was the Bowers Mansion - the large, stately home of Sandy Bowers and Eilley Orrum. These two people worked in Virginia City, one as a musker in the mines and the other as a washer woman. They awoke one morning to find that they were very rich, but being unaccustomed to riches and knowing nothing about investments or the care of a fortune.

They built this mansion on Washoe Lake where their first home had been located, and from it they had a view of Mt. Davidson on the side of which Virginia City was situated. In the yard there was a swimming pool, lawns and statuary, but even this didn't seem to satisfy them so they went to Europe. Eilley became possessed with the idea that she wanted to be presented at the Court of St. James and while in Paris she purchased a beautiful gown which she was to wear on this August occasion. But - alas; she had the money but did not know the right people and so her ardent wish was never gratified. Her husband grieved so over her disappointment that he bought enough beautiful furniture for the new house and sent it to America.

The story had a sad ending. They lost the house, Sandy died and was buried with their three young children on the mountainside back of the mansion. Eilley went to San Francisco and became a 'crystal ball gazer,' managing to eke out a rather miserable existence. When she passed away, her friends of former days returned her body and she now lies with her family on the hillside.

Now my first trip to Carson is nearly finished. We rode along the shore of Washoe Lake for several miles and then drove up a hill which divides Washoe from Eagle Valley. From the top of the hill, we got a most beautiful view of Carson City, glistening in the rays of the setting sun. On the left was the dome of the Capital Building. Beyond it, over close to the mountains, they grey stones of the penitentiary and to the right the spire of St. James Church could be seen through the tall poplar trees. We gazed at the beautiful scene for a moment and then drove down the hill, past the old Mint and up Robinson Street to the mansion where I was pleasantly welcomed by my old friends 'Mother' Oddie and her daughter, Grace."