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Wednesday, May 10, 2023
It’s been about five months since our last post. During all of that time we’ve been hunkered down in Las Vegas taking care of some personal business. This week we had an opportunity to do a quick trip and have some fun. One of Deborah’s friends (Peggy) has a sister who is an artist (Phyllis). Phyllis is having a showing of her newest collection of paintings at a gallery in Reno. The opening is tomorrow. We decided to see it for ourselves.
The trip from Las Vegas to Reno is about seven hours by car. You’d think there would be a major roadway between here and there but, sadly, that’s just not the case. For most of the trip we were on Nevada Route 95, which could kindly be called a major highway. It’s a single lane road most of the way that twists and turns through quite a few small towns. In some places it just ends and you have to take really poor quality local roads before it starts up again. Food and fuel are rather scarce but at least the scenery can be quite beautiful.
We had an amusing episode on the way up North. We stopped at an Arco station in the tiny hamlet of Beatty. We didn’t need any gas. We went inside just to use the restrooms. On the way out Deborah picked up a cup of coffee. The cashier smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it”. There was no charge! We were so flabbergasted we’re not sure that we said, “Thank You”.
A good number of the artist’s family and friends were in Reno for the event. We met them at a gourmet pizza place for dinner. The alcohol was flowing and the food was plentiful. I suspect we were rather loud but everyone seemed to have a great time.
We’d actually had two previous encounters with Phyllis. Around 20 years ago Deborah was introduced to Phyllis by her sister Peggy. Through Peggy Deborah got a hold of a photo of a painting that was for sale. Deborah offered to buy it but at the last minute Phyllis decided that it wasn’t good enough to be sold. We learned during dinner this evening that she later touched it up and sold it to someone else. We were a little disappointed.
When we were in Reno in May, 2022, we called Phyllis with the intention of visiting her studio in Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, it snowed the night before we were to meet. Our little Corolla was no match the conditions. We’d have to wait another year before we’d be able to meet face to face. We’re so glad we finally met.
Thursday, May 11, 2023
The opening was set for 5:00 pm. We decided to fill the day by driving down to Nevada’s State Capitol, Carson City. It was a short drive lasting just over 30 minutes. We parked near a tourist information station and obtained a map of the Kit Carson Trail. The trail takes you through the historic part of Town and notes where some of the more interesting buildings and events took place.
We walked over to the State Capital. The security guard told us we could wander about freely. He called it a self guided tour. We walked from end to end and visited The Governor’s Office, the office of the Supreme Court, The Treasurer’s Office and more. We had fun walking around The Assembly Chamber. We noticed a large portrait of President Lincoln over the Governor’s chair. We learned later what the significance was.
Upstairs there were some more offices and a large room where the legislature originally met. That room now houses a museum containing some really interesting information about Nevada.
One of our favorite tidbits had to do with Nevada becoming the 36th State in 1864. Nevadans approved a State Constitution on September 14, 1864 and mailed it to Washington, DC for ratification. The document was lost in the mail. On October 26, 1864 the entire document was re-sent via telegraph. The message originated in Carson City and went from Salt Lake City to Chicago and on to Philadelphia before arriving in Washington. At the time it was the longest telegram ever sent. It was 175 pages long, contained 16,543 words and cost about $60,000 in today’s money. On October 31, 1864 President Lincoln declared Nevada a State.
Another interesting bit had to do with the now defunct Carson City Mint. It was the only mint that ever used two letters for identification. We later went to one of the many local coin shops to see if they had any “CC” marked coins for sale. The dealer did have a couple but they were not interesting enough to temp us.
Before leaving we walked to the far end of Town to see the Governor’s Mansion. Surprisingly, there didn’t seem to be any security about. We viewed it from across the street and didn’t attempt entry.
On the way back to Reno we stopped at the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory in New Washoe City. We’d seen an advertisement for the shop along the highway on our way down. It’s a large retail store selling all sorts of chocolates, ice cream, and fudge. They were very generous with the samples. We tried the malted milk balls and several flavors of fudge. We weren’t too impressed with the quality of the chocolate but the fudge was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. In the end we purchased some vanilla cremes, some cherry cremes, some peanut butter fudge, and some chocolate fudge. It turns out that the actual factory is just down the road.
Back at the hotel we changed our clothes and headed over to the gallery. We arrived around 4:30 pm. Phyllis was busy signing copies of a book of her paintings. Guests were milling about and discussing the paintings. There were about 30 works covering the entire gallery. Some were oil on linen and others were gouache or water paintings. Somewhat oddly all of the paintings had been sold before the opening. As the gallery was not air conditioned the interior got warmer and warmer as more and more guests arrived. By 6:30pm we decided it was time to leave.
Friday, May 12, 2023
We left early for the trip back to Las Vegas. My brother and his family were flying into Las Vegas for Mother’s Day. We wanted to be back in time to meet them for dinner. Once again we stopped at the Arco station in Beatty. Once again we used the restroom but this time we purchased some sodas and this time they charged us. We felt like we were giving back.
It was a fairly quick trip but we didn’t feel rushed. We had a great time and finally got to meet Phyllis and enjoy her works in person. Maybe, if we keep in her good graces, we’ll get to buy one of her paintings some day 😉.