Day 5

Reno + Carson City

7:30 am breakfast Purple Parrot at Atlantis + checkout
Great selection of breakfast food and very generous portions. Good quick service. Perfect for our early checkout and getaway.

9:30 am visit National Automobile Museum
Much to see and enjoy. Wish we were here longer to linger with each unique historical item. The museum is overwhelming in the sheer number of vehicles and history – over 200 cars spread over 4 galleries progressing from very early days to modern times. Gallery 1: 1890s & 1900s, Gallery 2: 1910s to 1930s, Gallery 3: 1930s to 1950s, Gallery 4: 1950 onwards, race cars + Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame. If you are a dedicated car buff and read interesting details about each vehicle, allow at least 3 hours. The layout is excellent, period workshops dotted around add to the overall atmosphere. Street scenes set up add nostalgia. Two rooms dedicated to space vehicles – Mars Rover, etc. One nice thing – if your party needs a break, entrance fee allows multiple in and outs, so you can pop out for a snack or whatever. Extremely good value, at $12 adults and $10 seniors. Best special exhibit (our opinion): 1908 New York to Paris Automobile Race, featuring Winning Car 1907 Thomas Flyer Very special! What a story.

11 am arrive Carson City for ghost walk/Blue Line tour
Pick up Mary Bennet for ghost walk/Blue Line tour. The Kit Carson Trail is a self-guided walking tour of the west side of Carson City. The route is marked – a blue line painted on the sidewalks – hence the more common name of the “Blue Line Tour”. It loops in a rough figure 8 through the neighborhood bounded by Mountain, Curry, Robinson, and King streets passing by many of the historic houses and buildings in this Historic District. No official starting point to the tour, but there are several parking lots along the route, and the trail passes by the Nevada State Museum. There are over 30 interesting historic homes and 4 churches on the Blue Line tour. Do all or do some but don’t miss the strange pentagram in front of the Chartz House.

98 miles

1 pm lunch Carson City Red’s Old 395 Grill
Fun place! What an eclectic site. First the décor rocks! Really cool antiques like horse drawn snow sleds and buggies, a steam powered roller engine, parts from old trains, old portraits, car tags, and much more. The eye has plenty to look at during the whole experience. The food is excellent and delivered fast. The waiter very attentive. Spoke at one point to the bartender who seemed to know his beer well. The selection of beers was great. Prices were nice. I would drive quite a while to see it again just because of it’s unique nature. If I were a local this is where I would drink and hang.

3 pm driving tour of Carson City
We drive through Historic Carson City to view Carson’s past diversity. driving map Along the way we pass by: 1.Stewart Indian School 2.Nevada State Railroad Museum 3.Nevada State Capitol Building 4.Nevada State Museum (U.S. Mint) 5.J.D. Roberts House 6.Governor’s Mansion. 7.Duane Bliss Mansion 8.Krebs-Peterson House 9.Governor Sadler Home 10.Carson Brewery 11.George W. Ferris Home. We’ll return tomorrow to see more.

4 pm check into Gold Dust West Hotel & Casino
Big contrast to Atlantis Hotel Resort but a welcome change. Laid-back casino hotel less than a mile from Carson City Freeway, 2 miles from Nevada State Capitol, and 3 miles from Nevada State Railroad Museum. Large, warm, relaxed rooms with free Wi-Fi, cable TV and coffeemakers. Our suite has separate lounge with TV, microwave, minifridge and wet bar. Two on-site dining options: informal 24/7 American diner, and Mexican restaurant. Also has seasonal outdoor pool which we don’t use, 24-hour gym, bowling alley, and casino with slots.

6 pm bowling and pizza at Gold Dust West Bowling Center
Who knew bowling was so popular in Reno area? These alleys are right next to the Hotel/Casino, essentially part of our stay. The bowling alley is big (32-lane USBC Bowling Center), much larger than you’d expect at a casino, and in really good shape. In an earlier life we were competition bowlers but we’re a little rusty. After 6 pizza and beer fueled games, we start to get the hang of it once again.

9 pm try our luck in hotel casino
Blackjack on the slot machine looks interesting. Playing conservatively, after an hour we manage to win $8. Figure we’ll quit winners for the night.

overnight Gold Dust West Hotel & Casino
Around 10 pm tuck into comfy bed to start a deep sleep. Been quite a day.

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