A Trip Inside Omega Mart at Las Vegas, Nevada

Lex sez:

Las Vegas has always had a reputation for pushing and breaking boundaries, for stretching the possibilities of what you can legally experience in America. If that can be done in Las Vegas with gambling and other forms of entertainment, why not an immersive art experience? That is the challenge that Meow Wolf, an arts collective based in Santa Fe, rose to when they opened Omega Mart at Area 15 in Las Vegas in February 2021. Neek, Sar and I couldn’t wait to discover what it was all about!

Burning Man at Reno Playa Art Park in Reno, Nevada – Road Trip Day 9 Ep.24

Neek sez:

Burning Man is a seven-day event in the Black Rock desert 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Reno, Nevada.  Aside from the wild night festivities and highly creative interactive artwork, Burning Man is a world renown Art event culminating in the burning a giant effigy on the last evening.  

I have never been to Burning Man and truthfully, the clothing optional aspects of it intimidate the hell out of me.  The artwork and designs of the temporary structures fascinate my aesthetic imagination, therefore, it was to my delight that some of the smaller artwork from the 2016 Burning Man is displayed at Reno Playa Art Park. Looking at the sculptures, it’s evident that Burning Man is a person who is stepping out to the beat of their own drummer.

The Haunted Old Washoe Club in Virginia City, Nevada – Road Trip Day 9 Ep.23

Lex sez:

Walking up C Street in Virginia City, Neek, Sar and I decided to explore one last saloon in town.  Like the other saloons, this place has a history going back to the 19th century.  It also, like some other saloons, has reports of paranormal activity.  But there’s something about the Washoe Club that demands a closer look, which is exactly what we gave it!

Often called the Old Washoe Club as this brick building was built in 1862, it first came into existence in 1875 as the “Millionaire’s Club”, a place for the rich to hobnob in luxury. 

The Old Saloons and 60’s Psychedelic Music of Virginia City, Nevada – Day 9 Ep. 22

Lex sez:

The main drag in Virginia City, Nevada (known as C Street) normally evokes the feeling of an Old West town.  The street is filled with old saloons, many of them dating back to the 19th century when the town was in the throes of a silver rush from the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859.  But on the day that Neek, Sar and I visited, the main feeling that C Street evoked was hunger! 

The reason for that feeling is that we happened to arrive in Virginia City when they were having their 34th annual chili cook-off! 

Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City, Nevada – Road Trip Day 9 Ep.21

Neek sez:

Fires are one of the biggest threats to the old mining towns of the West.  Most of the buildings were made of clapboard and very easily caught fire from wood burning stoves or an errant cigar left unattended. One such cigar may have cost a man a whole building.

During our Highway 50 Loneliest Road in America Challenge, we found out that the Eureka Opera House in Eureka, Nevada was a recently renovated cousin to the Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City, Nevada.  We decided to visit.  The road up to Virginia City was a bit windy and hilly.  I gave Lex directions and It didn’t take long for him to find the impressive structure.  

Did We Finish Our Hwy 50, The Loneliest Road in America Challenge? Road Trip, Day 8 Ep.20

Lex sez:

After leaving Austin, Neek, Sar and I drove back on to Highway 50 and motored through the expansive beauty of Nevada.  It was around 2pm and while we had driven through half of “The Loneliest Road in America,” we still had four more stamps to get to complete our booklet and receive our certificate of completion.  We were a bit concerned that since some of the places that do stamping might close at 5pm, we would have to hurry to reach our goal.

110 miles (180 kilometers) later, we reached our next destination, the town of Fallon.  It is called the “Oasis of Nevada” and can trace its roots back to the California Gold Rush as well as the Pony Express. 

St. Augustine, The Oldest Catholic Church in Nevada – Road Trip Day 8 Ep.19

Neek sez:

With a glint in her eye and an infectious laugh, the lady at the Trading Post who stamped our Highway 50 booklets continued on with her story about the abandoned buildings in Austin, Nevada.  The owner of the Main Street Shops who had to sell because of her son’s illness also owned the St. Augustine’s Catholic Church.  She had deeded the church to the St. Augustine’s Cultural Center for them to renovate and restore for its use.  The shopkeeper told us that it was abandoned for now and that we should go take a look.

Typical of many old mining towns, the building was situated on a steep hill so Sar decided to stay in the car and take a nap.  Lex and I huffed and puffed our way up the road to see an imposing red brick church with a beautiful tall white steeple.

A Living Ghost Town – Austin, Nevada – Road Trip Day 8 Ep.18

Lex sez:

Driving along the expansive landscape of Highway 50, it’s hard not to imagine what it must have been like to be riding along the Pony Express over 150 years ago through the same desert terrain.  Fittingly, the legend of the next stop we visited, Austin, is that the town arose in 1862 when a Pony Express horse kicked over a rock that opened up to a cavern full of silver.  The Pony Express agent riding that horse, William Talcott, made the discovery that within one year made Austin the seat of Lander County and in two years grew the population of the town to 7,500.  Neek, Sar and I were curious to see this old mining town that at one point was the second largest city in Nevada.

Austin’s history is filled with unique memorable characters.  There was Reuel Colt Gridley, who operated the general store built in 1863, which was restored in 1984 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Historic 1881 Eureka Opera House in Nevada, Road Trip Day 8 Ep.17

Neek sez:

Eureka is nicknamed “The Friendliest Town” on the Loneliest Road in America. With that kind of reputation, how could we not visit? This would also be the 3rd stamp in our Hwy 50 book. Only 5 more to go!

Eureka was settled by some silver prospectors from Austin, Nevada in 1864 when they found silver/lead ore in nearby Prospect Peak. By 1873, Eureka was Nevada’s second ranking mineral producer next to the Comstock Lode. In 5 years, the population of Eureka would swell to 9,000 people. Their economic mainstay would be in operating the smelters that would separate silver from lead. With all of the black smoke and soot coming from 16 smelters, Eureka would be known as the “Pittsburgh of the East”.

Abandoned Mystery Cabin on Highway 50, Road Trip Day 8 Ep.16

Lex sez:

Whenever we go on a road trip, there is always an agenda we have in mind, but it’s never rigidly set.  Part of the wonder and excitement of the road is that you never know what you’re going to see along the way; the journey is just as important as the destination.  So we always try to allow time for the unexpected.  That certainly paid off for us in this episode of our trek through “The Loneliest Road in America.”

Neek, Sar and I left Ely, Nevada after having breakfast in our hotel room that morning.  We headed out on Route 50 with our first planned destination that day being the Old West town of Eureka, Nevada.  But on our way there, we came across one of those unexpected sights we just had to check out.