NEVADA: THE SILVER STATE

[Music] good evening ladies and gentlemen this is jack douglas with another armchair vacation in america they call this the silver state it's a land of broad sweeping desert snow top mountains and blue skies and although it's the seventh largest state in america it has a total population of less than three hundred thousand eye-catching neon signs advertise entertainment that goes on night and day and every year some eight million people answer the flashy appeal and go on a spree but this big state offers much more than casinos and bright lights not far from the busy tempo of the cities there are deserted old mining towns by the dozens and yet by contrast we can daydream by the blue waters of a high mountain lake this is nevada the silver state in nevada it's possible to drive for hours without seeing any sign of a house or even a human being for this big state covers 110 540 square miles but in this great expanse of uninhabited terrain there is a wealth of beauty born of the desert on this particular day with only the sound of the wind for company we can relax and enjoy the pastel colors that autumn brings to this dry wilderness and then suddenly there is a house and beyond it a planted field as green as any to be seen in the american midwest right here in the desert an oasis nurtured by water piped in from some distant river [Music] in the southern part of nevada west of overton we enter the valley of fire the largest of the state's parks for miles around us we can see the red hued formations of triassic sandstone that have given the park its name and here in the valley of fire wind and water have carved the stone into shapes resembling bee hives towers and fat squatting animals be sure to bring your camera and your youngsters they'll have fun and you'll get some snapshots with all the brilliant colors of this land that's filled with vermilion cliffs and canyons a short drive east of las vegas takes us into the lake mead national recreation area this huge lake was named for dr ellwood mead a far-sighted commissioner in the u.s department of the interior dr mead served the government from 1924 through 1936 it had been his dream for many years to create a great reservoir by damning the colorado river now this magnificent body of water provides recreation for all the people of america because of one man and his untiring efforts these pleasure boats of the marina are just one of the reasons vacationers come here by the tens of thousands for the fishermen the lakes the blue waters abound in black bass and bluegill and the swimming facilities are excellent about a hundred miles north of las vegas in the small town of baity a sign reads ghost town rhyolite four and a half miles this is rhyolite a group of deserted buildings sitting in the desert relics of nevada's past in the early 1900s rhyolite was home to twelve thousand people in those days the stark landscape concealed a rich vein of gold while the miners dug into the earth through a small entrance in the side of a hill and great fortunes were made in stores such as this one built by hd and ld porter in 1906 did a roaring business but soon the vein of gold ran out and so did rhyolites people they left behind such things as this old miners pale the wilted remains of the railroad station and the gaunt ruins of lifeless buildings well today young prospectors can take the advice of this sign to dip your rock in water see its beauty this piece of rock is a type of rhyolite and in chemical composition it resembles granite the water brings out all of its natural beauty the reddish color results from a deposit of iron ore in this particular stone rhyolite where we can rediscover the days of the gold fever one of the things that strikes the eye on a vacation trip in nevada is the combination of dry barren desert surrounding the sky blue water of a lake such as this this is walker lake located in mineral county so well known that even nevada's earliest maps indicated clearly and well they might for this great body of water was not formed with the help of man it was once prehistoric lake lahontan and at one time flooded most of western nevada today at sportsman's beach we can stop for a picnic under one of these modernistic looking shelters that provide just enough cover from wind and sun and out on the lake we can see a couple of fishermen in the setting of rippling water and ancient mountains touched with the first snows of winter walker lake truly a refreshing stop along our way under the warmth of the desert sun welcome to genoa the oldest town in the state and driving down main street in this western nevada settlement we find old buildings that date back to 1856 the year that 64 hopeful families banded together here in carson valley they built their homes laid out dirt streets and named their community genoa honoring the birthplace of christopher columbus nearby stands a replica of the mormon station historic state monument the marker tells us that on june 10 1851 colonel john reese arrived at this site with 18 men and 10 wagons of supplies in this raw land inhabited then by hostile indians reese and his men erected a locked building in stockade and this combination trading post and fort made possible the establishment of genoa five years later the main street of carson city nevada's state capitol is right out of the 20th century but the capitol building topped by a silver dome is a notable example of victorian architecture it was built of sandstone from a local quarry and was completed in 1871 visitors are pleasantly surprised to see this old logging wagon on the capitol grounds also nearby this high-sided jerk-blind freight wagon used by the hf danberg family to haul produce to virginia city from their carson valley ranches this dignified looking structure is also in carson city and it's the home of the nevada state museum on one wall a plaque pays tribute to the writers of america's most famous group of mail carriers the pony express and you know during its 18 months of operation it is said that 120 pony express writers covered six hundred and fifty thousand miles with only one rider killed by indians one schedule not completed and only one bag of mail lost the glenbrook an old wood burning locomotive is another antique from a colorful chapter in nevada's history circa oh 1875 to 1898 it carried timber and passengers on a seven mile run from lake tahoe to a place named spooners summit the nevada state museum it's well worth a visit these adobe ruins are all that's left of old fort churchill a short drive east of carson city it was established as an army post by captain joseph stewart in july 1860 he and his men built the fort out of the clay ground and for years these thick walls afforded protection from marauding indians for weary immigrants who were on their way to california now they stand deserted like the ruins of a forgotten race of people but they are visual reminders of that tough and courageous breed we call the american pioneer one of many nostalgic memories in the silver state these old buildings sitting at the base of a bear mountain may not look too imposing but appearances can be deceiving for this is the heart of the comstock load country at virginia city once upon a time virginia city had a population of 25 000 and was considered to be one of the most cosmopolitan cities in western america in the center of the city this monument commemorates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of silver the fabulous comstock loathe on the 8th of june 1859 two prospectors uncovered the rich deposits of war that changed the destiny of the small settlement and of the state and it was because of discoveries such as this that nevada got its nickname the silver state another of the old buildings is piper's opera house one of the few remaining historic opera houses left in western america at one time virginia city boasted 20 such theaters but there was only one undisputed queen of the playhouses and this was it today the flavor of those bygone times can still be captured by strolling down the boardwalk on virginia city's main street here's a place that is now a gun shop formerly the 62 bar notice the figure of a wooden indian near that of a tough-looking hombre with a long black mustache another establishment warns us to check guns at bar and in the days when the miners and drifters frequented the original crystal saloon the admonition probably prevented a score of gunfights this weather beaten structure houses one of the most famous newspapers in the western states it's the territorial enterprise where mark twain got his start as a cub reporter here we can see the first line of type machine used west of the mississippi brought here to print this paper in 1894. today the weekly publication is still going strong and we asked mr robert richards editor of the enterprise to tell us more about its history territorial enterprise nevada's first newspaper is actually older than virginia city itself it was established in mormon station genoa nevada's oldest town in 1858 in 1959 it was moved to carson for a short period in 1860 it made its final move up here the newspaper grew with virginia city within a few years virginia city was roaring robust rich the newspaper reflected this in itself became roaring robust and rich the publisher was joseph t goodman urbane erudite it was he who hired a footloose young missourian named sam clemons to work as a reporter for the newspaper it was while working here that sam clemons adopted the pen name of mark twain these old hats and the umbrella hanging in the mark twain museum in the same building are typical of those used when twain worked here and this is the actual desk where the young newspaperman who was to become one of america's great writers composed his articles for the enterprise again here is mr richards in 1952 the territorial enterprise was revived by new york columnist and nationally known historian lucius bibi and shortly with the rise of tourism throughout the american west the territorial enterprise once more found itself growing with virginia [Music] the city river runs right through the heart of one of nevada's handsomest centers of population this is reno which proudly calls itself the biggest little city in the world at the reno hospitality center we can get information on any of the many attractions in town at the center this huge slot machine never fails to catch the attention of visitors it was designed as part of an exhibit at the recent new york world's fair and it stands five and a half feet high measures four and a half feet wide and weighs 1200 pounds the biggest of all slot machines the machine doesn't take measly old ordinary money so just pull the lever and watch the cymbals whirl around in this giant mechanism the names of reno's clubs and hotels are used in place of the conventional symbols and there it is a winning combination all three rollers read holiday inn you know it we fixed it at the reno courthouse we were told they have the busiest divorce courts in the united states but i'm happy to report that reno has six times more marriages than divorces in fact reno is famous for the scores of wedding chapels where everything is provided for the prospective bride and groom this chapel says it quite clearly we like people back at the courthouse here's an unexpected sight a lion cub and his pal a german shepherd frolicking on the courthouse lawn the lion's name is tawny and she's here with her owner who came to get a permit to keep her in his home reno like las vegas you know is famed for its exciting shows and big casinos and names like prima donna harold's palace club and harrah's attract millions of visitors annually but let's leave the fast pace of the casinos and step back into a bygone era the days when a gentleman in the stylish fur coat could be seen cranking his bulky o 1910 oldsmobile in order to get it going and where do we find the same picture today well right here at harris automobile collection in reno at this emporium of antique vintage and classic automobiles every car is given loving care in the machine shop they even use a specially designed stethoscope to listen to an engine that needs repair listen here see what you think [Applause] yes that seems coming louder on number two do you think that's low enough or for a rod or you think it's piss and slap visitors arrived by bus from harris club in reno to see this the world's largest antique automotive exhibit let's start in showroom number one where almost 150 vehicles are on display and a dazzling display it is now all together there are over 700 old cars in the entire collection that spills over into another warehouse even larger than this one now here's a real champion a 1907 thomas flyer it originally sold for about forty five hundred dollars and now here just a few of the other perfectly restored automobiles in this fantastic collection a 1909 welch one of only four welch autos left in the entire world today in 1909 it sold for forty seven hundred dollars and it had a four cylinder 50 horsepower engine and this is where the chauffeur rode when the owner decided he wanted to drive here's a 1909 stanley steamer run about but in those days signs like this of the city limits caution drivers to close muffler and maintain a speed limit of 12 miles per hour this bright yellow beauty is a stutz bearcat one of the great racing cars of its time in 1912 it sold for only two thousand dollars and the name studs became famous all over the world and for only fourteen 14 500 we might have bought this handsome light green duesenberg convertible roadster it's of 1931 vintage with intricately designed wire wheels and the front grille and headlights that are eye-catchingly brilliant the harrah's automobile collection the must-see on your nevada vacation outside of reno we stopped by the university of nevada it was established way back in 1864 as a land-grant institution but some of its newer buildings are as modern as tomorrow it has an enrollment of about 2500 students and offers a liberal arts education this sign on the university campus directs us to the fleischmann atmospherium planetarium and this structure with its swooping lines houses the world's first atmospherium inside we asked mr o richard norton the curator to tell us more about this unique research institute and its function many people who drive down highway 395 past the university of nevada see a strange looking building on the hill at the north end of the campus many people wonder just what we do here we present programs to school children to university classrooms and to the general public in two fields in astronomy and meteorology the planetarium part of the name of this facility simply tells us that uh we show the nighttime sky here in this dome room but we also show the daytime sky there are many planetary scattered throughout this country and others but this is the only facility that contains within it an atmospherium the atmospherium is simply an all-sky motion picture projector that can project 180 degrees pictures of the entire sky daytime sky in time lapse we take pictures of changing cloud formations and we can watch a day's weather go by in one half hour when people visit the atmospherium they become immediately fascinated by the unusual and beautiful architecture not only is it beautiful but it's also functional for here in this building lies the largest experimental solar heating plant in the western united states perhaps you notice those large louvers that covered the upper south end of the building these louvers are utilized to collect energy from sunlight this energy is in turn stored and then used to heat the building during the winter time thank you mr norton at steamboat hot springs nine miles from reno we are in one of nevada's most active thermal areas these bubbling gurgling hot springs were known even to the indians for their curative powers and the main steamboat was given to the springs by early settlers they discovered that the action of the water combined with hot steam made a puffing sound that resembled that of a smokestack riverboat well at sunset reno comes alive with all of the color and glamour so important to its entertainment palaces and harold's club one of the city's biggest offers another type of attraction that is quite unique it's harold's trap shooting country club a short drive from town and what makes it different is the fact that here we can enjoy track shooting at night those white streaks are tracer bullets especially created for this type of after dark firing and by the way this was the first time these new tracers have ever been photographed the man with a double barrel shotgun is mr dan orlick the manager of harold's club he has been a member of the all-american trap shooting team every year since nineteen fifty three night surprise in that part of america we call the silver state our vacation in nevada wouldn't be complete without a wintertime stop at lake tahoe on the california nevada border one of the most beautiful lakes in the 50 states the air is crisp the water is azure blue and all around us the white snows of winter mantle the green forest lake tahoe is the largest lake in the sierra nevada range and lies at an altitude of six thousand feet above sea level and with long icicles hanging from a roof and a big saint bernard barking in the snow we can almost imagine that we're at some alpine lake in switzerland it's a jack frost treat in the winter and a scenic site any time of the year in nevada the silver state i sincerely hope that you enjoyed tonight's armchair vacation and that will meet again next week somewhere in america until then jack douglas saying thank you so much and good night ladies and gentlemen