Welcome To Virginia City, Nevada, Vibes

Lady Justice with eyes wide open in this Wild West Comstock Lode outpost.

by Glenn Franco Simmons

I decided to launch a new blog dedicated entirely to Virginia City, a place that captured my heart during my first visit in 1990, because I love its history, lore and cultural influences.

Whenever I'm in Virginia City in spring, summer and fall, I feel the vibrations of not only motorcycles on C street, but also some pretty cool trucks and cars of all types and ages. So, I thought of "vibes" in that sense, to represent Virginia City's vitality today. I added "& The Comstock Lode" to memorialize a significant era in American history in my blog title.

Far from being confined to generalizations and stereotypes, I've found Virginia City to be a place of independent, freedom-loving Americans of many persuasions. And I haven't met one who hasn't been friendly.

In my archives, I have years of photos, and many stories already written but not published. I'm often in Virginia City at least monthly, if not weekly or more, even in heavy winter snow. That's how much I love it.

I'd live there, if I could.

While I already run a blog titled Silver State Backroads, I felt Virginia City deserved its own space without overwhelming my other website. This new blog will allow me to focus solely on Virginia City.

I haven't been active in blogging for a few years due to family health commitments, but I've continued to photograph Virginia City. Now, I'm excited to return to blogging and share those moments.

My wife's family have been here for generations and go back to her grandpa working on the V&T!

As a child, I grew up mostly in Freshwater, Calif., a small redwood-forested valley ~ as I am fond of saying, at that time, "There were more cows than humans."

For a number of years, I was a daily and weekly small-town newspaper editor and eventually editor/publisher on The Redwood Coast.

My hope is that as I connect more with the Virginia City community — both businesses and residents — this blog will grow into something truly special, reflecting the town's unique character and my love for it. It's nothing fancy because I am not interested in monetizing it.

I calculate that if this is good enough, people will occasionally visit it.

If not, it will be a heck of a lot of fun.