I am so sorry I haven't written sooner, but it has been so busy up here this summer, I just had no spare time to sit down and write. So now, I am going to fill you in on all the goings-on up here under the wing of Mt. Davidson.

So much has happened here that, although it is a very "OLD" city, there are a lot of "NEW" and wonderful things that have come to be.

First, the Virginia & Truckee Museum is 99% completed (on Union and "D" Street). Our new (old) steam locomotive arrived two weeks ago, and if you poke your head inside, you will be a part of the birth of the museum (no one will kick you out). The V&T Railroad is proceeding Pell Mell so that hopefully, next spring, you will be able to take the 7 mile ride (but for now, you can ride the V&T's 3 mile run). Also, a work-in-progress is our 60-room hotel casino which is going up at a fast pace and by June, 2006, it should be ready to take in guests. (By the way, it's brand, spanky new. Not old and rickety, circa Little Joe & Hoss Cartwright era.)

And now for the fun part. We had our annual Camel Races, Camel Day Parade, bawdry ladies (just kidding), the Pony Express (not kidding), men walking in the parade in their finest bathrobe and funky slippers, passing out Mardi Gras beads and collecting funds for the displaced people of NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana, for short). Not only do we have fun up here, but we also have heart and so can you. You just have to come up and spend some time with us.

Possibly because it is the close of summer, it is almost a carnival athmosphere - people trying to get in the last hurrah before we bundle up for winter (not a chance up here. We still do fun things even if it is the dead of winter). We just had our Ferrari Races, 9/17 and 9/18, and ahhhh, were we all feasting our eyes on those beautiful, expensive, squished little power-packed cars! (I fell in love with this itty-bitty wee little lemon yellow one). And although they race up Highway 342, there were no accidents. People, children and coyotes alike were standing by the roadside watching the races.

At any rate, we had a lull in festivities for a week, so we can gear up for our next event, which is "THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN". The event starts 9/23 and runs through 9/25. There will be plenty of live music, laughter, Harley-Davidsons, beer, and if you must, water, good food, and people of all ages just having fun. It is definitely NOT Sturgis - it is Virginia City.

Then, of course, you can always go ghost hunting, or go to The Mark Twain Book Store and have "quiet time" browsing and learning about Virginia City History. There are plenty of books on our nether-worldly inhabitants. (Let me know if one of them stops you, looks at you and walks away into a mist and disappears.)

If you want to say "Fare Well" to Summer, your best bet is to come up here and celebrate with us in wishing her "adieu".

Until we meet again, Be Well and Drive Safe

Grace