Victorian Ave (B-Street) - Reno/Sparks NV, and Surrounding Area Part II

This is part two of my series of photo blogs detailing my recent trip to the Reno/Sparks area. 

These shots were all taken the afternoon of August 1 in the Downtown Sparks area.  Victorian Avenue as it's now known used to be called 'B' Street.  Several of these pics are from the railroad museum at the corner of Victorian and Pyramid Hwy. 

John Ascuaga's Nugget has been a Sparks staple since 1955 and I have numerous memories of going there as a kid.  Most people know it as the place where the Hells Angels and Vagos squared off last year but I remember it as the place where we saw Bertha and Tina the elephants, ate an Awful Awful hamburger and got to pick our favorite numbers on a Keno ticket each time we went for dinner.  We stayed here this trip and had an awesome time!  

This shadow is in front of the shuttered Carls Silver Club on Victorian across from the Nugget.  

This sign marks the distance from Sparks to main outposts West and East.

Passenger cars at a recreated station.

This old school building was moved to Victorian Ave. in Sparks several years ago.  I remember it used to sit at Kietzke and Virginia St. near the convention center.

Early Morning - Reno/Sparks NV, and Surrounding Area Part I

This is part one of several planned photo blogs comprised of shots taken in and around Reno and Sparks, NV.  I kept each blog short, none more than 23 photos, but most are more like between 3 and 15 photos.  I'm breaking the series up in an attempt to keep alike photos together,

These shots were all taken August 1, early in the morning in North Sparks.

Sunrise over the mountains East of Sparks.

Moon setting towards Peavine Peak.

Quail on Martini Drive.

D'Andrea Parkway

Early morning moon above the MGM, or Bally's, or Grand Sierra Resort, or whatever it is this week....

Old trailer on Spanish Springs Rd.

Early morning sun lights up the sagebrush on Martini Rd.

The Nugget with the Mt. Rose face in the background.

One last shot of the sun rising over the Sparks mountains.

As always, if you click on the photos, a larger version will appear.

More to follow, thanks for looking!!!!!

Virginia Countryside in Black & White.

These pics were taken in the VA countryside near our house.  I'm a big fan of black & white photography and don't use it nearly enough.  All pics were taken on June 30, 2012.

We found this old Chevy sitting under an old overhang on the side of the road. It's a shame this majestic machine is relegated to  storage duty.

Ample opportunities to get old barn shots around here.

Amazingly, there were signs of current occupation at this house!  

Notice the lock on the door.  You can only lock it from the outside!

Seems one of my favorite things to photograph is fences, especially old fence posts and barbed wire...

Some wildflowers against a corral fence.

I always think hay in the field makes for a nice shot.

It looked like they were setting up for a wedding.

This barn had seen better days...

Part of an old dairy complex.

If you click on this pic, then scroll back through the shots in the new window, you can get a much better view of each scene.

Stafford County, Virginia Courthouse

The news here recently had a story about archaeologists finding the original 1784 Stafford County Courthouse (Story Below).  This courthouse is right down the street from our house and I figured this would be a good time to document some of the cool things there... 

This looks to be a place where you can go talk on your cell phone without anyone else hearing you.  I can't figure what  else this type of structure could be used for....

This shows the archaeological dig sites at the courthouse.

Here's a link to the story about the dig and finding the1784 courthouse....

http://tinyurl.com/dx6y652 

This rock wall on the South side of the courthouse is constructed of remains of the old jail which sat nearby. 

Across Courthouse Road sits a complex of small buildings which appear to be one of the many motels that used to sit along old Highway 1.  

MD Part V- Misc MD Pics #2 (Final MD Page)

This is the final page of the Maryland series.  Just a couple more pics that just didn't really fit in with the other themed blogs from the Maryland trip.