As we rode over the mountains which tower above the rivers and the
greenest valleys, a storm came up; storm clouds dark and threatening,
the most imposing I have ever seen. In a short while the storm passed
over and the last rays of the setting sun shone on three mountain
peaks across the river and valley. It is impossible to imagine a more
exquisite display of colors. I think it must have been like the light
that shines on a happy mother's face when she holds her love-child in
her arms. And then a rainbow encircled the illuminated mountains, like
a beautiful filmy halo about the head of the Madonna, while beneath
lay the Truckee; its water like silvery veins and sparkling gems,
glistening and trembling in the golden light. And stretching away to
the north and east lay the sagebrush plains, wrapped in the silence of
a dying day and illuminated with the sheen of God's promise of a to-
morrow to come..... A wonderful picture: Nature's own masterpiece!

The motor trips are the next in line of outdoor amusements and these
trips will afford one the splendid opportunity of seeing, apart from
the unexcelled scenery, the numerous places of interest. First, Carson
City, the Capital; the State Penitentiary and the Government Indian
School, also the Indian homes and reservations; you will find them all
interesting. Carson City was founded in 1858 and was named after Kit
Carson, the famous scout. The capital is thirty miles from Reno,
fourteen miles from Lake Tahoe and twenty-two from Virginia City.

[Illustration: TRUCKEE RIVER CANYON]

The elevation of Virginia City is six thousand feet above sea level.
There you may don skin garments and go down three thousand feet in a
mine on the famous Comstock Lode. The heat in some of the mines is so
intense it is impossible to stand it for more than a few minutes at a