Summertime and reading go hand in hand but trashy beach novels and fictional thrillers are not the only summer literature that’s hot. The Nevada State Museum will host a free summer book signing event showcasing authors with books about Nevada from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

The book signing will feature new releases including A Century of Enthusiasm by Dana Bennett; Radicalism in the Mountain West by David Berman, Dempsey in Nevada by Guy Clifton and A Legacy of Silver and Saddles by Paula Bear Wright.

Authors will be on hand to sell and sign their books and light refreshments will be served.

The Nevada State Museum Store is located inside the Nevada State Museum at 600 N. Carson Street in Carson City. The museum store is a one-stop shop for Nevada literature and unique Nevada themed gifts. The mission of the store is to provide an extensive collection of books about Nevada or by Nevada authors.

Due to construction visitors are asked to use the Robinson Street entrance on the south side of the museum.

Monster dust devil in the distance.

We’ve mostly tamed the desert here in Western Nevada, but sometimes the desert still knows how to fight back. The one weapon mother nature will always have against us is wind, and around here that means dust devils. Big, violent ones. The Record Courier has the story of a house in the Ranchos that was hit by a monster dust devil. It smashed up his chicken coop and threw his back patio into his front yard.

These monster winds have struck our house too. Last October a particularly bad windstorm toppled the wooden playground in our backyard. It weighs hundreds of pounds, but a big gust just knocked it right down.

So we may not live in the land of tornadoes, but we still get our share of angry winds.

A few new additions to the WNHPC tonight. I really need to add photos more often. I have a backlog of hundreds of pictures waiting to go in.

Bliss Mansion

Robinson Street

State Capitol

White House Hotel

Brian Switek brings us the story of the Carson City Giant. In 1882 large footprints were discovered fossilized in the stone at the State Prison quarry. The discovery was publicized by H. W. Harkness of San Francisco, who said that the footprints were unidentifiable and undoubtedly came from a giant prehistoric man wearing a size 19 sandal. This of course drew much national attention, and scrutiny from other scientists revealed the prints to be very similar to those found elsewhere, that had been identified as a giant sloth. Doubtless a sloth had wandered through the springs that sprout up by the prison, and left his soft footprints in the mud, that later fossilized. The Californians were mostly satisfied with this explanation, and went home. But there are still some who believe that a bigfoot walked among us, many thousands of years ago.

I love Pho. In fact, it’s one of those things I wish I could eat much more than I do, but since my family isn’t all that into it I only rarely get a chance to hit up my favorite Reno pho restaurants. Logically, the best thing for me to do would be to get to it for lunch so I don’t have to rely on the appetites of fickle family members. Working in Carson City presents a problem. Since Viet Pho, right on Carson Street and within walking distance of my office, closed sometime in the fall or winter, I haven’t been able to indulge. But I found myself a new place.

Pho8 on Winnie Lane is it.

I found it while attending a lunch at a Mexican place over there. I rolled into the parking loit and the car was pointed directly at Pho8. I almost skipped the party just for the shot at a new place. I didn’t, but went back the next day. I’m no food reviewer, but this was great. And to have it right here in Carson City is perfect. I go back every two weeks or so and have yet to have a bad experience. The guys who wander around helping people are great and will even chat about the movie on the television.

Check it out and help me keep pho in Carson City. The map below should help you find it.

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