Dennis Cassinelli

The second Pony Express Station encountered when traveling east from Friday’s Station at the California/Nevada State Line is Van Sickle Station at the bottom of Old Kingsbury Grade in Carson Valley. In 1857, rancher Henry Van Sickle constructed a two-story hotel with a bar, kitchen and a store to cater to the needs of emigrants traveling to California as a rest stop before the climb over the high Sierra Nevada Mountains. When the Pony Express started operation in 1860, it became a station where the riders stopped to change horses. Continue reading →

When I first started researching the Pony Express I was not too impressed with the operation and the prominence it held in the history of the American West. The more I read and studied, however, the more I came to appreciate how the Pony Express became so famous. At my first impression, I wondered how this enterprise that lasted just eighteen months and ended not only broke but deeply in debt, could have achieved the apparent legendary status it holds in our history. Continue reading →

Much has been written about the Pony Express and the place it has occupied in the History of the American West. Many of the stories written about the Pony Express were romanticized fictional accounts. One true story about the Pony Express that is well documented is the exciting adventures of of Pony Bob Haslam. Continue reading →

I first heard about the legend of Susan's Bluff more than 40 years ago from Oliver Perondi, a fellow employee at the Nevada Department of Transportation. We were traveling east on Highway 50 a few miles east of Dayton when he pointed to a mountain off to the south and told me it was called Susan's Bluff. Continue reading →

Did a petrified forest once really exist in Dayton, Nevada? Continue reading →

The Cassinelli-Perino Artifact Collection is a permanent exhibit of American Indian stone tools on display at the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center in Gardnerville, Nevada. It contains such items as an obsidian crescent and a moccasin last. Continue reading →

The remains of the Rock Point Mill exist alongside Highway 50 in Dayton, Nevada. The area is connected to the Dayton State Park via a tunnel that runs underneath the highway. Visitors can view the ruins and follow a trail that leads up to the top of a small hillside. Continue reading →

Virginia City, Nevada, is the quintessential Old West town. Just minutes from Reno, tourists flock here each year to walk along VC's historical streets. Landmarks include the Bucket of Blood Saloon, the Mackay Mansion, the Washoe Club, and Piper's Opera House -- just to name a few. Continue reading →

Throughout the early 1900s, patients at the Nevada State Asylum in Sparks, Nevada, were buried in unmarked graves. As a young boy, Dennis witnessed the bodies being dug up during a road project. A group known as the Friends of the Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services Cemetery helped to create a memorial park to pay respect to all those buried disrespectfully. The park includes a granite obelisk memorial that contains the names of many of the people. Continue reading →