Personal Challenge 2018 - Week 36

This is the 36th week of my personal 50-week States of the Union Challenge. Each week I research one of the 50 United States (in the order they attained statehood). I share tidbits of information about the state here on my blog and I create a card that is inspired by something about that state.

This week's state (the 36th one to attain statehood) is...

Nevada

Date of Statehood: October 31, 1864

Nevada is pronounced "Nev-ADD-ah." Not "Nev-AH-dah."

Nevada is the second of two states added to the Union during the Civil War (West Virginia, which seceded from Virginia, is the first).

Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state in the U.S. It has more than 300 mountain ranges.

With all of the mountains, it might be surprising to learn that Nevada also contains the lowest point in the western hemisphere in the middle of Death Valley. At 282 feet below sea level, this hot spot can reach 200 degrees in the middle of the hot season.

With fewer than 10 inches of rain per year, Nevada's the driest state in the U.S.

Carson City is one of only two U.S. capital cities that borders another state.

California's known as the Golden State, but most U.S. gold comes from Nevada.

Even though Goldfield was once the largest city in Nevada, it's now the second-smallest county seat in the U.S.

Virginia City Nevada is believed to be the most haunted town in the U.S.

Reno Nevada is farther west than Los Angeles California.

Nevada-California border passes through the Stateline Swimming Pool, at the Cal-Neva Lodge. Visitors can swim and stand in two states at once.

At 60,000 pounds, there is more shrimp consumed in Las Vegas per day than the rest of the country combined.

Kangaroo rats can live their entire lives in the Mojave Desert without water.

The desert landscape of Nevada combined with the diversity of the mountains with wide open spaces make Nevada a safe place for wild horses to roam free. Horses have long played a significant role in native cultures in the area and still roam free to this day.

Nevada is home to nearly half of America’s wild horses and burros. Wild horses and burros (a burro is a small donkey) can quickly overpopulate an area. They have long life spans and are not very susceptible to predation or disease. Left unchecked, wild horse and burro numbers can double in four years. To bring wild horse and burro numbers in balance with the available food and water, the Bureau of Land Management captures excess animals and they are made available for adoption through Adopt-A-Horse or Burro Program. More than 220,000 wild horses annually.

Over 40 million people visit Las Vegas each year.

The Las Vegas Strip may only be 4.2 miles long, but it has over 75,000 miles of neon.

The Las Vegas Airport is the only airport in the U.S. where you can find slot machines and lots of them! You can also find slots in some other unlikely places in Las Vegas like many of the local grocery stores, convenience stores and more.

Lake Tahoe is the third deepest lake in the U.S.

Construction worker "hard hats" were first invented in 1933 specifically for the workers on Hoover Dam.

Nevada is one of only seven states without a lottery.

In 1861, a young Samuel Clemens arrived in Virginia City to try his hand at silver mining. Samuel Clemens began to send occasional letters to the Virginia City's newspaper, Territorial Enterprise, using the name "Josh". After finding no success in mining, he took the job as the city editor for the Virginia City's newspaper Territorial Enterprise with a salary of twenty-five dollars per week. In a February 3, 1863 letter to the Territorial Enterprise, Clemens signed "yours dreamily, MARK TWAIN", the first recorded use of the name under which he would become world-famous.

Here are some Nevada laws...

It's illegal to drive a camel on any highway in Nevada.

A man is forbidden from purchasing drinks for more than three people other than himself at any one period during the day.

Mothers must have a state license before giving their daughters a perm.

Hanging someone for shooting your dog on your property is ‘legal’. In the Wild West days, dogs were a highly valuable asset for protecting herds and property that were absolutely not to be messed with.

In Reno it is against the law to lie down on the sidewalk.

In Reno, benches and other seats cannot be placed on any street, alley, or sidewalk without express authorization. 

Again in Reno, it’s illegal to hide a spray-painted shopping cart in your basement.

In Las Vegas, it’s illegal to pawn your dentures.

In Elko, everyone walking the streets is required to wear a mask. 

I decided to go with this bit of Nevada information for my card's inspiration... When you think of Nevada you may picture the desert, the Las Vegas strip or a host of other things but the biggest part of Nevada is actually covered in snow. This state has more mountains than any other state and in fact gets it's name from the Spanish word for “snow clad.”  

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!


Supplies Used

Stamp: CC Designs Snowballed Heidi stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black, 110# White, and 110# Red CS and DP from the Recollections Fa La La La Paper Pad

Embellishments: Hobby Lobby Ribbon, Stickles Glitter Glue, and Snowflake Brads from an unknown vendor