(Connor Fields) Today I'm visiting Genoa, Nevada, a picturesque town just outside of Lake Tahoe.

This area is not only beautiful, it is rich in history, and there is plenty of opportunity for outdoor adventure.

While I'm here, I'll explore the town, meet some locals, and check out some of the trails.

Get ready for some fun.

This is Outdoor Nevada.

♪♪♪ I'm Connor Fields, and this is Outdoor Nevada.

Genoa holds the distinction of being the oldest permanent settlement in the state, founded in 1851 by Mormon pioneers.

This town sits in the Carson Valley and was originally called Mormon Station, serving as a vital trading post for travelers journeying west to California.

Over time, the town was renamed Genoa after the Italian city, reflecting the area's evolving cultural influences.

Genoa's historical significance is evident in its well-preserved buildings and landmarks that offer a glimpse into the pioneering era of the American West.

Today I'm meeting up with Michael Fischer, a local historian, to check out and learn more about Genoa.

Mike, thank you for sitting down with me today.

We are in a beautiful area.

I mean, I can't believe this.

I feel like I'm on vacation.

Tell me a little about where we are.

(Michael Fischer) Well, you're at the foot of the Carson Range, not the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but the Carson Range, which is the spur of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

-What is Genoa known for?

What makes this town unique?

-Well, I think it's history.

Clearly, it was the last stop before going over the mountains for the people going to the gold rush in California, starting in '49, and the first stop after coming across the mountains in '59, when they were basically coming from California to go to the silver discoveries on the Comstock Lode.

-So it kind of began as a stopping point either on the way to or from California?

-Mostly to.

They were worn out.

The animals, you know, they had oxen.

They had four, six oxen pulling wagons.

And by the time they got across Nevada, which didn't have a lot of feed across the Forty Mile Desert or the Humboldt Sink or the Carson Sink, basically those animals were worn out.

They were thin, poor.

And the hardest part of the journey would be crossing those mountains that you think are so lovely.

They didn't share your sentiments at that time.

-If I had to walk all the way over them on foot, I might not think so lovely of them, either.

-But a mountain bike you'd take, right?

-100%.

-Okay.

-100%.

Or a walking trail.

-Okay.

-So an industry sprung up where they could resupply here.

And the resupply was they would bring things from California or all the way from Salt Lake City, almost 600 miles away, I think, and have it here so that when those people got here and their animals were spent, they were spent, their supplies were spent, they could resupply, feed on some of the good grass that was on the sides of the river, and then be able to cross those mountains.

They'd trade two of the worn out oxen for one good, healthy one that would help get them across.

-So it was kind of like a recycle program, and-- -Two for one.

-Yeah, two-- a BOGO.

-Yeah.

-And it really, to me, it sounds like it was a bit of a trading post.

-It was.

-A bit of a traveler town, where people would come, stay for a period, and then they would keep going.

As that's transitioned into today, there's some really, really old buildings that I'm looking at here.

Some of them must have a fascinating history.

Tell me a little bit about this one right here, the Nevada's Oldest Thirst Parlor, that I see.

And is that a symbol over on this one?

Is that a Masonic symbol?

-Yes.

Nevada's Oldest Thirst Parlor, certified by nothing less than Guy Rocha, a former state archivist, oldest bar in the state of Nevada.

No bar has continuously operated, legally at least.

-There was that whole prohibition period.

-Yeah.

But as far as the date of beginning and continuing to operate in the same manner, that is the oldest bar in the state of Nevada.

-What about this one over here with the bricks?

-Okay.

That building is probably the oldest building in Genoa, or at least the first story.

The second story, Genoa has been plagued in June by fires at least four times that I know of.

The first story appears in Simpson's cartographer's sketch of the town.

So 1859, at least.

The property sells in 1857.

And the area down at the bottom is actually very complicated, but you can take all the old measurements off the corner of that building.

So first floor is 1859 or before.

Second floor is 1873, second fire, and that's when the Masons buy it and build their lodge on the second floor.

It had retail before that below it.

-Is it still an operating lodge today?

-It is.

♪♪♪ -After we finished up our coffee, Mike and I walked around town.

He pointed out more details about the buildings and some of the other local color.

It's great meeting locals who not only love where they live, they know its history.

Thanks, Mike.

Now let's go check out some trails.

♪♪♪ One thing that is undeniable is that this area has some amazing mountain bike trails.

There was no way I was going to come up here and not bring my bike.

Today, I'm meeting up with Blaine and Shannon to ride a local trail, and I can't wait.

Let's go.

Shannon and Blaine, thank you both for coming out and riding with me.

I am super excited.

Before we get going, I would love to learn a little bit more about you and what got you into mountain biking.

(Blaine) I've been here 16 years.

I started mountain biking in my 20s around the Sacramento area and then got out of it for some reason, with married and kids, and moved back up here.

There's so many beautiful trails, and my son was getting to be riding age, so bought a cheaper bike and got back into it and been in ever since.

(Shannon) I'm born and raised in Carson Valley.

So, yeah, going on 40 years now.

I'm relatively new to mountain biking.

This would be about my eighth year, I'd say, that I've been biking.

Got into it through some friends.

Surprised that I didn't do it sooner.

It's a blast.

We live in a great place to be up in the mountains, so it's something that I can do relatively quickly, get a good workout, good scenery around here.

-I did see on the sign right over here that you can ride this trail all the way over to Lake Tahoe.

Am I correct?

-You are correct.

It's gonna be a big climb, about 10 miles, but you will get to the Tahoe Rim Trail at the top of this ridge.

There's a famous point up there called the "Bench," which is just an amazing lookout over the whole lake.

So I have yet to complete this section all the way up.

It's a goal of mine, but I have not ridden from here all the way to the top yet.

-Well, maybe one day I'll come back, and we could hit the Bench together.

Tell me what I can expect from the trail we're going to ride today.

-It's a clean trail.

It'll get a little rocky in some spots.

There's no real technical aspect to it, but other than it's got a lot of switchbacks further up.

You get mostly shade, but it opens up a bit, too.

And so it's nice for afternoon rides because of the amount of shade, because there's some of our rides around here, it's, you're 6 miles in before you get any shade.

-Would you say this would be a good trail for a beginner?

-It'd be a tough climb for a beginner.

-It's shaley in areas, and the switchbacks make it a little tough.

-So more moderate?

-Yeah, I'd say this is moderate.

We don't have a lot of really easy trails around here, I'd say.

-So learn somewhere else, and then when you have some skills, come out.

-This side of the valley, there's a little bit over here and up north that could be kind of introductory to people.

But this is a moderate one.

If you've been on a bike for a while, you'll have no problem.

-Well, I have been on a bike for a while, and I'm excited to get going.

What do you say we hit it?

It's usually the start of a trail that gets you, the climb.

And being at a higher altitude makes it all the more challenging.

But that's all good, because what goes up must come down.

I'm itching to take this trail back down and enjoy the ride.

♪♪♪ I gotta say, this is absolutely unbelievable here.

We got the water.

I've seen all these beautiful butterflies flying around.

I feel like I'm in a postcard.

What is it like having this in your backyard?

-It's the best part about describing where we live.

I finish work, come here for a 45-minute ride and get a workout, come up in the morning.

It doesn't take a lot to get a ride in, but it's the best.

This place is hard to beat.

-You can't beat it.

That's for sure.

And so you're from here.

You lived here for 20 years now, right?

-Getting there, yeah.

-Have you ridden elsewhere in Nevada?

-So mostly Carson, but I've ridden up-- there are great trails on Mt.

Rose, by Reno.

And then there's actually a mountain range out in Fallon near the TOPGUN Air Base, and we've ridden some trails out there.

-You've done a lot of riding, but it sounds like it's mostly in the Northern Nevada, Reno, Carson City area.

-Yeah.

-Let me tell you, I've been all over this state.

I've ridden in the southern part of Nevada, the eastern, the central, and there is something fun about all the trails, but they're all so different.

You know, recently I was riding on a trail that there was no trees on.

A bit different than this, let alone running water.

But there was no trees.

And, you know, there's some places where you have these beautiful scenery around, like this, and then other places where you're out in the middle of nothing and you have that full remoteness, where right now we're just a couple of minutes from town.

Nevada is unbelievable for mountain bike culture.

-Most certainly is.

-Absolutely.

It's been a great ride.

-What do you say we finish this, and then we get the reward that we have earned, which is the downhill?

-Sounds like a great plan.

-All right.

♪♪♪ What a ride!

It's always great to find a new trail and fresh dirt.

I'll be back for more very soon.

As you drive into Genoa, you'll notice a lot of open fields of green.

You'll also notice a lot of cattle.

Ranching is a huge part of life here, and today I'm going to get a taste of the ranch life at the Anderson Cattle Company.

♪♪♪ I have so many questions, such as, how does one become a rancher, and what the heck do you do?

(Spencer Anderson) Well, you become a rancher because you want to.

You-- it gets in your blood.

It's a passion.

And like for me, I started out cowboying for different ranches, and I couldn't get enough of it.

It just fueled my fire.

And we-- I traveled around different states doing it, riding different horses, meeting different people, and came to the point where we were actually able to do it for ourselves.

But it was a long time coming.

It was a long time coming.

-What do you love about this area?

(Jessica Anderson) The community is really amazing.

We sell-- -Super good people.

-Yeah, super good people.

We sell ranch-direct beef, so beef direct to the consumer.

And I've never been part of a community that is really as supportive as they are here.

I mean, they are rooting for the small guy, big time supporters of small business, and it just feels it's--even though it's as big as it is, it still has that, like old-timey feel, that, you know-- -Kind of small town?

-Yeah.

So it's just a really neat area.

-And as you were learning and growing your ranch, did you have to rely on help from some of the community to teach you some things that maybe you didn't know?

-Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, we've got a really good little group of friends that are either working for ranches here or have their own little operation going like we started with, and we couldn't do this without friends and family helping us.

It's a big part of it.

They come and either watch the kids or help us vaccinate or help, you know, whatever it is, help us gather.

-It sounds like you're saying ranching is a team sport.

-Very much so.

-I would say, too, like the ranching and ag community in general, it really is like family centered.

It takes a tribe.

You can't do this by yourself, because there's so many moving pieces, and, you know, sometimes you're here irrigating with cattle, and sometimes you're somewhere else, and you can't be in two places at once.

And so that's, I think, the most beautiful part of being in a ranching community is that everybody wants to help each other.

-When you close your eyes and you imagine the future of your business, what does that look like?

-I'd love to own our own ranch, especially somewhere for our son to grow up.

You know, he's the second generation, which is so cool, and we'd love nothing more for than for him to take on with it.

When we first started, we just wanted to own cows, and now it's like we want something to pass on to him.

So I, you know, I see the tree-lined driveway with cattle on both sides of the fence, on both sides of the driveway, and our son taking over one day.

-I love that.

You guys have inspired me.

I can really, really feel your passion for what it is that you do.

You've inspired me to where I want to put in some work.

Do you have anything I can do to help out today?

-Yeah.

I think so, yeah.

We'll, we'll go over here and check on a little bunch of cows, and we'll put out a little bit of mineral for him and see what it looks like.

-Can't wait.

Spencer wasted no time.

He put me right to work.

We loaded up some mineral supplements for the cattle and headed out.

I was hoping to do a more challenging task, like rope or even brand some cattle, but probably better I start with something simple.

Next time.

For now, it's off to take care of some cattle business, and that's just what we did.

A recently moved small group of cattle needed to get their supplements.

These supplements fill in the missing vitamins and minerals that the grass does not have.

This is all in the name of raising healthy grass-fed cattle.

It was a couple quick pours and... We got some lunch!

Lunch!

So for somebody who's not familiar with ranching and what goes into this, what is one thing that you think is important for them to know?

-I would say the one thing that is important for them to know is that ranchers truly care.

We care not only about our cattle, but we care about the land that we're using, because if we don't take care of it, we have nothing to put our cattle on.

And at the end of the day, we do, we just truly care and we love what we do.

We love, you know, raising a good, wholesome product that you can eat.

We love taking care of the cows, and it's just something that gets in your blood.

-I love talking to you because I can just feel the passion radiating from you.

What do you think is something that's really important that people know about what you do?

-I think people need to know that we are still out there, you know?

We're still trying to make a difference, bring good product to American households and families.

And whatever that looks like.

If there's a high school kid that has a goat project and you're tired of mowing the backyard or the back pasture that came with your place, farm it out to somebody.

Let them graze the ground.

Let them work on their projects and bring these young farmers and ranchers along and, and help them out.

-So from you, the message is, We're still here.

We Still Care.

Come find us.

-Yep.

-I would say one more thing, too, if I could just, you know, any like-- -You say as much as you want to say.

-Not like wisdom, because I don't know that I'm old enough to give wisdom, but I would say, you know, no matter what age you are, young or older, if this is something that you want to do, like this passion has been placed on your heart, I say jump in with both feet and do it.

You're gonna step in a lot of cow poop along the way.

That's just, that's just how it goes.

But you just keep getting up and keep going and find somebody you can ask questions.

Don't be afraid to ask those questions.

But just do it, because, I mean, we're a dying breed.

We need more people in agriculture.

And so just get out there and do it.

-You don't have to twist my arm to sit here in this beautiful place with these beautiful animals, these great people.

It's fantastic.

I'm really excited about my next meet-up, because it's with a prominent member of the local community.

And maybe a little bit, because it also involves food.

Cynthia Ferris-Bennett is a culinary expert and the owner of Sierra Chef, a culinary center, Italian bakery, and gourmet market located right here in Genoa.

Sierra Chef is known for its hands-on cooking classes that offer a variety of different techniques and cuisines, but all with fresh, high-quality ingredients.

Participants can learn how to make a variety of different options, ranging from things like Italian pastries all the way to more complex dishes, and that's exactly what I'm going to be making today.

I'm excited about this one.

Let's do it.

♪♪♪ -Cynthia, I could not be more excited.

We've got all this beautiful food in front of us.

We're in this beautiful location.

It smells good.

What are we doing today?

(Cynthia Ferris-Bennett) We are making ravioli today.

-You're making ravioli?

-We're making fresh ravioli: Sun-dried tomato, basil, fresh herb, garlic.

It's wonderful.

Wonderful day in beautiful Genoa.

-I'm excited.

What are we going to put inside the ravioli?

-That's what is inside; that's the filling.

So the sun-dried tomato, the fresh herb, garlic.

Always start with ricotta cheese.

We've got a couple of our special blend spices that we'll stick in there.

We're gonna start making our own pasta dough.

Have you ever done this before?

-No.

Normally when I make ravioli, I get the premade stuff, and I boil it.

So this is gonna be a completely new experience for me.

-There's nothing wrong with that.

-Nothing wrong.

You're just laughing at me.

-I am laughing at you.

We start with a semolina flour.

And semolina is-- all of our flour is from Italy.

If you touch it, you can feel it almost feels like cornmeal.

It's got a bit of a texture to it.

And this is just the heart of the-- -We started with the dough: semolina flour, two large eggs, oil, and water.

Once we had the dough mixed, it was time to knead it.

I had no idea the amount of work I needed to put in.

I was kind of hoping to just eat.

I'm kidding, but not really.

From here, we moved on to the filling: fresh ricotta cheese, garlic, locally sourced sun-dried tomatoes, dried and ground up porcini mushrooms, some Tuscan spices, and smoked salt.

Now that the dough had time to rest, Cynthia rolled it out, and we got to forming and filling the ravioli.

As we worked, I kept thinking about where we were, this quaint little town in Northern Nevada that not only has an amazing history, it's a little foodie paradise.

It's incredible.

Okay, back to the ravioli.

After a quick pan fry, I topped these beautiful pasta pillows with a vibrant Sicilian pesto.

I couldn't wait to take a bite.

-A little drizzle of that.

-So what are we doing with these, sprinkle them on?

-A little spritz on top.

-That's just basil?

-Yep.

-Look at that.

It's almost like you teach a class on presentation.

-I know, right?

There it is.

There's our final product.

-I love that.

Before we eat, I did want to ask you one question.

I noticed we have a tomato Ferris wheel here.

-We do.

-Do the tomatoes just love the Ferris wheel, or is there a reason behind that?

-The Ferris family has been here since 1869.

So my great-- -Here in Genoa?

-Here in Carson Valley, yeah.

-Oh, wow.

-So my Great-great-great-uncle George Washington Gale Ferris invented the Ferris wheel.

-No way!

-It was at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

-So your last name, Ferris, is literally, Ferris wheel Ferris?

-Yeah.

I am a direct descendant, yes.

-I love that.

That's amazing.

-My great-great-great- grandparents had a ranch just over here on Muller.

They sold that.

And there's the Ferris Mansion in Carson City.

My great-great-grandfather was an arborist, so a lot of the trees around the Capitol Building he planted.

Probably the trees-- I'm coughing right now from these allergies.

-So you and your family are so deeply rooted in Nevada?

-Yeah, yeah.

-That's incredible.

-It's such a great place to live.

It really is.

-I mean, I've traveled all over Nevada.

I've seen every corner of the state, and there's something different about all of it, right?

Whether you're in the east, north, northeast, northwest, down south, Nevada has so much to offer.

But right now, we have some food to get to.

-We do.

-This is my favorite part of the cooking process-- -Yes.

- --eating it.

-I brought forks we're not going to use.

These are just-- -Finger food?

- --finger food.

-All right.

I appreciate you helping me make this.

-Of course.

I expect to see pictures from when you're making this at home.

Here, cin-cin.

-Cheers.

-All right.

Oh, my God, you did really well.

-I don't even know where to start.

The texture, when you pan fry them versus boil them, it changes the texture.

It's not crunchy, but there's a little more to it.

-Right?

-And it doesn't have that-- you know, when you overcook pasta, there's nothing worse than overcooked pasta.

This is like the opposite of that.

-Always cook your pasta al dente.

It has a completely different flavor, texture, yeah.

The balsamic glaze gives it that nice sweetness, and that pesto... -The Sicilian pesto is delicious.

-Mm-hmm.

-Wow!

Fantastic.

-Well, you're an excellent student.

-Thank you.

I appreciate having my name on the group project.

-Absolutely.

You're welcome back anytime.

♪♪♪ Genoa and the Carson Valley have been incredible.

When I first arrived, I was met with these spectacular views.

And then I met the people.

The people in this community are what make this area so special.

Make sure you make your way up to Genoa.

You will not be disappointed.

Till next time, I'm Connor Fields, and this is Outdoor Nevada.