Fairly or not, most people think of Las Vegas when they think of Nevada. However, as I learned recently, there is more to the Silver State than the city that never sleeps. My recent visit started after flying into Reno, which admittedly felt like a smaller Las Vegas. After picking up a rental car and spending the night at the Aloft, a newer hotel right across from the airport’s passenger terminal, I embarked upon a three-day road trip across Reno-Tahoe to discover Nevada’s oldest towns. Anchored by the state capital of Carson City, the region sits on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near magnificent Lake Tahoe. At over 6,200 feet in elevation and 1,645 feet in depth, the lake is North America’s largest alpine lake and the second-deepest lake anywhere on the continent. I first stopped in Virginia City, which despite its name, is not a city. …