Reno Envy

When we lived in Truckee, I used to say that you couldn’t pay me enough to live in Reno. Well, lo and behold, someone did pay me enough when they bought our house on Donner Lake! Be very careful of what you say. We moved “temporarily” into a typical suburban house in a small community just west of Reno. After a few weeks, Brad and I started looking at each other, thinking we kinda like it here. The weather is pleasant most of the time, there’s things to do, restaurants to try, etc. Well, like turned to love, and we are infatuated with it now.

Here are the things you’d be jealous of, if you knew how great they are:

Nevada Skies—to say that the sky is dramatic is an understatement. There are gorgeous pinkpurplegold sunsets, lenticular clouds, awe inspiring thunderstorm, brilliant clear mornings.

Arttown—the month of July is dubbed Arttown, meaning that over 100,000 visitors come to experience all forms of creative arts; this year Mikhail Baryshnikov is dancing. Nevada Museum of Art is wonderful, modern, and intriguing. We have live performances of dance and music almost every day.

Wingfield Park—with a kayak run right through the heart of downtown on the Truckee River, there’s a lovely walk and a theater for free music on Friday nights and outdoor movies.

Hawkins Ampitheater at Bartley Ranch—an outdoor venue so cool that it will make your heart sing along with the music.

Patagonia—the factory is only 2 miles from my house. They have an outlet right there and three times a year 40% off the discount price. I will never buy clothes anywhere else.

Wildlife—on a daily basis, my backyard is filled with quail, cottontail bunnies, hummingbirds, and a variety of songbirds. Also I often hear coyotes yipping close by.

Rancho San Rafael Park—Great Basin Adventure Park for kids, and an arboretum for me. The May Museum is a fascinating place where you can see a real shrunken head amongst all the other animal heads. This is the site of the annual Balloon Races.

Unique Festivals--in addition to the Balloons, there's Hot August Nights; The Drum, Dance, and Digeroo Festival; The Air Races; The Basque Festival; Rib Cook Off; BBQ and Blues.

Quirky and interesting shops—independent, resourceful shopkeepers have started popping up all over the city, along with the plethora of antique shops. Just a few—The Melting Pot, Art Dogs & Grace, La Bussola.

Outstanding restaurants—I would put up our restaurants against any in New York or San Francisco. We have talented chefs in high quality restaurants because of the tourist traffic.

Awful, Awful—I know, but I have to mention the world famous Awful, Awful hamburger from the Nugget. You have to stand in line for an hour to get one, but it’s worth it.

So if you ignore the casinos, the sagebrush covered hills, the dirty skies from the inversion, the homeless population, the Walmarts, etc. It’s a very nice place to live. A local man has started a company called Reno Envy (NV), get it? I think I’ll get a T-shirt.