It was either a hotel or dinner. Reno has really cheap hotels. $17.95 was cheapest I saw on Virginia Street. But then I saw the Sushi Boat Restaurant. All-you-can-eat sushi for $19.95. And they have these cute little boats floating by with samples you can point to...
The secret to eating with chopstix is to keep one stationary. Tuck it under your thumb and middle finger. The moving chopstick should be held like a pen. This is the only one that moves to pince the food.
I've mentioned before how navigable Reno is for a city. I dropped the Mystery Machine off at the downtown Goodyear to get the tires rotated. I walked up Virginia Street and spent a few hours on campus.
The University of Nevada at Reno is located on Virginia Street just north of downtown. Besides the fall colors (and chasing geese around the duck pond, hehe) there are two main tourist attractions: the Nevada Historical Museum & Fleischmann Planetarium.
The Nevada Historical Museum is compact. Much of the state's history occurred relatively recently. In fact, I was suprised to learn that Nevada is the fastest growing state in the USA!
For more history, stop by the University Archive & Special Collections. Located on the second floor of the library, this small collection has a replica of Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise". There are also a few small, but worthwhile exhibits on silver mining and the Comstock Lode.
College campuses are just plain good rompin'. Here's a couple fun videos:
Fleischmann Planetarium is the other hidden attraction on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The daily planetarium shows provide an alternative lightshow to the glitz of the casinos.
I got done exploring the universe and it was getting late. I jogged back down Virginia Street to rescue my van. Along the way, I was treated to Reno's neon de-lights...
Reno isn't all gambling. You can get divorced too! LOL. No really there are several cultural pursuits in town.
The Nevada Museum of Art is on the small side, but still holds a valuable collection. It also snared a wonderful exhibit of Rembrandtengravings on loan from the Boston Museum of Art.
The inside is well...artsy. I'd have enjoyed a docent-led architecture tour. But the only tour available was of the Rembrandt Exhibit. Photography in the galleries is not allowed. The view from the roof sorta makes up for the stinginess, sorta...
If Rembrandt
was a
great painter,
he was
an even
better engraver.
Probably
the world's
best.
Rembrandt: The Embrace of Dark & Light was the first and only retrospective of Rembrandt I've had the opportunity to attend. My sister spent a year abroad in Amsterdam. And we did visit the Rijks Museum...
But I hadn't fully comprehended how talented Rembrandt was. The exhibit also illuminated details of the artist's personal life. For all that talent, he ended up bankrupt!
The Nevada Museum of Art provided magnifying glasses to examine the prints' subtlety. The docent also explained the different types of etchings and engravings. All are complicated processes requiring unimaginable determination and technical expertise--let alone creativity.
Still, I'm somewhat reserved and slow to adopt new technology. I usually try to make-do with what I have. I also like to wait and see what the industry standard becomes before I plunk down cash.
It took me a few years to get the iPhone. I got the 3G in 2009 and would probably still have it--had it not been sacrificed to a waterfall in the Sierras.
It was hard to pay $400 for a new 3Gs (yeah crab-Apple offers no insurance). But the unexpected positive is all the video I've taken since then. It's certainly enriched my memories and this blog, too.
Here's a look at some of the gadgets I tried in Reno, NV. It's a good time of year to try stuff out. Most stores give at least until New Year's to return Christmas season purchases.
I kept this Mophie Juice Pack. It's battery jacket that encases the iPhone. It doubles the battery life of the iPhone.
A different make and model I got at Walmart had cast shadows on the camera when in direct sunlight (middle).
I used the Kensingtondongle-battery a few times. It was good for a 30-40 % charge to the iPhone. The Uno I never used. It's supposed to quadruple the battery life of the iPhone and other devices. But it's large and requires a wall outlet for charging.The Mophie Juice Pack covers the iPhone's charge port, so I had to return the Kensington, too.
I'm debating what my next laptop will be. Either an ultrathin 13-15" or a smaller 10"netbook.
What I have now is a 17"desktop replacement. It's a Dell with poor battery life anddedicated graphics I never use. It will stay with me for several more years. Still, I'd like to have a more portable and practical PC.
I've even been considering the always-more-expensive, Macbook.
Both Verizon and AT&T are now offering subsidizednetbooks--when you sign up for a new broadband contract. Hey, at least the wireless modem is built-in right? Or is that a bad thing, LOL?!
Verizon is offering the Gateway I showed in the prevous video for $30. AT&T has this Nokia for $300! The thing I like about the Nokia is the 12-hour battery, which sits flush.
Unfortunately, the performance reviews on both of these laptops is mediocre. The choice of processor and only 1 GB RAM makes video and media-rich web-surfing sluggish.
From Reno,
I made a day trip to Virginia City. Driving south, Rt. 395 connects with 341. The Geiger Lookout Wayside Park is a nice place to stop and take-in the Washoe Valley.
Virginia City is a historic mining town in Nevada.Silver was discovered here in 1859--the first and most famous strike being the Comstock Lode. Hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars of ore was rapidly extracted from Virginia City mines in the 1860s.
Lincoln and the US Congress were quick to put this newfound wealth to good use. Much of Virginia City's silver helped fund the Union Army during the American Civil War. This portion of the Utah Territory was thus admitted as a full state--Nevada--in 1864. (The state motto of Nevada is "Battle Born".)
Virginia City sits at an elevation 6,200 feet. Although it snows heavily in winter, geothermal activity makes the deep underground mines extremely hot.
The 19th century working conditions were harsh: temperatures in the silver mines were well over 100 degrees F! The crumbly nature of the hardpack caused cave-ins. To combat this miners worked in short, ten-minute shifts while being hosed-down. Large blocks of ice were also brough into the mine shafts.
Perhaps the most important innovation used in Virginia City was square-set timbering. Lumber from the Tahoe Basin was floated over-the-mountains on a network of flumes to silver mines in Nevada.
The square-set utilized a post-and-lintel system to form 3-dimensional cubes; this reinforced the silver mines against cave-in from all sides. Hundreds of miles of tunnel were constructed in this way. [For more, see my previous post on Empire Mine, CA.]
It was Veteran's Day in Virginia City. I missed the morning parade. But there were still plenty of characters walking around in Civil War-era costume. This added significantly to the charm of what otherwise might have been a crowded tourist-trap. I strolled the boardwalk sidewalks and popped in-and-out of Virginia City's numerous casino-saloons.
There are several boutique museums in Virginia City, some of which were closed for the season. I was able to visit the Way it Was Museum and Mark Twain Museum.
Samuel Longhorn Clemensfailed as a silver miner in Virginia City. He reported for the local Territorial Enterprise, sometimes making up the news! It was in Virginia City that he first used the pen-nameMark Twain. His time in Nevada also brought him his first commercial success: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.
The trolley-bus tour of Virginia City elaborated on the town's history:
I explored some more on foot. Virginia City has been well preserved and reconstructed. Many period Victorians line the streets. Notable buildings include:
Storey County Courthouse (with one of the few "scales of justice " not blindfolded)
Piper's Opera House
And several Churches
Much of Virginia City is actually designated a National Historic Landmark. Most of the buildings still contain shops, saloons, and restaurants.
While waiting for my oil change, I perused the car and camping sections. I always like to take a look in these sections whenever I'm in a Walmart. I really did need a sleeping bag. Nevada nights are well below freezing this time of year.
I've eyed the auto accessories since I bought the van. I always told myself I didn't need any knick-knacks or flair for the van. They're useless novelties that'd end up annoying me and getting in the way. I was right...
Now in my defense: I was going to wire the battery to the solar panel. But the glass was cracked. I had Walmart open up the other panels in stock and they were cracked as well. So that accounts for most returns.
I was also playing around with my kitchen nook. Several weeks ago I removed the stovetop. It left a little cubby where I've been keeping my seeds and nuts. I've been planning a conversion from plastic bags to glass containers...
Also, I really needed to get a jack and lug wrench. I was able to mount a spare tire before leaving sunny Southern California. But it's kind of useless without a jack or wrench. AAA would take off the spare and change it for me--but I've been off-roading in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The locations are so remote I couldn't get cell service, let alone AAA to come anywhere near there...
Mountain driving causes the mystery machine to burn even more oil than usual. After getting to Reno I could smell the engine. I only had another 500 miles to go until my next scheduled oil change. So I stopped by the local Walmart for one and lube job.
I went for the high mileage oil change: $40. The fuel system cleaning sounded interesting so I went for that, too: $20. Man, the fuel cleaner made my exhaust smoke. I was assured it's supposed to do that...
I got chatting with the technician. He told me how to charge the air conditioning myself. He bled the line for me and it was pretty much empty of refrigerant. Then we went into Walmart and picked up the R134a conversion kit. (My van is the older R12 refrigerant type.)
It was pretty simple. I had to buy four extra cans of refrigerant. Since those cans didn't indicate whether the oil was combined, I also bought a few cans of compressor oil.
Putting in the last can of oil I got some smoke and loud sputtering. It seems to have worked itself out now. The Mystery Machine now blows crisp, cold air. Just in time for...winter?! LOL
First stop: The Riverwalk. This city park sits on the Truckee River in downtown Reno, Nevada. It was a pleasant place for me to start exploring Reno. The fall colors and rapids were a stark contrast to the glitter gulch of the Virginia Streetcasinos nearby.
Virginia Street is the main drag of Reno. Many of the casinos are here. The familiar, brand name ones are mostly downtown. Heading south (past the University of Nevada campus) a number of newer casino-hotel complexes have sprouted. Reno bills itself as "The Biggest Little City in the World". True to form, I did find it's downtown compact and easily navigable.
I'm not a gambler. At least not in casinos. A lot of people think of it as a fun game or a chance to win big money. In reality, the house sets it's own rules--heavily in favor of itself. You might win, sure--but you are definitely going to LOSE! Besides, Nevada still allows smoking on the floor. One more reason to stay OUT of the casinos...
Just enjoy the pretty neon signs from the outside. Stroll the avenues. When you see people through the windows shake your head and laugh. They're flushing money and time down the toilet! You're a special person--trust me--you don't need to run a deficit to have a good time...
It was either a hotel or dinner. Reno has really cheap hotels. $17.95 was cheapest I saw on Virginia Street. But then I saw the Sushi Boat Restaurant. All-you-can-eat sushi for $19.95. And they have these cute little boats floating by with samples you can point to...
