University of Nevada

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...