A trip to Reno, Nevada - May 2010

We went to Reno, Nevada to see if it is recovering from the recession.

It isn't, so far as we could tell.

Back in 2008 we considered moving there, but that was just before the recession hit and suddenly we saw news accounts of Reno tent cities, casinos laying off workers, and hundreds of painfully unemployed former workers. We figured it was no place to move to.

Since we're looking for a new home, my partner suggested we check out Reno again. I hadn't been there in many years. He was there about ten years ago.

So... here's my report.

Downtown Reno is depressing. Most of the old casinos are run down. There are no longer any restaurants in the downtown area except inside the casinos. I know this because we walked the streets looking for a place to eat breakfast and couldn't find a thing.

Instead we found desperate men panhandling and one who was talking to himself as he followed us. We ducked into a large casino and went upstairs to look for restaurants. The only one we found that looked favorable had a long line out front. My partner doesn't wait well, so we decided to leave town to find a place to eat.

There were people inside the casinos playing slots, but they all seemed to be losing. During the time we were there we didn't see even one big payout. The penny machines gave a few small payouts before taking everything they gave. It seemed that the casinos no longer could afford to let anyone win.

My advice: stay in California!! The Indian casinos in this state are more generous than the Reno casinos, in my opinion.

As for living in Reno, we decided we wouldn't. I have never lived anywhere except California. Looks like I'll be staying here.

The good part of the trip was the journey there and back. I hadn't been through the Lassen County area in about thirty years, so it was eye-opening, lovely terrain, and I enjoyed the trip very much. I'll be writing about some of the sights we took in, here on Journey! California.

I was especially surprised to see that Susanville has grown so much since I last saw it in the 1960s. Now, why should that surprise me? But I remembered a small town in a forest. Now it is a large town in a farming area with lots of Latinos. We stopped to eat at the Brown Bear and witnessed a conversation in Spanish between the waitress and the cook.

The drive down the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway refreshed our hearts, despite the ravages of last year's devastating fire. There were lovely green areas on both sides of the fire, including Hat Creek and Poison Lake... I'll be writing about them. Then we stopped at Burney Falls, one of the most beautiful places in Northern California.