Nevada - Day 5 - to Reno

Grand Sierra Resort RV Park, Reno

Tuesday, 5 April 2022

I forgot to mention in the previous post that one of the long-stay RVs at that campground had an unusual kind of skirting around the bottom - you know, to stop drafts flowing under the RV and getting cold air up into the inside.  They were inflatable tubes called Air Skirts.  Apparently you stick them under the RV and then blow them up with the pump that comes with them, instead of all the other versions of skirting I've seen that involve a lot of construction.

today's route

I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to get done today, and surprisingly I managed to do it all.

I stopped first at Raley's, a local grocery store chain, and learned 2 things: one is that it was arranged according to a logic I've never seen and couldn't figure out, and the other is that I couldn't find liners for my slow cooker, so I couldn't cook a chicken - which I also didn't find any of, so no problem.

I learned online that NV allows sales of all types of alcohol in grocery stores, as CA does, but NV actually charges more tax for them.  I couldn't find what I wanted in the Raley's, so I drove a short distance to Ben's Fine Wines, another local chain.  And if that's any indication, I can state that nobody drinks much in Reno.  

Considering with 272,000 residents Reno is the 3rd largest city in the state, this store was very poorly stocked.  The only "champagne" they carried came from California; I know most people don't see a distinction, but they sure do in the wine industry.  Champagne comes only from the Champagne region of France.  Even other areas of France may make sparkling wine, but they don't call it "champagne."  But California sure does.  They used to label it "sparkling wine," but I saw several brands in that store that were labeled "California champagne."  And as for other wines - say, Pinot Grigio, which I was looking for - they had a miserable selection.  They didn't even have much in the way of Scotch.  I left empty-handed (except for my empty shopping bag), and none of the staff standing around talking to each other said a word to me from start to finish.  Not my idea of how to run a business.

From there, I did a little sightseeing.  I drove the few blocks east to the main part of downtown, past several casinos and several pieces of public art.  One looked like a Samurai warrior, and I've learned it's 49' tall and inspired by the armor of Genghis Khan.  Very imposing.

Then I came to the Reno Arch.

I couldn't take my own photo because there wasn't any place for me to pull over, let alone park, so this one is off the internet.  The sign was originally created in 1926 for an exposition.  It's been moved a few times, and put in storage for a while, but they put it back up in 1994 for a movie.  Oddly, Wikipedia said since 1995 it's been located on Lake Street; but I saw it on Virginia Street, which is also where they said it is.  Don't know why the confusion, but I know where I saw it this month.

From there, I drove around town a bit, stopped at a Sinclair gas station that Gas Buddy said had the cheapest gas in town - $4.89, then to Jiffy Lube for a possibly overdue oil change, and then to a propane station just around the corner.  They gave me directions to a park I'd seen along the Truckee River, that runs through town, that I hadn't been able to figure out how to get to.

And their directions worked just fine, despite them saying, "You can't miss it," which is usually the kiss of death for my ability to find things.  There was access there to a river walk and picnic area, so we walked and had lunch and enjoyed the sunshine.

From there, tonight's campground was less than half a mile away - just on the other side of the river.  Crossing the river I saw a Welcome to Reno sign, saying the elev. is 4,411'.

The campsite they'd given me ("we don't assign campsites until that day," they told me) looked like it'd be really uncomfortable for us.  I drove around a bit and consulted with the nice woman behind the desk (named Karen) and got moved into a much much nicer spot.  It would have cost more money, of course, but Karen explained how I could go to the casino and get a card that would earn me a discount.  She said bring it back on Thursday when she'd be back on duty.  So I will.