An Unexpected Day in Reno, and Horsing Around at Washoe Lake State Park Nevada

I didn’t have a clue what Reno would be like, but I imagined something like we’d seen in Las Vegas. Remembering our time there, we knew we didn’t want to drive our truck into the city. We took an Uber instead, and our driver was very chatty. He said that beginning twenty years ago, less people began to come to Reno. Older hotels and casinos closed, and some have been torn down, leaving empty lots. We saw some empty storefronts and boarded up casinos. He pointed out the two or three that were still good places to go. New casino resorts are here, they just aren’t being built much on the old Strip.

Downloading a walking tour of Las Vegas had been a good idea, so I did the same for Reno. I had our driver drop us off at the Reno sign. Following the walking tour, this meant that we did not walk past any casinos at all, which was fine. The Strip didn’t look enticing enough to check out. And so, this whole day was totally different than I had envisioned.

We walked through City Plaza, with the Truckee River flowing by below it.

We actually found a piece of the Irish Blarney Stone. You don’t have to go to Ireland to see it!

Tourists in Ireland go through great lengths to kiss the Blarney Stone. I guess here in Reno they thought that just rubbing it might be a better idea.

We looked at the copper-colored geodesic dome of the Performing Arts Center and took a peek inside the old Post Office. Next up was the Riverwalk area which was quiet on a Saturday morning.

We went off-tour through the beautiful city park, where people were floating down the river.

We were off the tour route and passing by the park on our way to Washoe Public House for a delicious lunch.

Back to the tour, we visited the West Street Market. I had looked forward to this, but disappointingly, it was no longer a market. Was this tour written pre-covid? I hadn’t checked the date.

Our last stop was at the beautiful Thomas Aquinas Cathedral. It has a beautiful wrap around mural in the front from the 1950’s, thought to be one of the finest works of art in America.

We had come to the end of the walking tour. Cal was tired of walking on city streets and hot concrete. He was ready to call it done, but I didn’t feel done with Reno. He took an Uber back to the RV park, and I walked back past where we’d had lunch to the Nevada Museum of Art.

At first, I was a little disappointed. It was smaller than I thought it would be, with no permanent exhibits due to construction. But an eager docent took me through an exhibit by Cannupa Hanska Luger, an artist who is of mixed Native and European ancestry, entitled “Speechless”. She made the art come alive with her interpretations of his various pieces.

It was the second exhibit that stole my heart. It displayed the art of Maynard Dixon, who lived from 1875-1946. He painted the West, including Nevada. I love the paintings that I saw, some capturing the red rocks at sunset, and immersed myself in his life and work. He really got the feel of the Nevada landscape. Dixon also illustrated in magazines and books of the day and wrote poetry.

The other thing that I learned about him was that he was married for a time to Dorothea Lange, a well-regarded photographer in her own right whose works I have admired. She was the mother to their two sons.

I’m sure the Reno strip would have appeared differently at night. The Riverwalk is regarded as a great place to visit and perhaps have dinner after taking in the casinos. But we did not return.

It had been a short stay at the park in Sparks, outside of Reno, and one of our nights had been out of the RV in South Lake Tahoe at a lodge. But I was happy to move on, especially since the next three nights were a grand total of 32 miles down to Washoe Lake State Park.

We had a beautiful spot here–

–with beautiful views of the Sierra Nevadas. The lake that gives the park its name was between our RV and the mountains. Scrubby hills lined with cedar trees were behind us.

All of this would be very fine, in and of itself. But the thing that makes this park extra special is the wild horse herd that lives here.

We’d seen them as we’d driven in and out of the park. One morning we drove the truck out to a trailhead to hike in order to see them closer. From the path, we watched a group of horses.

In the distance, we saw a larger group having breakfast lakeside. The two colts on the front left were frolicking and running together so they were fun to watch.

I was busy photographing them when Cal came up and said in a low voice, “You might want to turn around.” The first group was coming up right behind us on the path! They did not seem to have any fear of us, but were definitely minding their own business as they clip-clopped by.

Seeing so many horses in this gorgeous natural environment was a real treat. Afterwards, Cal drove the truck back to our spot but I opted to take a long hike back. Horses were still in view. There was a group hanging around the restrooms at the picnic area. It must be true what they say…the grass is always greener over the septic tank?

For a time, I was walking along the Washoe Lake shore, where a lone horse was doing the same.

In all, we had sighted over 60 horses on this morning.

We never know what lies around the bend on our travels. Some sights are not quite what we think they will be, but others go over and beyond our expectations. That is the surprise and the gift of the journey.

Next time – we visit Virginia City