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| Trip Planning | History of Reno | Bart & Train to Reno | Truckee River | Pyramid Lake | Daily Log & Photos |
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Trip Planning for Chuck's 82nd Birthday |
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Birthdays Around the World - 82nd in Reno Nevada! |
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History of Reno Nevada |
RENO began as the preferred crossing point of the Truckee River, an inland river that flows west to east from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake, for travelers on their way to the California gold rush of the late 1840's and 50's. With the discovery of the Comstock Lode in the nearby Virginia City foothills in 1859, the river crossing became increasingly important for the growing trade in mining and agriculture. Reno was officially established in 1868, the same year that the transcontinental railroad, which paralleled the Truckee River, reached the town. In 1874, the University of Nevada was founded as a land-grant university, and in 1885, the primary campus was built on a rise of land overlooking Reno from the north. From its inception, the university was an integral component of the young town's identity and contributed to Reno's reputation as a cultural center. This was reflected in Reno's nickname, "Biggest Little City in the World," which arose as a result of the wide range of cosmopolitan amenities in a city of its relatively small size.Reno became a quickie divorce destination in the early 1900's, and in 1931, Nevada legalized gambling. Reno was a front runner in creating the model of destination hotel/casino gaming - a model which has been replicated throughout the world. Virginia Street, the primary north/south arterial through downtown, developed into a commercial center of moderately-scaled, locally-owned destination hotel/casinos and retail stores. The transcontinental Lincoln Highway (now 4th street), passed through the heart of downtown and many motor lodges sprang up on either side of the Virginia Street core to support booming post-war automobile tourism. For most of the 20th century, tourism and the gaming and entertainment industries formed the backbone of Reno's economy.
Reno: Downtown Reno and the Riverwalk District and points of interest!
Reno Weather: Nevada is considered a high desert area in the mountains! Check out the photo of Pyramid Lake to view how much of Nevada is a desert!
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BART from San Francisco to Richmond - East Bay! |
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - BART - I was going to take a bus to Emeryville but decided instead, to take our subway system, Bart, to Richmond as the train station is just across the street from the Bart station. Another plus is the fact that the Civic Center Bart station is two blocks away from my home! And there is an elevator so one doesn't have to lug baggage down stairs to the entrance to the gates.
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AMTRAK Trains to Reno and on to Chicago! |
RICHMOND, Calif. - The journey east on the AMTRAK California Zephyr train is as good as the destination. Riding the rails from the San Francisco Bay area to Reno, Nev., offers beautiful views and a tangible sense of history on the route over the Sierra Nevada mountain range that helped bring America together after the Civil War.
Marking 30 years of service this year, the Amtrak train leaves Richmond, Calif., every morning. The Zephyr's ultimate destination, 51 hours later, is Chicago. Between Sacramento and Reno, a five-hour trip, it follows the same course as the historic Transcontinental Railroad, according to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. The rail path through the mountains was a 19th century engineering feat that bolstered the nation's western expansion.
Prior to federally subsidized Amtrak taking over the route in 1983, the California Zephyr was privately run by three train corporations. From 1949 to 1970, the so-called "Silver Lady" boasted five sightseeing cars topped by semi-circular glass domes, with fine china and real silver in the dining cars.
It also featured young hostesses in uniform, known as Zephyrettes, tasked with making the trip between Chicago and California more pleasant by doing everything from helping families with young children to announcing scenic spots along the way.
AMTRAK Tickets
Covid Vaccination Records: A sign of the times, one has to have proof of vaccination and also wear a mask all the time on Amtrak or be taken off or put on a list of passengers who may never board an Amtrak train again!
Allianaz Insurance: I also decided to get insurance for my luggage just in case? It was only $19.00! Who knows what might happen on the way to Reno, train robbers?
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Truckee River |
Reno Nevada - TRUCKEE RIVER - I was suprised how short the river is and I wonder where the river goes after entering Pyramid Lake. I was very surprised about the answer and I think you will be interested in reading about Pyramid Lake in the next section after the Truckee River read!
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Pyramid Lake |
Nevada - PYRAMID LAKE - is the geographic sink of the basin of the Truckee River, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Reno, Nevada, United States.
Pyramid Lake is the biggest remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, the colossal inland sea that once covered most of Nevada. It is approximately 15 miles long and 11 miles wide, covering 112,000 acres entirely enclosed within the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Reservation.
Pyramid Lake is fed by the Truckee River, which is mostly the outflow from Lake Tahoe. The Truckee River enters Pyramid Lake at its southern end. Pyramid Lake is an endorheic lake. It has no outlet, with water leaving only by evaporation, or sub-surface seepage.
The lake has about 10% of the area of the Great Salt Lake, but it has about 25% more volume. The salinity is approximately 1/6 that of sea water.
Although clear Lake Tahoe forms the headwaters that drain to Pyramid Lake, the Truckee River delivers more turbid waters to Pyramid Lake after traversing the steep Sierra terrain and collecting moderately high silt-loaded surface runoff.
The north and east side of the lake have been restricted to the public and non-Tribal members for nearly a decade. In 2011, the Tribal Nation made the decision to close these areas due to the desecration of sacred sites.
When visiting, it is recommended to take note of the Tribal protocols and restricted areas.
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February 3rd, 2022 | Amtrak from San Francisco to Reno Nevada & Eldorado Casino |
Early morning wakeup view from my apartment. Time to take the BART Civic Center Subway Station, San Francisco to the Richmond train station in the East Bay and board the Amtrak train to Reno! |
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BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)
San Francisco to Richmond - East Bay Amtrak train at Richmond Observation Car Chuck enjoying the view! Truckee One of the stops. Snow and Trees We expected more snow! Reno Arch - A block from Amtrak Eldorado Casino on The Row - Next to the Arch! View from my room! A great view to wake up to! Central Cafe - Great meals! Dinner first night - Free birthday Cake!
February 4th, 2022
Chuck's 82nd Birthday
National Automobile Museum
William F. Harrah collected approximately 1,450 automobiles, which he stored inside warehouses in Sparks, Nevada. It was the world's largest collection of historic automobiles, and was open to the public. When Harrah died in 1978, Holiday Inn acquired his hotel-casino company and the automobile collection. In 1981, Holiday Inn announced that it would sell the entire collection, a decision that received some opposition. Nevada governor Robert List attempted to delay the sale while working on a plan to have the state enact legislation that would save the collection. Businessman Thomas Perkins led a group that was interested in purchasing the collection. Both efforts to save the collection failed. However, a nonprofit organization was formed that ultimately built the museum. Holiday Inn donated 175 of Harrah's automobiles to the group and sold the rest of the collection through three auctions in the mid-1980s. Private owners donated another 60 vehicles. The museum opened on November 5, 1989 in downtown Reno, Nevada.
National Automobile Museum
1921 - Copper Rolls-Royce! First air cooled engine - only one made! 1960 - First car powered by a jet engine!
La Scala Restaurant
Pasta and a supposedly Expresso!
February 5th, 2022
The Museum's Permanent Collection, which consists of more than 2,000 works of 19th through 21st - century art, is divided into four focus areas unified by an overarching focus on natural, built and virtual environments. This thematic, rather than historical or stylistic specialization is a natural outgrowth of the institution's collecting practices over the years and offers varied perspectives on the ways in which humans interact with the environments.
Nevada Museum of Art View from the roof.
Picasso in Clay:
Selections from the Robert Felton and Lindsay Wallis Collection
Although Spanish-born artist Pablo Picasso is best known as a Modernist who invented the artistic style known as Cubism, he also produced a lesser-known, but equally impressive body of decorative ceramic objects during the latter part of his life. This exhibition features thirty ceramic works designed by Picasso that are on loan from longtime collectors Robert Felton and Lindsay Wallis. The artworks are a generous bequest to the Nevada Museum of Art.
Lorenzo P. Latimer was born in 1857 in Gold Hill, California. His father, also named Lorenzo Latimer, was a judge. He was educated at the McClure Military Institute in Oakland, and he graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Latimer taught art at the San Francisco Mechanics' Institute from 1893 to 1905, and later in Ukiah. He took annual trips to Nevada to paint from 1916 onward, and he taught in Reno. He mentored many early 20th-century landscape painters in Nevada, including Mattie S. Conner, Marguerite Erwin, Dora Groesbeck, Hildegard Herz, Nettie McDonald, Minerva Pierce, Echo Mapes Robinson, Nevada Wilson, and Dolores Samuel Young. He was the second vice president of the San Francisco Art Association from 1900 to 1912, and he founded the Latimer Art Club in Reno in 1921. He won many awards at art fairs.
Nevada Wilson (1877 - 1961) was active/lived in California, Nevada. Nevada Wilson is known for Landscape, florals, animal and portrait painting. Nevada Wilson was the daughter of Joseph Alfred Wilson, who owned the Elko-Tuscarora Stage Line.
Dora A Novacovich Groesbeck - Born in Nevada on Aug. 12, 1884. Groesbeck taught art in the public schools of Sparks, NV until 1932. A pupil of Lorenzo P. Latimer, she made painting trips to northern California. She later lived in Hayward, CA until her demise on April 23, 1966.
Visions from Smoke Creek: Paintings by Michael Moore
Michael Moore is a painter based nomadically in the San Francisco Bay Area, southern Colorado, and the Smoke Creek Desert in Nevada. Moore spends three to five months a year living and painting at his Smoke Creek studio. While in the desert, Moore rises each morning to paint the landscape of the Smoke Creek playa. This meditative practice yields hundreds of watercolor studies that he displays in his studio in large wall grids. He also traverses the Great Basin seeking subjects for his larger paintings made in either watercolor or acrylic. Moore's thinly applied paints evoke the transparency of the desert and its expansive skies.
City Hall
River Walk Way
Reno Main Library
In May of 1966, Reno saw the grand opening and dedication of the Downtown Reno Library, a gift from the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation to the people of Washoe County. The architecturally unique building designed by Hewitt C. Wells continues to serve residents and visitors to the Reno area.
Wells designed the 43,000 square-foot building around an enclosed and covered garden court. Reading areas and the multi-tiered book stacks look out on the interior garden, which includes large trees and a pool. Access to the main circulation desk is by a bridge that crosses the landscaped area. Reading and staff areas, lecture rooms, cataloging, and the loading areas for the county's two bookmobiles were included in the original design, which offered a capacity of 186,000 volumes. The front facade of the library is a large copper and glass screen that reflects the curvilinear plan of the interior court. Through the brick work and the use of copper, Wells maintained unity with the Reno City Hall, located diagonally across Center Street, which he had recently designed. Wells's city hall building now houses the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum.
February 6th, 2022
Reno Train Station - Beutiful wood ceiling.
1906 Fountain given to Reno by the Red Cross.
Seven Hours Late! 8:30 A.M. Waited until 3:30 P.M.
More snow.
I was walking toward the end of the train where our car was located. Next to me were three people and we started to talk. We ended up sitting across from each other. Douglas and Vincent are a couple and their friend Annabelle was with them. They had big bags full of wine and snacks. They were so nice and even had wine glasses to drink from. So we snacked and drank and eventually went to the observation car to continue our chatting and cocktails! What a great way to end the four day trip for my 82nd birthday!
You might ask, ("What could possibly go wrong on the last day of the trip?"). Read on!
I, and a woman got to the Amtrak station an hour early. Train was supposed to leave at 8:40 a.m. No one else was there? Then we saw a notice at the window of the ticket agent, train delayed until 10 a.m. There wasn't any internet so we didn't get the messages from Amtrak the train would be late. Then at 10:00 a.m. the agent made an announcement, "A freight train is blocking the rails and our train should be coming around 11:00 a.m." Then 12:00 a.m., then 01:30 p.m. and finally 2:30 p.m. Eventually there were about 100 or so people waiting for the train.
We got on the train and after an hour, I called my neighbor Trish to tell her I wouldn't get home until later than I was suppose to, instead of 05:00 p.m., probably 10:00 p.m. or later. The phone didn't work. AT&T indicated I couldn't make the call. Why I asked? Another man across from me said he had the same problem. The internet didn't work either! The conductor said no internet and I said I had internet all the way from San Francisco to Reno on the train. He said it must have been a new train and I said probably, everything looked new.
So, what to do, how to call a cab at the end of the trip? I was supposed to get off at Richmond
There wasn't much traffic so we made great time going over the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge and I was home by 10:00 p.m. Another exciting vacation day to remember!
Note: The next day I went to AT&T and they said I had to buy a new phone as they were not covering 3G anymore, only 4G and maybe 5G. I said that was fine but why didn't they text or email me they were going to stop the service ahead of time? No answer. Now I have a new Samson phone that I had to buy and as usual, it doesn't work the same way as the old phone. A new learning curve. They said the phone should be good for at least five or more years!
Eldorado Resort Casino - Amtrak to Reno on Thursday, February 3rd, then proceeded to the Eldorado Resort Casino at THE ROW - 345 N Virginia Street, downtown Reno! Reservations made online! Kingsize bed, no smoking room!
Room 2215 - I got to my room and turned on the television and to my surprise, there was my name Charles W Buntjer on the screen!
Directions to the Eldorado Casino - Located at 345 North Virginia Street, a four minute walk from the Amtrak Station on 280 North Center Street!
Besides celebrating my birthday I will be going to some of the high points of the day such as going to the National Automobile Museum.
The La Scala was billed as the best pasta in the United States. I decided for my 82nd birthday to try out the so called famous restaurant. I ordered a wine and one minute later the waiter said, Do you want another one? I was irritated, said I hadn't even tasted this one. Then the salad came and the lettuce was limp and the dressing was lacking any flavor plus the croutons were very brown and hard as rocks. The pasta was alright, filled with a mushroom sauce. The bread was strange. Then I ordered an Expresso, it came and I looked into the cup, maybe half an inch if that much and it was a very brown color, no flavor. The man at the reservation podium asked me how the meal was and I told him the salad was terrible. He said he would do something about it. He left and I paid the bill, nothing done about the salad. So goes the best pasta restaurant in the U.S.A.!
Nevada Museum of Art & the Truckee River Walk
Nevada Museum of Art - Located at 160 West Liberty Street in Reno, it is the only American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The museum has chosen a thematic approach, placing a special emphasis on human interaction with the land and the protection of nature in its collections and exhibitions. In 2003, the Museum moved into a new building designed by architect Will Bruder.
Jean LaMarr is a Northern Paiute/Achomawi artist and activist from California. She creates murals, prints, dioramas, sculptures, and interactive installations. She is an enrolled member of the Susanville Indian Rancheria.
Born: 1945 (age 77 years), Susanville, CA
Education: San Jose City College
Reno Main Library - Post Modern - 1966
Early Moring Wake Up to Catch the Train to Richmond - Bart to San Francisco
Late Train - No Internet - No Phone
but BART stopped running at 09:00 p.m. on Sunday. So I continued on to Emeryville. We got to Emeryville around 9:45 p.m. and a woman grabbed the only cab. I stood there alone and in the dark! No phone or internet and no cabs. Then I saw a man come from behind some bushes, asked if I needed a cab. I said, "Yes, I am going to downtown San Francisco!" He said there was only one stipulation, pay in cash! I had about $50.00 in cash and said great, I needed to get home.
Created on: 2021.12.29
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Buntjer's Home Page
Updated on: 2022.02.10
The last time I was in Reno was 2008 with my friend Viviane. Viviane was living in Beverly Hills and
bought a senior residence for up to six people in 2003. We met at the tip of South America in 1999 on a cruise from Chile to Argentina and Patagonia! We went to Vienna for the Millennium New Year in 2000 and the next year to Morocco for the real New Year's Millennium 2001!