Reno Nevada – Visit to Bonnie & Paul

Destination: Reno, Nevada Distance from Point of Origin: 450 miles. Estimated (One Way) Travel Time: 8 hours. Directions: From the Stratosphere Casino head northeast on Las Vegas Blvd about 3 miles and turn left onto US-93/95, keeping on the left for 95 North towards Reno.Stay on US 95 for 385 miles and turn left onto US 50 for 26 miles. Turn Right onto SR 343 for 1 mile and turn left onto 1-80 W for 35 miles. Take Exit 13 to downtown Reno, Virginia Street. General Description: Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada. It has a population of around 220,500, and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. It sits in a high desert valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Reno, known as The Biggest Little City in the World, is famous for its casinos, and is the birthplace of the gaming corporation Harrah's Entertainment. City residents are called Renoites. Reno is bordered to the east by the city of Sparks. The Reno-Sparks metropolitan area is informally called the Truckee Meadows, and consists of about 400,000 residents. Special Attraction or Points of Interest: The Truckee River winds its way through downtown Reno and Sparks. The Truckee and Carson Rivers provide outstanding adventure opportunities. Together they offer fabulous kayaking, canoeing, whitewater rafting, all the popular forms of open-water paddling and water-sports like skiing and sailing or an outing on a personal watercraft. Located nearby are Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and Donner Lake, all are superb for enjoying the water. Primary Activity: Gambling Secondary Activities: Water sports and Photography. Elevation: Downtown Reno is around 4,500 feet; On the south western part of town, Bonnie and Paul are at 4,675 Best Time To Visit: Any time of year is good. Difficulty: N/A Facilities: Many. Estimated Round-trip Time: 17 hours. Definitely a two-day driving trip, plus whatever time you want to spend in the area gambling, site-seeing and taking pictures.

05/03/2011 Trip Notes: Just before Mother’s Day, Connie and I visited Bonnie and Paul in Reno. We stayed at the Atlantis Casino, located at the far left of the photo above and shown close up below. They joined us for dinner at the Atlantis the first night, and Bonnie prepared us lunch and dinner over the next couple of days. We spent many hours talking, reminiscing and riding around taking pictures of the area where they live. Paul and I spent several hours placing pictures on the digital picture frame we were giving mom on Mother’s Day. We were both amazed at the quality of the panoramas and pictures Paul has taken with his new camera over the past several months

I created this page to chronicle and share our time with them with other family members. I hope you enjoy. The picture on the right is a distant close-up shot of the Atlantis Casino, where we stayed. We have stayed here several times before and just love their indoor pool area. The picture of Bonnie and Paul below was taken at dinner on our first night.

The picture on the right above, was taken at Audrey Harris Park, located just a few miles up the street from where they live. Bonnie spent the better part of an afternoon driving us around “the neighborhood, letting Paul and I out to take pictures. Here are just a few of the shots we captured.

These shots of flowering ‘Pink Perfection’ Cherry trees were taken on a walking path located just up the street from where Bonnie and Paul live.

The top picture is looking down on Bonnie and Paul’s apartment complex from across the street. Their apartment is located directly behind the big tree in the lower left. The bottom shot, just up the street, was taken from the golf course that runs directly behind their place. Their apartment building is in the very center of the shot, behind the right of ponds.

The three pictures above were taken just a few miles up the road from where they live, on the way to Audrey Harris Park. The house on the left had what I considered was one of the most beautiful rock gardens I have ever seen. That Paul in the center taking a panoramic shot of the neighborhood.

More family “Mug Shots”

It was great that Paul had a few days off and that we were all able to spend some quality time together. Thanks for a great visit and for making us feel at home. Hopefully you guys will be able to make it down our way next year and we can return the hospitality.