Georgia Fisher is a journalist in Reno, Nevada.
Reno’s proximity to other great destinations for day trips is both charming and a little dumbfounding. You might liken the Biggest Little City in the World to the hub of a wagon wheel — one with spokes that lead to outdoor gems and family fun in all directions. Ready to hit the road? We’ve sorted a few options no more than...
Reno is home to all sorts of horses — a fact that will appeal to at least 90 percent of kids in your family. We made that number up, actually, but we’ll stand behind it. You’ll find a couple of storybook, white-fence neighborhoods here full of traditional equestrians and imported steeds, and a few more areas with working ranch animals...
That connecting with locals is paramount, but hard to do if you’re staying at an upstairs-downstairs sort of fancy hotel, or rushing around with a checklist, or traveling with anyone who’s easily frightened. That my own culture isn’t terribly important; the rest of the world is getting along fine, and always has. That many people have seen and heard of only God-awful Americans, which is actually a pretty easy act for the rest of us to follow. That traveling is a form of education, and always worth the money.
When I was around 18, I wrecked my car and used the insurance money to buy a flight to Bangkok. A friend of mine back home in Texas had an apartment there — or her parents did, rather — and because she and I were both terrible kids, the whole trip was a messy soup of public drunkenness and things I still regret 15 years later. It was also the wildest, most beautiful trek of my life thus far, and my first chance to go somewhere far away.
Another teenager and I actually snuck into the Grand Palace courtyard one night (we weren’t supposed to, obviously), but the king’s guards just laughed and waved when they saw us. I guess they knew how stupid and happy we were.
Reno, Nevada. No, seriously. And I’m here to tell you about it.
I have a horse, and daydream about making him earn his keep as a real mode of transport. Barring a road-apple jaunt, though, I’d say walking is my favorite means of getting around. It’s dirt cheap, energizing if you wear the right shoes, and the only way to find hole-in-the-wall spots without help.