RenoVous

 This photo is from August 10, when the Bug and Fred Fires were burning the backs of our valleys. It's pretty well contained now, but another fire started on Saturday. We were on the I-80 side of Peavine when it happened, and we could see the wind was pushing it up and over, so we went around to the 395 side. It was threatening the same valleys again, and did more damage. My sister was able to return home last night though. According to my Watch Duty app, this Hawk Fire is 15,000 acres and 27% contained. Definitely a bit hazy today.

  The patent was approved on this day, 1873, for work pants reinforced with metal rivets. But the idea started in 1870.  A customer approached Reno tailor, Jacob Davis, requesting a more durable pant for her husband.  Davis had settled in the area a couple years earlier, and opened a shop on Virginia Street. His fabric supplier was Levi Strauss, and he had been set up in San Francisco since 1853.  He followed the Gold Rush and ran a wholesale dry goods store. Strauss was very well off by 1872, so Davis reached out to him to partner up.  The first manufacturing facility was located on Fremont Street in San Francisco, and the first "waist overalls" were sold.  By 1880, Strauss had opened his own factory and showroom on Battery Street. The term "501" came into use in 1890, when the patent went into the public domain. "Blue jeans" didn't enter the vernacular until the 1960's.

  One of my Facebook memories this morning was a photo from bowling, and then I remembered we are in the midst of the USBC Open Championship. This tournament runs from March to July, and has been around since 1901. The United States Bowling Congress merged with the American Bowling Congress, which has been the codifier of all tenpin bowling standards, rules, and regulations since 1895. I was in a youth league when I was in 5th grade.  Largely thanks to my partner, we won 1st Place. To this day, I love to bowl.  I'm not a big score, but I'm not a gutter ball.  :-P When introducing young ones to the game, or even an adult who's never really played, remember to teach etiquette.  I've noticed some folks don't yield, or even wait while the bowler next to them is already in approach. And yes, I'm one of those people who uses a step process. The movie Kingpin ends here in Reno.

  Year 2!

  South of town is a historic resort, with natural hot springs that were nationally acclaimed by President Ulysses S. Grant when he visited in 1879. Steamboat Hot Springs. The area is a small volcanic field of rhyolitic lava domes including steam vents and fumaroles. The name is attributed to Mark Twain, who is quoted as saying, "Behold! A Steamboat in the desert!" The waters are a combination of sulfate minerals not found anywhere else in the US. "Geologically, the springs are among the most interesting in the world, for they demonstrate in a striking way how mineral veins and deposits are formed," noted state engineer, Alfred Merritt Smith, in 1935. We stopped in for a quick soak this week, and it felt amazing.  The added aromatherapy certainly helped - a signature blend of lavender, orange, and cedarwood.  So relaxing, calming, and nourishing. The Water There's a nearby geothermal plant as well, producing over 24 Megawatts of electricity, enough to supply 24,...

  Facebook memories from a favorite local place that we miss dearly. They had the best shows. But my photos weren't all that great back in those days, action shots on stage, for example.... You can tell this guy from Larry and His Flask is wild with his bass though. I've mentioned the  Newsted  show before. For a bit there was a local band we really enjoyed seeing, Courtesy Call. Audio is rough on these, this one's best. We were supposed to see Fu Manchu one night, but a storm stopped them on the pass, so we enjoyed their opener, Electric Citizen. Good times, good memories.

  There's some claim that Columbus Day is meant to celebrate Italian-American immigrants, and that is a basis of why the day became mainstream - but there are other ways we can observe that. Such as this event which took place over the weekend.  It's a sauce competition - bring (or buy) some bare noodles to try as many as possible and then vote on your favorite. Of course, other Italian foods are for sale, as well as a farmer's market. There's also music, which included Those Darn Accordions. Not only is there a wine walk to taste samples from Tuscany, Sicily, Piedmont, and more - there's also grape stomping. The age-old tradition was first represented on a Roman sarcophagus from the 3rd century AD. The grape harvest is known as vendemmia. October itself is Italian-American Heritage Month.

If you follow the old Kit Carson Trail, until the desert meets the hills. Oh you certainly will agree with me, it's the place of a thousand thrills. Just a small history walk in Carson City. Our 11th governor, Denver Dickerson, resided in this house, and his daughter June was born here in 1909. We missed the Dat So La Lee House though, so here's a shot from Wikipedia. She was a well known Washoe Indian basket weaver, who died in 1925.  The house had been built in 1914, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.  

 Aceball! Our minor league team represents the Arizona Diamondbacks, and we beat the Dodgers team this night. But I went with this topic today as a baseball fan who simply hates preseason football.  When sports bars are airing some pointless game as we're entering the deep end of baseball season.  We've only got these two months before post-season, (and a fight against football then too). My Giants are falling back though, from what felt like a strong start.  We had some back and forth near the top, but now the Padres have pulled ahead.  I will root for them to beat the Dodgers. The Brewers have snatched best team for now, with 74 wins.   Unfortunately, we're at the bottom of the Pacific Coast League West. But it doesn't matter - I'll always love baseball.

 The oldest house in Reno, the Benham-Belz, was built in 1868.   At 347 West Street, in modern day downtown, it became part of the J Resorts property, and they put it on the market for $1, with the implication that the house would need to be moved at the owner's expense. Today is moving day. They've been documenting their finds as they've explored the house on site. Instagram There's a carriage house garage as well, and a basement. I.T. Benham was one of Reno's founding builders and stone masons. The parcel of land had been purchased from Charles Crocker of the Central Pacific Railroad. Benham constructed the Central School, which would later become the first Reno High. The family began a gradual move to Spokane, and in 1883, barber John Belz bought the house. His daughter Florence continued to live there until her death in 1981.

  Downtown Reno hosted something pretty cool last weekend. Definitely some pieces from Burning Man.

 This restaurant has been in business since 1956.  My grandparents ate here, my parents - I met my husband here almost 20 years ago. It was bought out in May, by Jacobs Entertainment, who has been buying up much of old 4th Street.  Originally they didn't intend to keep the restaurant, but then decided they would, ultimately killing a legacy. Tomorrow a brand new menu debuts, having removed everything that the customer base has come to expect.  It's been comfort food, reliable soups, made from scratch recipes - which they've been failing on up to this point anyway.  What once was the best sausage gravy in town.... It's just a bummer to watch something you love be torn apart bit by bit.  It would have been better if they had just demolished it for the property they're really after.  Maybe build their own new restaurant instead of dragging down a historic local. RIP.

  Over the weekend, Hubby and I took our nieces to the planetarium.  Neither one of us had been since we were kids on a field trip.  This is something we need to do more! The movie we caught wasn't entirely space related, but of course we went over the night sky first.  With the dome theater, anything is cool. We learned that the dome is getting a full LED upgrade, and will be the first on a college campus.  Not only does this mean better movie quality, but it will also provide a new way for students to learn with astronomy simulations and immersive software. This is through a partnership with Cosm, a global technology company, and a donation from the George W. Gillemot Foundation to establish an Aerospace Engineering Department at UNR's College of Engineering. Built in 1963, the Fleischmann Planetarium was the first in the country to feature a 360 degree projector.  It was built by local architect, Raymond Hellmann, and is protected on the National Registe...

  This was last weekend, and we didn't make it out there, but I still love this event. For the most part, I've settled on Aussom Aussies.  Their sauce is so good. Site This year's winner was Blazin' Bronco BBQ from Ohio. 2nd place was Battle Born Smokers.  They're a food truck/catering business around town. And Foghat played! Mmmm, ribs. Not to mention the corn on the cob, the baked beans, the cornbread.... All the best.

 In downtown Reno resides the Potentialist Workshop, run by Pan Pantoja, a multi-faceted artist. His style is often those swirly circles by the window, but he also makes sculpture - not to mention music and poetry. He's created an immersive experience called Upside Down Land, based on bedtime stories he's told his son. "I am a potentialist.  I want to take it too far, I want to leap off the edge of the energy I put out, swim in the unseen and drown in the unknown."

  It's that time of year when everything has dried up and is ready to burn.  Add some wind, and we've got an 8% contained wildfire at the border. How it started: 2020 Alfa Romeo, driver arrested for DUI. Unfortunately, Hubby's aunt lost her home.  But in her post, she referenced hope. Luckily, she has the means to be okay.   674 acres as of this morning.

 Author Todd Borg at Lake Tahoe. I mentioned him about a year ago, when I picked up Tahoe Moon  from the library. More recently, I bought a used copy of Tahoe Night. Yes, he keeps the Tahoe theme.   Books I unfortunately missed a small talk and signing at the bookstore at the end of July, so I'm turning back to his book.  I'm not doing great with the Kindle read on my phone anyway.

  156 years ago, the transcontinental railroad reached Lake's Crossing, where Charles W. Fuller had built a bridge to cross the Truckee River, establishing a connection between Virginia City and the California Trail.  He later sold the property to Myron C. Lake. With the railroad, construction superintendent Charles Crocker decided to name the community after Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. In 1871, Reno became the county seat for Washoe.  Extension of the railroad in 1872 helped boost the local economy. The University of Nevada was founded in 1874 in Elko, following the Morrill Land Act Grant of 1862.  In 1885, the university was moved to Reno, and Morrill Hall stood alone. The city was incorporated in 1903, and in 1906 became the "Divorce Capital" thanks to the US Steel Corporation president, William Corey. In 1926, the Reno Arch was erected to promote the upcoming Transcontinental Highways Exposition of 1927.  Reno City ...