While I was in college, I read and saw the movie based on Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. There were few actions in the story that a contributing member of society could mimic, but I always did want to go to Las Vegas and rent a red convertible.

A handful of years later, I found myself leaving the Advantage Rental Car in Reno, Nevada driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser. If I wasn’t in the area because of my brother’s wedding in Tahoe in a few days, I think I might have felt gypped.

As you’ve no doubt heard Reno is “the biggest little city in the world” and they won’t let you forget it with two signs that hang over two parallel streets in the small downtown section. In fact, it’s almost as if the inhabitants of Reno came up with that catchy slogan and stopped trying.

It’s an ugly city, dry with too much glitz even by Atlantic City standards. Unlike Atlantic City, it looks like the placement of lights and signs are not thought out in any kind of logical fashion. Then again, is there ever a logical place to hang an advertisement for a Michael McDonald show?

The thing that makes Reno worth a second glance is that it has potential. Reno, with fewer than 200,000 people, is remarkably easy to get around with nice suburbs and easy shopping. It’s the opposite of most destinations: I could live there, but I wouldn’t want to visit. For a poor looking downtown, it’s not intimidating due, in large part, to the fact that most people that walk around are gray haired or college students. Meanwhile, one could get a beer and a hotdog for $2.50 while waiting for this potential to be meant.

There is one casino, the Sienna, which is trying to help speed up the process. The Sienna is built on the Truckee River and from across the waters, on the right angle, it looks like it could be Europe. From this same position, if you were to turn completely around, you would see in a fenced-in area protecting only what appears to be weeds. This is the dichotomy of Reno.

Tahoe City, California is about a 45 minute drive from Reno on Route 89. On this road at night you can capture a good view of Reno in your rearviews. The bright lights framed by the mountains are captivating. One should never trust a town whose best view come on the way out.

It’s off-season in Tahoe. All of the road construction will confirm that for visitors real quick. If that weren’t enough, try to find a bar after 9 o’clock or so.

My introduction to the immediate Tahoe area came to me in the form of Squaw Valley which hosted the Olympics in 1960. To enter the valley, there are torches on each side of the road commemorating those games. At night, to the unassuming, the torches could very well be the link to some pagan society; as that is unique in Americ