October 21, 2015

The first, last, and only time I was in Reno, Nevada was in 1968.  I drove from Vandenberg to San Francisco to meet up with an old South Omaha buddy of mine, Tom Swartz.

He was in the Navy, assigned to the USS Ranger, and I was in the Air Force.  We got together and drove to Reno.  The two things I remember about that trip are:

First – It was in the winter and it was very very cold with lots of snow on the roads.

Second –  Somewhere along the way, one of the headlights in my car went out.  We were stopped by a California Highway Patrolman.  When he found out that both of us were in the military, he just gave me a warning. That was very unusual for 1968.  People in the service were very disrespected in those days.  Thank Goodness that is no longer true.

Here are some pictures of Reno in 2015:

I don’t know how busy things are in Reno in the evening or on the weekend, but this is how the casino at Harrah’s looked on a Tuesday afternoon.  In Vegas, you had to look hard to find a seat at a Blackjack table.

 
The King has an elaborate slot machine.