I was just able to spend the last weekend in Reno, NV with my Great Grandma on her 101st birthday! Reno will always be a special place in my heart, as it is this woman I am named after. At 101, she may need a walker, but she still is living at home on her own and is mentally sharp as a tack! She recognizes my voice every time I call, and remembers exactly what was going on during our last conversation. She has outlived 4 husbands, and seen a lot in her time here since 1914.
During her four marriages, she never had children of her own as her first husband had a young and untimely death, and all subsequent husbands already had plenty of children for her to love. And love she did. Though very few of us can call her blood, she is still “Grandma” to dozens of nieces, nephews, and children as well as great and great-great nieces, nephews, and grandchildren! So when I say she can recognize my voice on the phone, that is a feat in itself for any person with so many relatives! She is so loved by so many, even her neighbors who have made it possible for her to stay in her own home for so long. Different friends and neighbors take her to appointments, to the store to get groceries, out to dinner, place her newspaper on top of the stair railing so she doesn’t have to bend, or take her trash to the curb. I am so deeply honored to be named for someone who’s love has spread to so many people and generations.
In my childhood, we would all fly out to Reno every summer to stay with Grandma, sometimes for up to 3 weeks at a time! Since we have gotten older, the visits spread out more and we visited once every few years. The last 3 or 4 visits, I swore it would be the last time I would see her, but she’s still going strong!
I absolutely love the desert climate in Nevada. As soon as you step off the plane, you can smell the intoxicating scent of pine and vanilla. What most people don’t realize is that Reno, unlike Vegas, is a very mountainous terrain, and while they are certainly very dry right now, they still get all four seasons and see snow in the winter. The vanilla smell comes from the bark of the Ponderosa Pine. Every time I go out there, I make sure to get a deep inhale from the bark from one of her oldest trees, which is over 100 feet tall.
One year, we had the pleasure of getting an up close encounter with a black bear, who was chilling at deck height, nestled in the gap between the branches. I think he was just as surprised as we were!
While there are often fires on the West coast, this area is going through one of the worst droughts they have had in 500 years… and consequently the fires this year are terrible. For 3 of the 4 days of our visit, the mountains were very hazy with smoke, but just as beautiful as always.
The plant life here is beautiful, even if it is more dried out than usual for this time of year.
We used to run around in the brush, and even a hornet sting wasn’t enough to deter me!
The Truckee River runs right behind Grandma’s house. I have had many a swim here, and even a scar on my knee from playing in the “rapids” when I was 10.
We used to get up super early to feed quail in the morning, throwing seed along the edges of the driveway and watching the quails chase away the squirrels.
I’m also mildly amused by brontosaurus (is that a plural…?), and I used to love them when I was little. The Gold Ranch in Verdi had this lovely sign, as well as a Dino out front of the Sinclair gas station.
Leaving, as always, was sad as I never know if this is the last time I will see my Grandma. But who knows? I might be back to help her celebrate 102!
Hi! I'm Alyce. 
