Northline Walking Journal - The Little Nugget

Nuggets are a happening thing in Northern Nevada. I can always recall my grandma taking me to the Nugget in Carson City for Thanksgiving lunch....or dinner...whatever meal it's classified as, then there's John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks, and last but most certainly not least, the Little Nugget on the Reno strip - home to the infamous Awful Awful and where Allison chats with Penny about miscellaneous topics like her education and boy history.

Miles, Austin, and I visited here after snapping a few pictures of the Cal Neva and went inside to share an order of their amazing fries. The atmosphere of this place, especially in the back where the diner is located, seems very busy - maybe almost hectic - and the perfect setting for hushed conversations while waiting for your food.

I feel as if this place acted as a safe zone for Allison, a place for her to finally unravel what's been going on in her mind and confide in Penny - maybe almost in a humorous way - and Penny could do the same. At this point in the novel, we realize that Penny is a very sympathetic and loving character for Allison, boosting her self-esteem by volumes and providing a much-needed outlet for our protagonist. Personally, I could see the Little Nugget being a setting for many long conversations between close friends; a space to talk about the ups and downs of life before having to return to the real world, so the next time you are due for a good ol' venting session, grab your posse and head down to the Little Nugget for a little bonding time!

Northline Walking Journal - Cal Neva

Unfortunately, I was not able to have a meal on the Cal Neva Top Deck Restaurant as I had limited funds for the weekend (a.k.a I'm a broke a** college kid) however I managed  to snap a picture of the exterior when walking with Miles and Austin on a verrrryyyyyy coooooollllld Thursday night.

Admittedly, I have never been inside the casino but I distinctly remember as a child always thinking how cool it was that they combined California and Nevada and made it into a casino name in Reno. Another confession, I honestly never paid much attention to its existence until now. I always saw it as one casino in a horde of others that sprinkle different sections of Reno. It's strange how you grow up so close to a certain area, yet you only see it as the big picture while taking for granted all of the bits and pieces that build the picture.

 

Regarding the two physicists who visited Kronberg Castle in Denmark who wrote:

“Isn't it strange how this castle changes as soon as one imagines that Hamlet lived here?”

This is exactly what happened to me when finally seeing the Cal Neva for the first time.

Instead of just seeing it as the Cal Neva Casino of Reno, I saw it as the Cal Neva Casino in the book Northline by Willy Vlautin and imagined the characters ordering their food in the Top Deck Restaurant at exactly the same time as I was looking at the casino (and how creepy that would be on my part). How would the characters react to Reno in its present state? Was there really so much that was different back then? Could 1999 even be considered "back then" yet? Regardless, this opened my mind to many things that I may have overlooked in Reno.

Northline Walking Journal - Old Harold's Club

I thought that the Harold's Club was a particularly interesting place as Northline concludes with Allison and Dan viewing its destruction (along with the Nevada Club) in the early hours of December 1999 and though there is nothing left today but an open plaza, I felt it was a relevant setting to touch on.

In a sense, the demolishing of the Harold's Club could not only symbolize the city of Reno preparing for the upcoming new millennium and making way for new renovations to accommodate a new generation, but it might also symbolize Allison making way for a new life as well, and demolishing her past.

As I viewed that plaza from a distance (near present-day Harrah's) I could only imagine what it would be like to stand there in the dark and cold of December while a gargantuan building takes a blast and crumbles to the ground. It would be awesome to see, but also somewhat sad in that acknowledging that a group of people put a lot of work and effort into a project whose fate would lie in nothing more than dusty rubble. Luckily, there may be a movie about the Harold's Club currently in pre-production so that this infamous site can leave its tattoo on the city of Reno for all to see and learn about its rich history.

 

Ponderings - Walking Journal #13

The very first thing I want to mention for this journal is that taking walks is sooooo much better at night than during the day. More dangerous, yes, but Jade, Diana, and I had a studly man accompany us in the form of Alex Crupi's beastly pocketknife.

Initially, our intended destination was an ice cream shop called The Hop on the corner of 1st and Sierra, but upon arrival at approximately 10:15, we found out the joint closes at 10:00. Bummer. We needed to find a place to eat pronto as our stomachs were in the process of consuming themselves. We ventured through the main casinos - all buffets were closed. After about an hour and a half of walking and more disappointment, we finally said 'to hell with it' and got an Awful Awful at the Little Nugget.



Throughout this entire escapade, my mind wandered to numerous places. I attempted to think about my argument essay and how this environment related to it, but the urbanized area of downtown did not particularly facilitate any thinking of wild horses, other than the urbanization of their open range. I then saw a seemingly houseless guy playing his guitar on the downtown strip and other guys on the corner trying to peddle their hip hop CDs and my mind pondered the lives of struggling artists, especially in a setting like Reno. Could I be considered a struggling artist?

 My next thought was more of a preparation mechanism and something that I do quite often when I am not in a vehicle and walking through a populated area: what I would do if everyone around me suddenly morphed into flesh-eating undead - where would be the safest shelter, immediately accessible weapons of any kind, crow bars, the knife in my pocket, that homeless dude's guitar, ANYTHING. Also I would map out the obvious places to avoid: parking garages, main streets, and alleys with no outlet (unless they have ladders leading to a rooftop; in that case, they would be ideal).

And there you have it.

Buildings: On and Off Campus - Walking Journal #12

In regards to the architecture of Reno and all of the regions it encompasses, naturally, on-campus buildings are considerably different than those you may see downtown or on 4th street, for example.

The buildings you see at UNR vary in style from an 1800s Victorian theme that can be found by the Quad to a more structurally-advanced theme that is demonstrated by buildings such as the Joe Crowley Student Union and the Davidson Math and Science Center.

 




Certain parts of downtown Reno are visually appealing (personally, I like the Silver Legacy dome and the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts), but in comparison to larger metropolitan areas like San Francisco and the like, Reno is architecturally-lacking. There are areas of downtown that are somewhat run-down with a bit of an artistic vibe, and others that are just plain run-down and thus the entire city appears more out-of-date than it really is. This may not reflect an appreciation for good architecture from a visitor's point of view, but Reno has showed the signs of making a comeback with buildings such as these:


New apartments near downtown


 Museum of Art in Reno

Despite the stark contrast between downtown Reno, other cities, and the university itself, if there is one thing we have learned throughout our years, it is to never judge a book by its cover.

Having cool buildings couldn't hurt, though.

Also, Professor Lombardi if you are reading this, I apologize for these journals (#11 and #12) not being uploaded by midnight as I was out and about and betwixt and between all weekend.
Also, you will see these exact same lines on the other journal.......and I apologize for that, as well.

Old Virginny - Walking Journal #11

Over this past weekend, my family and I enjoyed the nice weather while visiting Virginia City, Nevada located about 20 miles from my hometown of Silver Springs.

 

I've been there several times before, but I paid special attention to the Delta Saloon, the famous "Suicide Table" in particular. The infamous gambling table got its name from the suicidal deaths of three individuals living during the Comstock era (mid-to-late 1800s) who all lost a significant amount of money playing on it.

The first went by the name of "Black Jake" who supposedly lost $70,000 (that is a buttload of money back then!) and took his own life out of devastation.

The second was an unnamed owner who "was unable to pay his losses" and so official records are not able to verify whether he actually committed suicide or was offed by some angry creditors.

The third and final owner took his life some years later after the first two incidents and after the old table had been converted into a 21 table. A drunk miner walked in one night and had a very unusual stroke of luck winning $86,000, a team of horses, and a stake in a gold mine - all at the owner's expense.

 

Looking back on those times, many of us could only imagine what it would've been like to live there: no advanced technology, smartphones, or social networking sites; however, the lust and obsession over wealth and material goods has remained the same since even several centuries before the times of the Comstock, and the lack of (or overabundance) can give just enough of a nudge to push completely normal people over the edge.

Also, Professor Lombardi if you are reading this, I apologize for these journals (#11 and #12) not being uploaded by midnight as I was out and about and betwixt and between all weekend.
Also, you will see these exact same lines on the other journal.......and I apologize for that, as well.

The Adventures of Stalking Houseless People and Meeting "Thug Nasty" (Walking Journal #10)

Diana and I left the LLC at around 4:30 in the afternoon, completely unaware of our future encounters. No sooner had we passed Sierra Hall on foot, when a slight African-American fellow approached us from a gas station introducing himself as "Thug Nasty". He was waving a handful of CD's and asking us if we were 18; when we said no, he nodded and continued to walk ahead of us. Moments later, Thug said something that was ironically relevant to this journal prompt: "A man who don't work, don't eat." Diana and I murmured our agreement as he ventured off toward a motel to peddle his goods.

Reaching the main casino district, we weren't seeing any houseless individuals, so we riskily decided to tour Fourth Street and make a trip to the shelter where Diana volunteers her time. We saw several houseless people, particularly near the bus station, and I apologize for my photographs being awkward, as it was somewhat awkward attempting to take a picture of someone without them noticing.



In regards to Jim Burklo's view on homelessness vs. houselessness, I never realized it, but I completely agree with him. Many well-off individuals do not know a thing about their community; yes, they go grocery-shopping and take the kids to school, but they are not truly immersed in the environment of their community as a person without a house may be. I cannot speak from experience, but it would make sense to say that a person who is forced to endure the elements of their city/town day-in and day-out, would know a thing or two about the city's inner workings and be in sync with these workings.

So the next time you happen to come across an individual who may look a little rough around the edges, he/she may not be without a sense of community rhythm and awareness, but merely, without a house.