Taking Five in Reno: A Big City Kid's Take on the Biggest Little City in the World

I am a big city boy. I love the hustle and bustle. I love the culture and I love being able to walk anywhere. Even if you end up walking for two miles, it's always an interesting trip. That's why I was a little worried that Reno wouldn't be able to fulfill my need for the fast-paced city environment.

Reno has that. I am in this western Nevada town for three months. I won't go into why, but I can see why people would love this city.

Reno is funny. It has a facade. While it's been pinned as Las Vegas' little brother, I find it more like Vegas' unique brother. The brother that, while he gets along with all of Vegas' friends, he's deeper than that. He isn't completely glitz and neon-lit parkways. Reno's artsy. He's cultured and he's well-read, but he can mix with the open-shirted greasy guys Vegas throws down with.

That's exactly why Reno is an amazing vacation destination. I was skeptical that Reno was a "big little city," but it really is. That is, if you look hard enough.

Of course, Reno's biggest draw is the casinos. While I'm not completely enamored with the thought of waging my hard-earned money on a skill I have yet to acquire, I can see why it's a draw. I just feel bad for those with the gambling addiction, though, because it's everywhere. An omnipresent force tugging at your sleeve. There are slots in gas stations. There are signs advertising casinos in the most unexpected places, too, but I personally find that it just adds to the charm of this city. But then again, I have no problem with putting the dice -- proverbial or not -- down when I've had my fill.

Aside from the casinos, though, Reno offers a photographer a neverending supply of subjects, architecture and landscapes. It's a beautiful city. These things are distinctly Reno. There are subtleties in this city that can repeatedly steal your breath. First, you lose your wind after confronting the brilliantly lit speck in the desert valley that is the city at night and multiple times after the city's facade peels away and its true, ornate and sophisticated core comes barely visible.

It's hard to fathom just what this city houses. You can watch baseball, eat pizza and visit a splendid post office in the same stretch of street. While the post office might not be the best thing to entertain children, it truly is a beautiful building. There is also a river that nearly bisects the city and adds a certain homeliness to Reno. It's not like the Chicago River, which seems like almost a burden to the citizens instead of a location to relax. There are docks near the river I've seen children in bathing suits scurry to and from. They seemed pretty happy about it, but it's not really my scene.

There was also something of a street festival going on which ended recently that featured "Barbecue, Brews and Blues." While I was hesitant to accept that a city that blares country music would embrace something like the blues, I was proven delightfully wrong. Children with oversized, novelty hats, women in short dresses with long plastic vessels I came to understand served as margarita cups, bicycle messengers leaning on their fixed gears and bearded, shirtless bikers all stopped in the street to listen.

They all clapped. Some whistled. Some demanded an encore. But what was clearly understood in those hundreds of hands clapping was that Reno likes the blues.

So, while I don't want to fall in love with this city just yet, I can say that I'm growing attached to this city and I don't think I'll regret driving some 30 hours west through some of the flattest land in this country to be here.

Although there are some hokey souvenir shops lining the streets, it's to be expected. This was Reno's obligatory first Bud Light with Vegas' posse. But, you should know, although Reno is cracking jokes and drinking his Bud Light with Vegas and his open-shirted, gold-clad and gaudy friends, he's content. But what he really wants to do is sit down and have a chat with you about art, music, urban plight, photography and the wild west over a glass of Scotch.

So before you get mixed up in Vegas, ask Reno about life. He might have something interesting to say.