Reno

Following a late evening check-in at Reno's Peppermill Resort and Casino I was overwhelmed and disorientated by a neon blur and the ringing of slot machines. Seemingly endless strips of bright lighting clung to every wall and made finding our room intensely difficult. However, a 70's styled black and mirrored room which included a personal bar and jacuzzi, justified the search and set up a perfectly relaxing evening and a good nights sleep.

Inside The Peppermill Resort and Casino

The next day started well enough. We had agreed to do the photography for a wedding up in the beautiful hills that shroud this sprawling and tired older cousin of Las Vegas, and so set off to start work with the wedding location programmed into our Garmin (Sat Nav). This is when things started to go wrong. The maps loaded into this device were obviously out of date and so sent us up a dirt track dotted with potholes and trenches that each took their toll on the Beast. After arrival, the extent of this toll was realised as it slowly sunk before our eyes. Our rear left wheel had dislocate itself from the body of the vehicle. Bugger.

After a call to AAA, a tow courtesy of an entertaining fantasist with no teeth, and much chin scratching by a local mechanic, it soon became clear that we were trapped and would have to wait a further 2 days to make the Beast roadworthy. We were not going to be leaving Reno anytime soon.

Old Town Reno

My first thought after a quick tour of old Reno was that this prospect did not seem unpleasant. However, after 2 days trapped inside the Peppermill, my perception certainly changed. The disorientation felt upon arrival was quickly replaced my nausea. Upon closer inspection, the staples and gaffer tape that hold the rickety and ostentatious aesthetic of this place soon became very clear. In addition, the wall-to-wall mindless gambling opportunities and the people spending so much of their hard earned money made me sad and resentful of such flagrant wastefulness.

After 2 days trapped in a city that you can not navigate as a pedestrian, the eventual resurrection of the Beast was greatly appreciated. It was certainly time to get out of here.

© All Images By Paul
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