Nevada Museum of Art

 Our second museum of our fall break trip was the Nevada Museum of Art. I really wanted to see their exhibit about Nevada becoming the 36th State and the display of the Emancipation Proclamation. The museum also carries my book and wanted twelve more copies, which I was happy to deliver.

Don't have a copy yet? It makes a wonderful gift! Find out all the places to buy it on
my author and photographer website.

Outside the museum we found this steampunk submarine, which had been made for Burning Man (I might have to go one of these years!). We were allowed to go in it and climb up to the top. The submarine can actually be driven down the street.

We got our tickets and a special ticket to see the Emancipation Proclamation at noon. That gave us over an hour to look around the other exhibits. Some were really, really strange. I had a lot of fun watching the kids reactions to the different art. I have to admit, they seemed more open to some of it than I did. It made me realize that it's probably a good idea to take kids to art museums when they're young, when they don't have so many preconceived notions.

We went up on the roof for a little while. We didn't see much art up there...

…but we did find nice views of Reno and some changing colors.

Photos weren't allowed in the special exhibit, but it was great. I'm really glad we went to see it. We also saw the papers that declared Nevada a state, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, watched a film about why and how the state was made (to help win votes for the Union), and the 175-page telegraph that made it all official (and was relayed from Carson City to Salt Lake City to Chicago to Philadelphia to Washington D.C.--that's a lot of morse code!). I was also fascinated to see what county representatives signed the first documents. Very few of the current 14 counties were represented, as most everyone in the state at that time was near Virginia City for mining.

Afterwards it was time to eat! I was in the mood for an all-you-can-eat buffet and thought one of the nearby casinos might offer something. But after driving around the area a couple times on one-way streets that didn't pass the parking garage entrance, I gave up and we headed south on Virginia Street. Then all of a sudden I saw an Indian restaurant--with a lunch buffet! I turned immediately and we went in. I was ready for some more cultural exploration.

Desert Girl wasn't sold on Indian food, but Desert Boy liked it quite a bit.

And I was in heaven! It was so fun trying a variety of foods. (I get a taste of Indian food occasionally from Tasty Bites (on sale now at Costco-a six-pack for $6.99) and Jaali Bean (from Abe's Market)). But this was freshly made Indian food with real naan and delicious masala and other dishes I can't even remember. Next time in Reno, I'll definitely be going back!

That completed our Reno adventure. Then we headed south (on Highway 395, as our GPS didn't have the fairly new I-580 programmed into it) to Carson City for even more adventures.