Sacred Spaces

On the first day of Spring, I cleaned out the old tub shack for an evening equinox soak. Portland hit its first 70-degree high of the year, and the air was still warm and fragrant. Earlier in the day, I rode out to majestic Crown Point in the Columbia Gorge.

Quite the invigorating start to a vernal season...well, except that this half century left me COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED. Weary and losing balance, I had to catch a passing City bus at the tail end of the ride just to get over the last hill!

Needless to note, the hot tub was a perfect remedy. Releasing into its healing waters, my mind drifted toward sacred spaces:

the Vista House overlooking the Gorge at Crown Point...

our home in Spring...

the "TUB HER" shack in our back yard...

With a Spring Break vacation to Reno just a couple of days away, I began envisioning a sacred spaces tour through my hometown.

When we planned this vacation a few months ago, the main destination was some quality time with our twin nieces before they transform into disengaged teenagers.

Having turned 14 the week before our arrival, I think we caught them just on the cusp. They're still so sweet to their cousin Lilly, enamored with little River, dance and sing with Bunny, and laugh at their Uncle's dumb jokes. We shared many, many fun memories cavorting through historic Virginia City and basking on the sunny shores of Lake Tahoe's Chimney Beach - two of the most mythical and enchanting places in Nevada.

It's been a decade since returning to Reno for a Biggest, Littlest adventure (more recent trips have been mostly spent with family at Lake Tahoe). Much has changed. Still, the places I revered as a child remain the same.

The morning after our arrival, I took the family out to Verdi - a few hundred paces across the California border west of Reno. On nice days, I'd skip high school class(es) and go skinny-dipping in this flume with friends.

We must have ignored the "EXTREME DANGER - NO SWIMMING" signs back then.

Somehow, the weather was always sunnier, warmer and calmer escaping to California, and this morning was no different as we toured the ghosts of Verdi-past.

In the afternoon, we parked on the California Street bluff next to a mini-playground and a series of historic mansions. As a teen, this was my SIT SPOT. Many nights would start and end here smoking Camel Lights - overlooking Reno and the expansive Great Basin beyond. On one occasion a dozen years ago, Bunny and I were enamored by hundreds of hot air balloons lifting into the sky from this vantage.

Dropping down from the bluff, I took the family on a walking tour starting with my Mom's strip-mall yogurt shop where I served

mountains of fro-yo and listened to non-stop-Top-40-Pop during the summers of '84 and '85.

After a satisfying visit to a new cupcakery next door, we stepped into 'ye old barber shop and SURPRISE! We found Bill, my barber who chopped up a decade of new wave hairdos AND is still cutting!

This nostalgic tour continued through Idlewild Park where I recalled childhood stories for Lilly.

And then along the Truckee, into downtown, through Wingfield Park, and back up California. I typically refer to Reno as "Vegas for Seniors" but these sweet neighborhoods all have long, rich histories that date back to the Silver Rushes of the 19th Century.

Later that evening, I brought my brother-in-law's classic Lotus road bike down to the Reno Bike Project to be revived after hanging on his garage hook for the past 25 years. At the Project, I reconnected with Greg, an old friend since 3rd Grade, who is now deeply immersed in their valiant efforts to reclaim the City streets with thousands of resurrected Burning Man bikes.

With help from Greg and Russ, another high school friend and fellow bike geek, the Lotus was back in commission for a crisp ride along the foothills of snowy Mt. Rose.

I'll look forward to sharing a bit of Portland's bike-wrenching culture with Greg this summer when he's planning a tour from Portland to Reno. In addition to becoming bike fanatics in the last few years, our dual lives include 6-year old daughters. On a sunny Saturday, our girls played together for hours at Rancho San Rafael, while Greg, Russ and I rode out to the California border in Verdi.

Despite a host of mechanical problems (good thing Greg & Russ are bike mechanics!), the ride was dreamy along the Truckee River recalling memories of riding in the 1980s with Greg LeMond whizzing by.

The bicycling theme in Reno was punctuated by a coincidental encounter with another old friend, Tyler, at a hip clothing exchange store in the revamped Mid-Town neighborhood. I never really noticed coincidences when I lived in Reno (or even on previous visits). But after seeing a lucky 777 sign on South Virginia Street, I had a distinct feeling that I was in for a blast from the past.

After a few fleeting moments, Tyler directed us to The Hub, a new bike-friendly coffeehouse serving Intelligentsia single-origin espresso and chai just a few steps around the corner.

Suddenly, it felt like we found a piece of Portland right in the middle of Reno.

The next night, I met up with a bunch of old friends at Streya, a friendly bungalow bar whose owners hail from Portland, too. Clarissa, Renee, Val, Xac and Sam are some of the funniest characters that you'll ever meet especially when this crew is all in the same room together. We all laughed HARD - just like the old days.

A few nights later, Bunny and I met up with two other old friends, Shelly and Kenny, to share a couple bottles of fine French wine downtown. With our judgement impaired, we capped the night off with an Awful Awful Burger and an Asskicker Margarita! Not so much fun for Bunny the next morning...

On our last day, we wrapped up this tour of sacred spaces four-wheelin' with Kenny on Cashill, passing through the "way-back" tunnel behind my Mom's old house, and visiting the elementary school playground where I learned to ride a two-wheeler for the first time.

Unforgettable to share these 6-year-old memories with my 6-year-old daughter!

Arriving at the airport, Lil' begged me to show her how to play the slots. Against my better judgement as a responsible parent ;~) ...she picked the machine, and I dropped the quarter.

Sure enough - Lucky 777 hit the Jackpot!

Ding! ding! DinG! Lilly always seems to have a funny coincidence on our family vacations, and this time it was on the return flight where she happened to find a seat next to her 1st grade classmate, Zachary, and brother Max.

I don't recall The Biggest Little City in the World as a friendly sort of place. So, it was refreshing to experience a genuinely sweet side of Reno with these wonderful friends from the past. Reminiscing old times revealed the sacred space shared between friends despite the many years dividing us. Namaste!