Reno Summer Guide 2004

Where are the best places to take Fido? Are the hills really alive with the sound of naturalists chewing? What books should be on coffee tables this summer? Spokesmodel Mr. Reno says he has the answers to all your summer questions.

Welcome to the 2004 Reno News & Review Summer Guide. My name is Reno, Mr. Reno. I’ll be your guide, along with the RN&R essayists, showing you that everyone can participate in summer in Northern Nevada, gardening, camping, ‘cueing, hanging out with the dog, living off the land. There’s even something in here for you summer couch potatoes: summer books.

This year, the thrust of the Summer Guide is pretty simple. Our writers wrote essays about some of the things they like to do when the temperatures rise, and then I, as your spokesmodel, went out and did the things they were writing about—just to inspire you nervous Nellies to get out there and enjoy the weather.

First, though, I want to get one thing straight: I am not any of those celebrities that everyone thinks I am. I realize there’s an occasional resemblance; the names in some cases are a bit similar, but c’mon. Does anybody really think I could be married to Janet Reno?

I pity the fool who thinks I’m Mr. T. I mean, really, I had a Mohawk for about five minutes back in 1979, but that had a lot less to do with The A-Team than it had to do with Sid and Johnny. And Mr. Bill, the evangelist? I don’t think so. Oooh, you’re talking about Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live. I wish. Sure, he’s a babe magnet and all, but do you really see a resemblance? Sorry. About all I have in common with that guy is a first name.

Now, after all my denials, I do have a confession to make. I have the tiniest blood relation to Major General Jesse L. Reno, the Civil War hero who met a bad end at the Battle of South Mountain. I guess he’s the great, great something on my dad’s side through marriage. I hear I get some of my sense of adventure from him. I do tend to have a hard time when the going gets tough.

Categories for your season

In the garden

On the barbecue

At the dog park

On the bookshelf

Among the wild plants

In the wilderness

Summer event calendar

The making of Mr. Reno