Apr 24th to 26th - Sparks to Redding CA

Apr 24th – Sun – to Sparks NV
It was nice to sleep in cool temperatures last night. We were walking to the casino to get coffee & breakfast when we noticed a sign advertising breakfast on the Elks club and went there instead. It was very busy and it was nice to see young families rather than just older members. They cooked part of the breakfast to order – choice of eggs, bacon, pancakes, potatoes – and you helped yourself to juice, coffee, sausage links and biscuits & gravy. It was a very good value for $6.00.
It didn’t matter that we didn’t leave until 9:30 as we had a short drive to the Sparks Marina RV park. It is a very nice place and the employees are friendly & helpful – and, yes, there actually is a small lake & marina nearby. After setting up and scanning over 200 cable channels on both TVs, we went for a drive and ended up at the Western Village Inn & Casino not too far away. I won some money right away and it kept me going for a long time. Terry found $2 Blackjack tables so switched from slots that weren’t good to him. There were hourly drawings for 10 $100 bills so we stayed through the last drawing at 4 o’clock (didn’t win!) and came back for dinner.
After dinner, we went to John Ascuaga’s Nugget as we had remembered it from a visit long ago. It is a totally different place now – huge & impersonal – but Terry found a $5 Pai Gow poker table and enjoyed that.

Apr 25th – Mon – Sparks – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOUG!
It was fairly cold this morning so we were slow to get going. After breakfast, we headed to Reno. We went to the Circus Circus casino – what else did you think we would do?! – and wandered and gambled for a while. Then to the Silver Legacy casino with much the same activity. There is a huge, fascinating, three-story, mechanical “contraption” in the center of the casino that is meant to represent the mining heritage of the area. On the way back to the RV park, we found a grocery store. Since we didn’t have lunch, we started with artichokes and carried on to a fairly early dinner.
I knew Terry was a little antsy so I suggested that he go back to the closest casino and play some 21. That left me to read and watch HGTV in peace!

Apr 26th – Tues – to Redding CA
We left at 9 for the 200 mile drive to Redding. The air is so clear in the Reno area and the sunny day made the drive lovely. Wanda did the usual great job of directing us to the Redding Elk’s club where we are staying. It is a beautiful facility with 20 RV sites. We set up and went into the bar to register. We had to have a beer and then very good hamburgers for a late lunch – accompanied by the second beer which is free.
We took the bikes off, put our shorts on and rode a trail right along the Sacramento River to the Sundial Bridge. The bridge is for pedestrians and has a unique construction method using a single tall, thin (sundial) support on one end with cables from there attached to the bridge deck. The trail is lovely with trees arching over in some spots and dogwood trees in full bloom. We rode 7 miles.
We sat outside for a while and then went to a grocery store for a few items that we forgot last time. Terry chatted with some neighbors. Of course, all the people staying here are Elk’s members so it is really interesting to talk to them and hear about other Elk RV parks.
The site here includes cable TV and Terry found a different, competition type show called Top Shot where people compete with different weapons – pistols, rifles, crossbows, etc. There were several episodes in a row and it was quite entertaining.