You have just completely ruined the image I created in my mind after reading grandfather’s enthusiasms of the magnificent beauty of the Truckee river being in the center of Reno. Just like when I spent the year researching the newspapers of late 18th/early 19th century and living in a time when George Washington was spoken of in the present tense, I’ve just spent months living in a time when the west was still unspoiled and the people were proud of their country. I will now ignore you and return to that time.
There are still vast stretches that are nearly pristine. Just not in most of the urban stretch of the river. The magnificently beautiful stretch downtown still has magnificent beauty. The river walk is wonderful. That section gets a lot of extra attention from the Reno PD. For some reason the homeless don’t much like attention...
Should you ever be in Reno, I’d be happy to buy you a cuppa at Hub Coffee and we can look out over a stretch of the river while sipping.