I saved democracy in Nevada

Walter at the field office.

I mean, I think I did. I probably did. My husband and I drove up to Carson City in order to volunteer for the Obama campaign in this swing state, and we weren't the only ones. The sign in sheets were separated between "California" and "Local", and they had plenty of volunteers. What I'd heard about the Obama people was true -- they were extremely organized, dedicated, efficient and persistent. They had five -- five! -- offices in Carson City alone, a city of 35,000 people. I think they considered us totally lazy Communist slackers for participating in such a small way.

We went canvassing on Monday and Tuesday to urge people to vote in neighborhoods that had already had plenty of knocks on their doors. BUT only one lady yelled at us for how many door knocks she'd gotten over the past week. Most people weren't home, but the ones who were were pretty nice, especially the people in their 80s. Everyone was voting for Obama already, since our lists were mostly registered Democrats, and the O signs in the neighborhoods we went to far outnumbered the McC signs. So we were really just harassing stragglers to get to the polls. It rained on us briefly and sprinkle-snowed briefly, and the scenery in fall was simply beautiful.

We also drove up to Reno to check it out and get a quickie divorce like women in 40s movies. We forgot to get the divorce.



The Casino up the block from the field office. Cactus Jack voted Libertarian, of course.


This is what I learned about Carson City and Reno Nevada:

1. It's Ne-vad-a like glad, not Ne-vahd-a like "Ah, I got a vahse in Nevahda". "I'm glad I'm in Nevada". Or Aaaaa! There's a neon sign after me in Nevaaaaada!
2. There are slot machines in the supermarket.
3. Everyone has a dog. I'd say 80% of the houses we went to had dogs viciously slamming their bodies against the locked doors (all dogs are non-partisan). The lady who yelled at us had a cat.
4. The USA Today that I read the morning we went canvassing said the high school graduation rate in the state is 45%.
5. I think kids maybe aren't seeing the importance of graduating high school when there are slot machines in the supermarkets.
6. It's beautiful. The Sierra Nevadas are amazing. Want to see a beautiful view? Look up.
7. There are 25 legal brothels in Nevada. The laaads come to Nevaaada. I learned this from a LATimes article I read on my blackberry while driving around there -- looks like the economy is hitting them hard, too.
8. Carson City does not have a lot of frills, lifestyle-wise. Reno, in contrast, has more cute little stores and coffee shop cafes and pedestrians and is just more swinging in general. It has bigger casino resorts and is more touristy.
9. We never did locate Carson City statehouse, and there just aren't that many possibilities of where it could be.
Bonus California 10. We spent a night in Death Valley and no one died. Letdown!


View from the roof of the very nice and worth-a-visit Nevada Museum of Art in Reno.


Not all Nevada forests are on fire, just this bit around Lake Tahoe. WL wanted to take my picture, but I wasn't sure of the proper expression to have even in front of a natural and harmless fire. It just seemed rude to smile, you know?


Natty when we got home. Pretty sure she voted for McCain; she looks pissed.