] narrator: adventure is fuel for life, from its highs-- a little rock and roll, baby. --to its lows. [train whistle] and there's a place that captures that spirit, a community of creatives mastering the art of the unexpected-- [cheering] --in the biggest little city in the world, reno-tahoe. [rock music] male singer: (singing) ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ow. gonna give up and be mine, be mine. [audio logo]

narrator: the reno adventure begins with a journey back in time, to 1859, virginia city-- a frontier town deep in the nevada hills. [train whistle] this was the land of silver and gold, where pioneers from far and wide flocked to find their fortune. it seems like virginia city was actually the hot, happening spot. joe curtis: oh, absolutely, it was the hot, happening spot because this is where the money is coming from. narrator: and resident historian joe curtis is willing to go above and beyond for his beloved town. all right, joe, they gave me an extra dress for you to put on for the next part of the interview. are you going to do that for us? absolutely, as long as they're paying enough. [laughs] [laughs] we have to talk about virginia city and how it really did lead to reno being what it is today. joe curtis: well, you got to remember when virginia city is formed, it's pretty much a standalone community. so as the transcontinental railroad comes through across and comes through reno, wood,

clothing, hardware, alcohol-- that alone makes a big, important factor to reno. so virginia city and reno have this symbiotic connection, if you will. narrator: and as the cities grew, more travelers arrived, including one not in search of fortune but a name. so my understanding is samuel clemens became mark twain here. correct. and it had to do with him working for the newspaper, and he begins developing that name for one reason or another. and there's a number of different stories as to just exactly how that came about. he would always buy two drinks at a time and put it on a bar tab. and he would say, mark me down for twain. and using that term, mark twain, signs his newspaper articles, mark twain. he begins writing his book, "roughing it" as mark twain. and as he leaves here, everything after that is mark twain. narrator: we turn the page to the early 1900s, when most

of the country's strict divorce laws brought a new wave of people in search of what's called the reno cure. as we move forward and reno becomes more cosmopolitan, it becomes this divorce capital. let's talk about that, yeah. so why is this area known as the divorce capital? joe curtis: because of our state laws saying, you can stay in the state for six weeks, and then that gives you citizenship in the state of nevada. where there was a law that women could get divorced. yeah, you can get a divorce. and they'd start developing what are known as dude ranches for the divorcees to stay while they're getting the divorce process. and this is primarily women, right? yes. you would go to the bridge in reno, and they'd throw their rings off into the truckee river. and then kids would go in there and dig in there, and-- i was going to say. i would go swimming and find them. --and get the rings out of the flat. oh, yeah. narrator: fast forward to today, and that spirit of empowerment presses on with a new boss in town.

tabitha? mayor schieve! [laughs] i feel underdressed. how's it hanging? [laughs] i just came from a meeting. welcome to reno. narrator: mayor hillary schieve, champion for the great reno revival and one of politico's 11 most interesting mayors, has her eye on the future. so you spent your whole life here, and you stayed here. why did you stay? reno is a community that is so very special. i love that we work hard and we play hard. i can go hiking or biking or skiing or down the truckee river. this is 80% of our drinking water, right here in reno. hello. hi, guys. had i known you guys were going to be here, we would have brought bread. it would have been fun. [laughs] hillary schieve: i'm not a democrat or a republican. i am an independent. and so i'm really about people, not party. and it was just a way that i could give back in some special way. [rock music]

narrator: and how has the revitalization been? it has really transformed a lot. we were predominantly gaming, my whole life growing up here. when i got into office, i wanted to diversify our community. i think it's really important, whether it comes to arts, culture, food, innovation, technology. i wanted to embrace all of that, and we started building relationships with burning man, the university. people started to take notice, and then companies started building and investing here. i think i've just been blessed to grow up in a community where we're incredibly close, but we also are resilient. we are the biggest little city-- i will tell you that-- in every possible way.

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what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul. it's your water, your way. is it menopause or something else? the menopause journey has stages. learn about yours with clearblue menopause stage indicator... that tracks your fsh hormone levels... combining them with your cycle data. what's your menopause stage? lately, my skin seems dry and sensitive. my dermatologist recommended all free clear for my laundry. it's free of dyes and perfumes, for a clean that's gentle on skin. if it touches my skin, i clean it with all free clear the number one brand recommended by dermatologists.

stop the wedding! i clean it with is this bad timing?ar i'm john dory, branch's brother. former brother. that's not how dna works! oh my gosh... hello! did you just braid my hair? poppy, i'm your sister. my what?!? hey man, am i the only one without a long lost sibling? wet willy! -i am a grownup! sorry... a wet william. ♪ just let me take you to a better place ♪ narrator: nestled in the heart of the sierra nevada mountains, reno is just 30 minutes away from some of the best skiing in the world. in 1948, a schoolteacher brought up six kids in a station wagon, and that started the junior ski program. narrator: this is sky tavern, the oldest nonprofit ski

facility in america. but in the heat of the summer-- [rock music] --adventurers trade in their skis for wheels-- hell, yeah. --and let it ride. everything we do is about getting kids outside. we are the anti-video game group. oh, you got it. keep those feet on the pedals. nice. that's the best of all, when the kids come up. they're so fearless. they want to learn. and the thing is they're learning so much. they're learning confidence. they're learning skills. every time i come up here and i watch the kid program, it's just so cool. i'm passing them on the trail, and they're like, we're sanding it. and i'm like, yes, you are. what i found to be really cool is learning that this was actually free. so we're in a fortunate position here. our mountain is on city of reno land that they lease to us long-term. so in that long-term lease, we're able to build out our programs, especially focusing on women and youth so people can come up and try mountain biking for the first time.

a little rock and roll, baby. wee! and you come, and you're like, this is amazing. i've had a great time. and if that happens, we've done our job. this place is a trove of outdoor activity-- like, mountain biking skiing, hiking. and giving reno families a place to come and do cool stuff? it only enriches your community. i still think that the world needs places like us because we measure everything we do in smiles, not in dollars. rick reed: there are so many more trails we can build. the community is behind it. sky's the limit. narrator: sky is the limit. [rock music] and just over the mountain, you'll find the crystal blue waters of lake tahoe, the gem of the sierras. and while most visitors come here to take in some summer fun, there's a small group of dedicated divers who are here to give back. who's ready to go diving today and clean up some trash--

man: let's do it. --and beautify this beauty? [cheering] narrator: as a dive master myself, i couldn't help but gear up and join the cause. there's two types of divers in the world, those who pee in their wetsuit and those who lie about it. clean up the lake is a nonprofit environmental dive center, which recently cleaned up the 72 miles of tahoe's shoreline, yielding over 25,000 pounds of submerged trash. a lot of people don't associate lake tahoe with scuba diving. but when you have a purpose, it kind of adds this new and exciting element to diving. narrator: as someone who's been below the surface all over the world, this dive was like no other. it was just such a bummer that there was so much trash around every corner. are these some of the things that you've also found on dives? yes. this one is the most interesting to me. was it a bad conversation that ended up in the lake? i like the imagination going into this.

and what happens with the trash you pull out? sadye easler: we do a litter categorization after every single dive. these will be found within the metal category. sadye easler: our data management coordinator uses a method developed by the united nations environmental program, which separates it by material type and use type. there's 83 different categories. to me, this was our money lode find today. that one was fun. it doesn't look like much, but for us, i mean, it took us forever to pull it out. sadye easler: what goes into a landfill? we found these artists that kind of specialize in this. and so they took that trash and turned it into a bald eagle catching a lahontan cutthroat trout, and it's going to go in front of the tahoe blue event center in south lake. narrator: we found, like, five different pairs of sunglasses. little freshies, you know? i can't believe you just put those on after it being in this bag. after working here for two years, you become one with the trash. right?

there's something to be said about good karma and that we found this silver bracelet. yeah, i want to say good things come to those who wait, but i guess it's good things come to those who clean up the lake. boom, baby. and while it's great to pull the trash out, what really keeps me coming back is the community of people that we get to meet and interact with, and our volunteers-- keeps us going. hayden farris: it's a feeling i can't explain, in all honesty. it just feels good, at the end of the day, to get to go home, be so tired, but you're tired for a good reason. you put it down. we take it out. [laughs] we're working on our catchphrase, ok? yeah, we'll figure it out at some point. we're going to figure it out. "1st look" is sponsored by reno-tahoe.

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plus odor protection. try for under $5! what is cirkul? cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul. it's your water, your way. lately, my skin seems dry and sensitive. my dermatologist recommended all free clear for my laundry. it's free of dyes and perfumes, for a clean that's gentle on skin. if it touches my skin, i clean it with all free clear the number one brand recommended by dermatologists. inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. tiny troy: he's right, you know.

is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. he's the best. - make every wash count! - little help please. he's the best. [vocalizing] [audio logo] narrator: when you first pull up to the gates of burning man, they say, welcome home. and that's because once you come to the playa, it never really leaves you. each year, nearly 80,000 people visit reno's backyard of black rock city, home to the iconic burning man festival.

everyone knows when burning man is coming. it plays such a big part in jobs, in our economy and creativity. narrator: a spiritual journey built on art and creation. it's an opportunity to think outside of your own self, to experiment with who you are and who you want to be. narrator: and for nine days a year, it's nevada's third largest urban area, dedicated to self-reliance and self-expression. the community of people that it attracts are a group of misfits that are just playing together and creating cool stuff and sharing with each other. it's not a party in the desert. it's really a celebration of life. how has it changed since the '90s? well, of course, it's bigger. a lot bigger, huh? we have a lot more influence in the world. when i first went, it was more like, well, what are these people doing, and these sort of wacky tech people? a lot of them were just from san francisco. and now we have over 100 countries from around the world. 20% of the people come from outside the united states. it's a concept, and it's a culture.

each year, we learn from it, and the others around us learn from it. and then they take it back to their communities, and they want to build art, and they want to start nonprofits. and that's what we're all here for. and what has the relationship been like with reno as a hub that so many people come through to go to burning man? well, we love reno. if you have a cool city that's growing and expanding its culture, that's a perfect place for burners to want to be. we have art infused all over the city from burning man because i think it's incredibly special, but our community does, too. a place that is different and diverse and really has a little bit of a libertarian ethic that's sort of like, let me lead my life. and i want to be in community with you, but give me the space. we need space for artists to come together. the bigger, more open the space, like with burning man-- you can create big art. narrator: and when it comes to filling those big spaces, the reno generator gives local artists all the tools and resources that they need to thrive.

the generator is a non-profit community maker space. we've existed about 10 years now and grew out of a need for a large fabrication space for building projects for burning man. it is about helping people grow into a more realized version of themselves. this is the hippie killer. the inspiration? i fell in operation iraqi freedom. i'm 90% disabled. so i was like, i need to make a car. and at the time, i was in welding school. and i had built an 80-foot car for a guy that asked me if i could. and i was like, well, let's figure it out together, you know? and we did, and we became really good friends. he's over there. he's building another car right now. oh, really? we're all part of this amazing community now, and this is what we do. one of the things that's so beautiful about the generator is we want to pull people in and show them how to use, maybe,

power tools for the first time, even just a hand drill or orbital sander. alysia dynamik: so it really invites anyone who has something that they want to say or something they want to create to just do it. the experience of working with a group of people from start to finish on a huge piece of art can be just radically life changing. narrator: though the flames of creativity motivate these artists through endless hours of work, their final pieces are often meant to be set ablaze, a tribute to burning man's principle of immediacy, to live in the moment before it's lost forever. the name of the project itself-- my body-- mike lautman: "my body, my home." it's kind of based around this vision of a ghost coyote sleeping in the remains of her bones. there have been times in my life when i was very, very sick, where i felt prisoned inside of my body. as i've recovered over the past five years, i'm trying to come more to be, like, this corporeal form is the house that i live in. for me, it's like a yin and yang thing.

i lived the first half of my life in the military. the second half been about creating things and fixing things. and i feel like that's the redemption of that, and what helps me deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. mike lautman: she'll have this box in the center of her for people to leave traumas. and when we burn her and we burn the notebooks, she's going to take all of that trauma with her to the next world. [eva lind & elin porsinger, "into the deep"] forget all of my dreams and regrets, all of the words left unsaid, drifting into the deep. i just feel very fortunate to have reno be the gateway into burning man. we also really encourage visitors to come during that time because it really blows them away when they go out there and have this experience that they never have probably ever imagined. and the love and the release will make me go back every year

i can for the rest of my life. [cheering] [fireworks exploding] [laughs] [cheering]

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i clean it with [rock music]clear [vocalizing] [audio logo] now, what did they say about an elephant, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time? one bite at a time, one rack at a time. one rack at a time. ok, let's do it. let's go. ok. narrator: in reno, every spin and every roll is a dance with lady luck. and while some visitors test their odds

at its many iconic casinos-- yes! --others embark on a treasure hunt to uncover another kind of jackpot. let's see it. howdy, ma'am. oh, perfect. my name is tabitha. you look like reno, nevada. before i came to reno-- and i told a friend, oh, i'm going out to reno, they said number one place i had to stop was junkee. and i was like, well, what's junkee? and they're like, you'll see. i'm blown away with-- how do you get this much inventory? i am constantly usually in overalls, and i'm junking, and i have a van. you have a van. right in the heart of reno's bustling midtown district, junkee's 15,000 square feet of secondhand apparel antiques and furniture is almost guaranteed to have something for everyone. do i look like i know what i'm doing? you look like you know what you're doing. first time in my life. [laughs] how have you seen midtown change? midtown started in 2008 during the recession. and all of us small business owners bind together and got through it.

and we went through covid, but you come back stronger. and now i can't even keep up with all the new businesses that are opening in reno. narrator: another midtown staple is perapol damnernpholkul's rice box kitchen, ranked on yelp's top 100 places to eat in the united states. and his next rising star? noodle box kitchen. so we're going to make boat noodles today. in thailand, there's a lot of canals. and back in the days, it was sold on a boat. a boat would pull up and sell you the noodles. yeah, exactly. i feel like a witch, doing a witch's brew. (creepily) is it done yet? narrator: with its asian-inspired comfort food, noodle box allows customers to embrace the three-word motto painted on the wall-- eat-- this is fabulous, absolutely fabulous. --drink-- cheers to that, yeah. --and of course-- we sat down to gossip. yes. i'm going to have another drink. [laughs] - i learned a fun fact. you're turning 50 this year? oh, my gosh. 50 years young. what is your secret? just enjoy life. yeah.

i think that's what keeps you young. if you asked me maybe, like, four years ago, how is my life-- and i would tell you it's like kind of crappy. why? covid happened, and i was not in a really good place. [finder's field, "halfway home (acoustic)"] (singing) you'll go greater places than where you are today. you know, my best friend and his husband was quarantining here. and they're like, perapol, just come visit us in reno. and i was like, i don't want to go to reno. but i came, and then it was-- it was, like, peace, and reno is home now. (singing) --will help guide your way back home. what would you say is your favorite thing about reno? the people, definitely. the people are real. they're not fancy or snooty. you could meet a millionaire at the steakhouse, and you wouldn't even know he had $1.