The Huffaker Hills are in south Reno, surrounded by development. This island is preserved as natural parkland by Washoe County and the BLM, and is essentially just like it was when Graville Huffaker homesteaded the area in the 1860s. The Truckee Meadows Trails Association has built some nice meandering paths through hill and dale, making a wonderful place for an evening stroll at the end of a hot summer day.

The trailhead I like is reached from Alexander Lake Road, winding up the backside of Rattlesnake Mountain. From the parking area, check the signs and walk along any of three loops, ending up where you started. My favorite is the one climbing up the higher of Twin Peaks. Because the Truckee Meadows is pretty flat, this moderate elevation gives you a panoramic view; the Virginia Range to the east, south to Washoe Valley, Mt. Rose, and the Carson Range, west across Reno to the Sierra, and north to Rattlesnake Mountain and across the city to Peavine Peak, Sparks, and Spanish Springs. Immediately surrounding the hills are remnants of the original Truckee Meadows wetlands, much appreciated by the pioneers as a place to rest and rejuvenate before attempting to cross the Sierra. The Donner party did just that, but the pause only made them further behind schedule, with the disastrous consequenses we've all read about.

In spring, the hills are covered with wildflowers. On warm evenings, you get to watch a free air show, courtesty of the resident nighthawks. You will hear their distinctive cries before you see the birds. For reasons unknown to me, they fly high at first, then swoop lower and lower with the setting sun. They twist and turn in their quest for bugs and occasionally dive straight down, generating a brrrring sound as their feathers vibrate on pulling out. Not really hawks, the name was coined by pioneers who likened their flight to that of other hawks and observed them doing their thing in the evenings.

Sunsets from here are frequently spectacular, especially if the sky is full of big thunderheads that have built up during a hot afternoon. Watching the clouds catch fire and the city lights blink on is sight I never tire of. Ah, the desert skies.