Lin C says:
August 18, 2010 at 7:50 am

We are getting ready to transfer out of here next year, so I figure I should leave some words of advice for anyone looking at coming down here.

Have a sense of adventure. NAS Fallon is about 7-8 miles outside of Fallon itself and most of what?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s available to do here involves being outdoors. There are plenty of places to go off-roading, with lots of incredibly scenic trails. You may think you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re close to Lake Tahoe, but it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s on the other side of Reno, which has never proven worthwhile for us to make such a long drive to go camping for a weekend, and that particular area is incredibly expensive. Look into Lake Lahontan, Pyramid Lake, or even Indian Lake. There?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s more than enough to do around the Fallon area as long as you know where to go. Take advantage of MWR and the trips that are offered and don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t throw out the notices about community events from housing.

The town of Fallon itself is fairly small. The biggest store here is Wal-Mart and everyone pretty much does all their shopping there. The NEX and Commissary are also small with limited selection, so don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t be surprised if you can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t find something you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re looking for on base. During the summer, there are weekly farmer?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s markets at which you can get locally grown produce for really great prices, so don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t miss out on that, either.

The weather during the summer is H-O-T. As of this past year (2010), the weather was strange and we had a long, bitter winter, followed by a short, intensely hot summer. When you come here, be prepared for extremes.

Those who are more into shopping and the night life will find that Reno is probably your best bet, but it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a 60 mile trip to get to the city. Traffic is as you would expect elsewhere ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú congested during peak times, but generally tolerable any other time. Other surrounding towns and cities include Fernley (there are some good restaurants here) and Carson City. Just on the other side of Reno is a place called Virginia City and they have some good Old West things to go see.

Fallon is a fairly transient base. There are CAGs that come through on a regular basis, and you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll be able to tell by the increase in jet flyovers and crowds at the Exchange. From our own personal experience, when CAGs come to Fallon, it is *not* pleasurable. The transient personnel are generally rude and expect you to cater to them or get out of their way ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú after all, we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re here to support their training missions. What we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve done during these times is that we generally avoid going onto base unless absolutely necessary. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s very much worth it to drive out in town if it means we can avoid the CAG and the long lines at the Commissary and NEX.


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