The drive from Las Vegas to Reno — roughly 430 miles — is, by any objective measure, uninspiring. I appreciate the desert and wide open spaces probably more than most people, but jeez, there just ain't much to see along the stretches of U.S. 95, U.S. 50 and I-80 connecting the two cities.

Here are the meager wide spots in the road: Indian Springs, Lathrop Wells, Beatty, Goldfield, Tonopah, Mina, Luning, Hawthorne, Schurz, Fallon, Fernley. When Tonopah (historic) and Fallon (farmland) are the highlights of that list, you know you're on desolation boulevard. Walker Lake, outside Hawthorne, is a nice relief from the basin and range, but I don't think I've ever seen a boat floating on the water.

By contrast, I really like Reno. My wife and I had many nostalgic feelings during our trip last week, taking our older daughter to college. We lived in Reno from 1985-88, and we remember those years fondly. The Truckee River running through town is a delight, the mature trees throughout the more established parts of town are refreshing, the university campus is a dream (and far nicer and larger today than when I attended 20 years ago). Traffic on the streets and highways is lighter and is occupied by fewer jerks than you see in Las Vegas.

Reno also has a couple of real decent used book shops, Zephyr Books on Virginia Street and Dharma Books at First and Sierra. Zephyr is very big, while Dharma is small but discriminating. I carted home eight or nine books from my visits to the two establishments. Reno also has an excellent independent new bookstore, Sundance Books on Keystone. Independent bookstores are at risk across the country, but Sundance seems to be hanging in there.

The only disappointment in the nostalgia department was our lunch experience at the Little Waldorf, a well-known restaurant and bar near the university. Because of the parent/student orientations going on at the university, during a break parents deluged the restaurant one day. Certainly the Little Waldorf knew a big crowd was coming, but according to one overly distressed waitress, they were in a bind because a bunch of employees called in sick. Service was a disaster, with some people walking out when nobody came to their tables for 15, 20, 30 minutes. Others had to wait ridiculously long periods of time to get their drinks and, maybe, their food. I'm sure this was an unusual situation, but it didn't leave the greatest impression.

On the plus side, we flew home, avoiding another eight-hour odyssey across the barren parts of Nevada. Some other parents we know weren't so lucky.

Early tomorrow morning, Erin and I will get in her little car, packed to the brim with the stuff for her dorm room, and head out on the highway for Reno. Because we don't drive very fast and like to make stops along the way, I expect the 435-mile trip will take about eight hours. We'll stop in Beatty (candy store), Tonopah (lunch, gas) and Fallon (bathroom break) before arriving in Reno about 3 p.m. Meanwhile, Tammy and Sara will get on an airplane about midday Tuesday and fly to Reno. Their flight will last about one hour. They will get a rental car and we'll meet at the Circus Circus hotel-casino, which is not far from the campus.

Erin, along with several thousand other kids, will move into the dorms Wednesday morning. Erin's roommate, Katie, is her longtime best friend, so she won't have the experience of meeting someone new. However, Erin's boyfriend, Ryan, and Katie's boyfriend, James, will meet their roommates sometime Wednesday.

On Thursday and Friday, there is a schedule of parent and student orientation events and tours, as well as barbecues and ice cream socials and such. We'll be kept busy up there during the day, and be able to do pretty much whatever we want in the evenings. I am looking forward to seeing UNR's brand new "knowledge center," aka library. It's supposed to be an impressive facility.

UNR is a much bigger and nicer campus today than it was during my years there (1985-88). There are many new buildings and new programs, and the student services seem more extensive. But then and now, with the mix of old and new, it really draws you in, separating itself from its surroundings as a university campus should.

But first, the long drive across the Nevada outback.

As the details start to come out, it's increasingly clear that the Packers management totally screwed up in alienating and ultimately trading Brett Favre. Now the Packers have a starting quarterback who has never started a game and a backup who is a rookie. Meanwhile, they literally kicked out arguably the best quarterback in NFL history. As the beginning of the season looms, the Packers are now not as good as they were yesterday when Favre was on the roster.

The Packers are all about big Ifs: Will Aaron Rodgers turn out to be any good? Will Rodgers get hurt? If so, will the rookie backup be a suitable player to fill in? The good news is the Packers are pretty darn good at all other positions, including running back and receiver, so hopefully Rodgers will be able to put his weapons to good use.

I am a Packers fan AND a Brett Favre fan, so I'll follow both teams this year. Of course, the Packers come first. But I'm fairly confident the Jets will be on TV a lot more this year than in seasons past, so I hope to see Favre frequently. 

Green Bay Packers training camp starts tomorrow. Packers execs told Brett Favre this weekend that they don't want him to show up just yet. The point, it seems, is they're trying to work out a trade with either the Jets or the Buccaneers, thus avoiding the need for Favre to turn Packers training camp into a circus. Packers execs have made it clear repeatedly in recent days that Aaron Rodgers is their starting quarterback and they would prefer for Favre to stay retired. Under this scenario, if Favre reports to training camp, he would be a backup — put on ice.

It's all understandable. Favre has become a pain in their butts. He and the Packers have exchanged words they will regret. But the problem is that the Packers management isn't dealing with reality. If they were, they'd realize that Favre is a better choice to be Green Bay's starting quarterback this year. He has the best chance of leading the team to the Super Bowl. He is less likely to get hurt. He is far less likely to end up being not as good as people hoped.

Rodgers has a lot of potential. He's the obvious starter — if Favre is retired. But from a business standpoint — and make no mistake, the NFL is a business — if Favre is ready and willing, you gotta go with him. Rodgers seems to be injury prone. What happens if he gets hurt in the third game? The backup is a rookie. What happens to our season then? Are we happy to finish with an 8-8 record? Clearly, this is not what Packers fans are expecting this season after how far the team advanced last season.

It's a tough situation any way you look at it. The thing about Favre coming back is that it's likely that at the end of this coming season we'd have to suffer through the Favre retirement talk again. Nobody wants that. And it seems clear that coach Mike McCarthy wants the Packers to be his team, not Favre's. That's understandable for a head coach.

Here's my radical proposal: Eliminate the roadblock by trading Rodgers. Rodgers is ready to play every week — somewhere. He's worth a lot. Get something good for him and make Favre promise publicly to give you two years and that's it. Then the rookie, Brohm, will be ready, as Rodgers is now.

This probably won't happen. I may be the only person in the world pondering this idea (though I doubt it). But something has to give soon, and I know I'd like to see Favre play again — for the Packers. He's the best QB ever, in my view, and the most entertaining QB ever, in most people's view. He's only 38 years old. He's played a lot of ball, and taken a lot of hits, but he can play more.

For reasons I can't readily explain, I'm not much of a theater person. I love the movies, but theater, no matter how well done, rarely leaves me breathless as it does many other people. That said, I have great respect for the talented writers, directors, actors, singers, musicians and set designers involved in theater productions.

Despite my vague lack of enthusiasm, I sometimes see theater in Las Vegas and appreciate the opportunity to do so. The latest production I saw, "Phantom of the Opera" at the Venetian Hotel, was impressive in almost all respects. The Las Vegas rendition has been hailed as a legitimate heir to the London and New York productions, and while I haven't seen it anywhere else, I could detect no reason why this would not be so.

The Las Vegas version is a little shorter, which I personally see as a plus, but all the songs are included. The hall where it is staged is a wonderful re-creation of the Paris Opera House, complete with a giant chandelier looming over the audience. The lead performers, Anthony Crivello as the Phantom and Kristi Holden as Christine, are excellent, as are the other actors. The music and singing are top rate.

My complaint, generally, will, of course, reveal me to be a middle-brow heathen: "Phantom" strikes me as too serious, too melodramatic. Too old-school French, perhaps? There is nothing to be done about this, because the overwhelming majority of theater-goers have expressed their verdict that "Phantom" is one of the all-time great musicals. I'm sure it is. But for me, at least, it was impressive without being inspiring.

The oddest entrant in the summer superhero movie sweepstakes is "Hancock," but it's also one of the best. Starring Will Smith, "Hancock" is the story of a reluctant superhero who tends to make a hell of a mess each time he fights crime. When he's not catching bad guys, he's getting drunk and sleeping on park benches. He has an image problem: Unlike Superman or Batman or even Spider-Man, people don't like Hancock. A public relations expert takes on the challenge to rehab Hancock's image.

"Hancock" is violent, as superhero movies tend to be, but it's also quite funny and very entertaining. There is a significant twist about halfway into the movie, and it works. The only big-budget movie I've seen this year that beats "Hancock" is "Iron Man," which also profiled a flawed superhero and also was quite humorous. Expect a trend here, one that Hollywood inevitably will beat to death.

1. Drive-By Truckers, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
2. Black Keys, Attack and Release
3. Mudcrutch, Mudcrutch
4. James McMurtry, Just Us Kids
5. Old 97s, Blame It on Gravity
6. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Real Emotional Trash
7. My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges
8. R.E.M., Accelerate
9. Mudhoney, The Lucky Ones
10. Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely
11. Black Mountain, In the Future
12. Bob Mould, District Line
13. Panic at the Disco, Pretty. Odd
14. Elvis Costello, Momofuku
15. Justin Townes Earle, The Good Life
16. North Mississippi Allstars, Hernando
17. Foxboro Hot Tubs, Stop Drop and Roll
18. Rolling Stones, Shine a Light

My older daughter, Erin, graduated from Shadow Ridge High School this afternoon at the Orleans Arena. She was one of three valedictorians and gave a speech in which she quoted Robert F. Kennedy. Afterward, our family gathered in a banquet room at Big Dog's  Cafe and Saloon. We had 21 people in all and it was a nice little event, with bar-type food in a buffet style and a tasty Costco cake for dessert. The gathering actually was for Erin and her boyfriend, Ryan, who also graduated. His family also attended, including his grandmother from Illinois. Erin is taking the summer off — she's earned it! — and then in August it's off to college in Reno.

Tucson Weekly has just printed a very insightful review of my Hughes book. It's here .