Vegas, Baby!
For someone whose kid has been dancing on bars since before he could stand unassisted, I’m pretty judgmental about Las Vegas.
But that’s less to do with the city’s reputation as a modern-day Gomorrah and more to do with the fact that at its core, Las Vegas is a pinball machine - bright, shiny, loud and chaotic.
And for me - that’s a little much.
Also, the only gambling I do is gastronomic. Like, what are the odds of me getting food poisoning if I eat that dahi puri?
Eh, whatever. I’ll take those odds. And make it spicy.
And even though it’s not my bag, I have to admit that it is a true 24-hour town with a boundless supply of…well, everything and has evolved from the world’s largest adult playground to a pretty family-friendly destination.
My husband took part in a racing experience in the Southern Nevada desert and since we were flying into Harry Reid (formerly McCarren) Airport anyway, we figured we might as well stick around Sin City for a day or two.
We stayed right on Fremont Street at one of the city’s oldest casinos, the Golden Nugget.
“You don’t want all that “Pirates Of The Caribbean” horseshit, or the “Rock and Roll Grunge Tip.” Guys like you and me gotta kick it here, old school.”
If you’re looking for old-school Vegas, this place definitely fits the bill - brown and orange color scheme, a casino floor redolent with the smell of cigarette smoke, Vegas odds someone met two waitresses and pulled a Fredo and music thumping from Fremont Street well into the night.
Luckily, Will is a deep sleeper. I am not and shout-out to the Nug for providing earplugs for their guests because I swear to God, if I had to hear that goddamn Chainsmokers song one more time…
My advice - if the city is your primary vacation destination and you’ve got kids in tow - stay on the Strip and hit up one of the newer, more family-friendly hotels like the Mandalay Bay, the Excalibur or the Mirage (which is currently in the process of turning into a Hard Rock).
Since we were only there for two nights and just needed a place to crash and take a hot shower, the Golden Nugget worked out fine for us.
Vegas is a perpetual entertainment machine and offers a truly overwhelming array of things to do but we kept it pretty simple - the Fremont Street Experience (straight chaos - lights, live music, street performers, the whole ten because Vegas doesn’t stop at nine), Gold and Silver Pawn (home of the Pawn Stars reality show - some cool Picassos but other than that? Skip it) and Downtown Container Park, home to a kid’s play area with giant Legos and a huge climbing structure, live music, restaurants, shops and Bin 702 - a cute little bar with the genius idea of selling spiked hot spiced cider. We got one with Jameson and one with amaretto - both of which were really welcome on a 50° day in the desert.
If you’re going to Vegas, you should try and catch a show.
The city offers everything from The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil to Michael Jackson One to the Blue Man Group to Adele’s residency at Caesar’s Palace.
Unfortunately, neither Wu-Tang nor Cristina Aguilera’s residencies had started yet so we ended up at the nest best thing - Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur which is basically Vegas’ version of Medieval Times complete with pyrotechnics, jousting, eating cornish hen without utensils and tankards of the finest ale…or Vegas tap water.
Will seemed to enjoy the show but he’s three.
If it’s not about dinosaurs, it doesn’t hold his attention and he gets a little squirmy.
However, if your kids are into horses, pyros and yelling in public, they’ll love it. It’s super interactive and the performers were really into giving the audience that ol’ razzle dazzle.
Would I do it again? Probably not unless Will requested it by name. I mean, Medieval Times is two and a half hours away and right down the street from The Fox and Hounds.
Two days in Vegas was more than enough for me and I can safely say that I love the city from the rear view.
Everyone should go there at least once - preferably when they’re in their twenties, have a much higher tolerance for this sort of stuff and are cooler than I am.
After a fantastic and huge breakfast at the Black Bear Diner - guys, avocado in omelettes are revelatory - we headed to John’s racing experience at the Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Performance Driving School in Pahrump, Nevada - smack dab between Vegas and Death Valley and known for its two legal brothels!
After the kinetic chaos of Vegas, I was thrilled to stop in Mount Charleston in the Springs Mountain range.
The air was crisp and cold, it was serene and Will got a chance to see snow again which he quickly learned was both cold and slippery.
I’ve been reading a lot of John Muir lately. He was the co-founder of the Sierra Club and considered the patron saint of the American Wilderness.
“The mountains are calling and I must go,” - that quote you see slapped all over sweatshirts and tumblers? That’s a Muir line.
I’m not an outdoorsy kind of girl. I don’t hike (much), climb or kayak. I’m a 40-year-old woman with soft tissue damage in her feet and painful arthritis and yet, I am learning that I am more at peace and more happy when I’m outside and in the mountain air than I am anywhere else.
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”
We had a noon reservation at Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area so we headed back down the mountain and that’s where the fun really started.
The park features a 13 mile scenic drive with a ton of little pulloffs where you can explore further on foot. Of course, the day we visited was not only blisteringly cold but windy as hell.
I think the temperature was in the mid 30s but with the wind, it felt closer to the low 20s which is cold for anyone but especially cold for a South Floridian family.
This was probably Will’s favorite part of the trip. Due in no small part to the fact that we found an easy trail called Willow Spring.
Convinced it was named after him, Will went clambering away over the rocks and we had a great time exploring the outdoors and appreciating the fact that we were in a beautiful place that doesn’t look or feel anything like home.
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail.”
We stopped for lunch in Blue Diamond, a tiny town of about 268 people. The Cottonwood Station Eatery delivered in a big way, especially since we were starving after our cold hike. Not only did I have the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten - guys, why aren’t we all putting bechamel in our grilled cheeses? - but they also made Will’s day with a huge soft pretzel.
Then, it was on to Pahrump.
Pahrump is a place to race cars or lay your head after a long day of exploring Death Valley. It is not really a kid-friendly place. The Spring Mountain Motor Resort is well appointed and really nice but a decidedly adult spot. Had it just been the two of us, I would have bundled up and spent two days drinking spiked hot chocolate by the track and reading but that’s not an option when you have a toddler in tow. So Will and I hung out in the room, watched TV, told stories, played with dinosaurs and ventured out for really brief periods in the afternoon when the sun helped abate the bone-chilling cold.
Weirdly enough, we did find truly excellent Indian food at Pahrump.
The Pourhouse is a sports bar/pizza joint/Indian restaurant and while it won’t win any awards for decor, the food is phenomenal - genuinely spicy and well seasoned malai kofta with the best onion-basil naan I’ve ever had in my life. This might be the best food in town.
And then, we were chasing the sun to California (blog post coming).
“I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
I love Nevada and I can’t wait to return - to Vegas if Madonna ever does a residency and to drink overpriced gin at the Juniper Cocktail Lounge and to the rest of the state - Lake Mead, Lake Tahoe, the Hoover Dam and Cathedral Gorge.
In the meantime, though? I’ll watch Godfather II, plan out hikes and remember that if nothing else
