We have relatives who lived in Las Vegas. We have visited several times. We don’t gamble, we don’t go to shows and we don’t enjoy the glitz of The Strip. What we strive for when we go to Vegas is to enjoy some of the more out of the way places. If you travel to the Hoover Dam, be prepared for lots of people and security more stringent than any airport! It is hard to believe that just 10 miles west of Las Vegas you can feel 100 miles away! Las Vegas is at the southern tip of Nevada.

Attractions in Las Vegas Area

Clarke County Shooting Range is located northwest of the city. If you have any interest in shooting (pistol, rifle, archery) and you are in the area, this is one of the largest ranges around. There are FHU sites for RVs, so you never have to leave!

The Hoover Dam is about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. It is a concrete dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, with Nevada on one side of the Colorado, Arizona on the other side of the Colorado. Construction began in 1931. Once completed, it was dedicated on September 30, 1935 by President Franklin Roosevelt. Be prepared for a car search to enter the Dam area, and then a TSA like search before entering the exhibit area. It is estimated there are seven million visitors per year. At $10 per visitor and $10 to park your car someone is making a lot of money!

Red Rock Canyon is about 20 miles west of Las Vegas. If you go west from the Red Rock Casino, within 10 minutes you are in the Red Rock Canyon area. You can no longer see Las Vegas, and your cell phone is officially out of range. The drive is gorgeous! Just after crossing into the canyon, to the north you will see a 13-mile scenic drive loop. The landscape is beautiful! If you continue west, you will end up at Bonnie Springs.

The Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino was our one concession to going on The Strip. Once inside you’ll see sharks, exotic fish, and get to experience a “sea-tunnel” that makes it feel like you are at the bottom of the ocean. The sea tunnel is made from glass and it feels like you are walking in the ocean with all the fish swimming beside you and over your head! Quite the experience! There is also a touch pool for you to feel all kinds of sea creatures.

Home Base: The Campground

For us, a campground is not our destination. Our RV is self-contained. Except for water, electric and sewer rarely do we use campground services or amenities. We are explorers, not campground reviewers!

We stayed on site 356 at the KOA Journey at Sam’s Casino. There is 30 and 50 amp service available. The campground was clean and well maintained. Our full hook up (water-sewer-electric) site was on level crushed stone. Our pull through site was long enough to leave the Jeep hooked up and still have both vehicles off the road. We had two shade trees which helped in the 100-degree heat! There was good cell phone coverage (Verizon) and a good open southern sky for our satellite.

Fun Facts

Ready for a little mind-boggling piece of trivia? The Silver State, Nevada, is home to more ghost towns than actual populated ones!

Sixty-three percent of Nevada (forty-eight million acres) is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Area 51 is located 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas, near the small towns of Rachel and Hiko. Area 51 is a U.S Air Force installation that has become infamous for a speculated connection with unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Conspiracy theories surrounding the base suggest that it is used for the testing of alien technology recovered from supposed crash sites, like the famous “incident” in Roswell. All this is fueled by the fact that the base was a secret for many years and is still inaccessible to the general public.

	Las Vegas
Population:	678,922
Elevation:	2,001 ft.
Founded:	1905
Average income:	$70,723
Average price of housing:	$422,428
Median age of the population:	39 yrs.
Website:	https://www.vegas.com/

Summary

Las Vegas is not all glitz. There are many other things to draw someone to visit, though admittedly now that our relatives have left the area, it is unlikely we will return. Isn’t it wonderful there are so many places across the country that have something for everyone?

Since beginning our full-time journey to discover the country, we have found something to appreciate in every city and town we have passed through. We hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we have enjoyed discovering them!

Your partners in travel,
Kathryn and Dave
RVing Nomads

It’s a lifestyle

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• We have visited each town, attraction and restaurant we are writing about. • No person, business or attraction has paid us for an endorsement. • AI has not been used to write any of the content of this blog. • All the photos in this blog were taken by Dave or Kathryn Harrington.