At Sunset in the Charleston Mountains

Yes, Las Vegas is in a desert. But, for those who like mountains, take heart, they are quite close. In fact, the mountains are closer than most people think. The mountains that are so close to Las Vegas are called the Charleston Mountains, whose peaks rise to above 10,000 feet (Las Vegas has an elevation of around 2000 feet). (more…)

Fremont Casino in Las Vegas

This is the 2nd gallery that showcases Fremont Street in Las Vegas (view first gallery).  If you aren’t familiar with Fremont Street, or perhaps never heard of it before, Fremont Street is the way Las Vegas used to be. You won’t find any new, first-class, ritzy casinos here. And the casinos are all far smaller than the monsters you find down on the Las Vegas Strip. (more…)

The Fremont Street Light Show & the 4 Queens Casino

Fremont Street in Las Vegas is the way most of Las Vegas used to be. Neon lights, accessible “gentlemen’s clubs”, inexpensive rooms, cheap (if not necessarily good) food, cheap touristy trinkets, and the list goes on. And all that, and more, is why I rather like visiting Fremont Street. You see, as the rest of Las Vegas has gone through a boom (and now, for the time being, a bust), and caters to the higher end visitors, Fremont Street still caters to the visitors who visit Las Vegas on a budget. (more…)

Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park

Great Basin National Park is the lone National Park in Nevada. It is also, compared to most other National Parks, seldom visited. And, consideirng how beautiful the place is, I guess that is a good thing.

This is the second photo gallery on this site that showcases Great Basin National Park. This gallery shows photos taken of the high peaks of the park from the west side, particularly from the Spring Valley. (more…)

The Mad Driver in Great Basin National Park

This is a strange gallery, admittedly. Great Basin National Park is located 5 miles from Baker, NV…at the end of the road called Highway 488. This road, which runs up towards the park on a rather steep and very steady upgrade…is incredibly scenic to drive as the peaks of the park totally dominate the view.

Yet, there are other things to look at on the drive up to Great Basin National Park from Baker. You see, strung out all along the road between Baker and the parks entrance, is a significant collection of what I call “Fencepost Art.” Sometime in the past, perhaps out of boredom, either people from Baker itself or people who happened to be visiting the park, began to create odd and very unique pieces of art along the highway. Some of these art pieces are on the fence posts. Others are on the ground. Yet others are in old and rusted out cars. (more…)

River Crossing in the Monitor Valley

The Monitor Valley is a huge and beautiful valley located in Central Nevada. The valley stretches for more than 60 miles in length and averages 10-20 miles in width. One road…a gravel road called the Belmont Road…runs through the entire valley. This road begins on the north at Highway 50. Or, you can access this road in Belmont, Nevada (which more or less marks the southern end of the Monitor Valley). (more…)

High Peaks of the Toquima Range

The Monitor Valley is one very, very lonely and isolated place. How lonely? Simple…the valley contains exactly ZERO towns. Zero services. And, as far as residences go…with the exception of a handful (and I do mean a handful, like two) of isolated ranches, the valley is for all purposes uninhabited.

And it isn’t like the valley is small, either. The Monitor Valley stretches all the way between Highway 50 (on the North end) down to historic town of Belmont (on the South end)…for a distance of over 60 miles! The valley also is very wide, similar to other Nevada valleys…having a width that varies between 10 to 20 miles. (more…)

The Bellagio Hotel & Casino at Dusk

The Bellagio Hotel and Casino is one of the finest hotels in town and also plays host to what is in my opinion the finest free sight available…the nightly showing of the Fountains of the Bellagio. These fountains…and there are hundreds of them…prople water 100 feet into the air, all of which is choreographed to different music. The fountain show is fun, beautiful to watch and is just soooooo Las Vegas…being totally different from anything you’ll find anywhere else. (more…)