Nevada - January 2024
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?
And even though it’s not my bag, I have to admit that Las Vegas 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.
The Anchor: The Golden Nugget
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.
“Trent: Oh Mikey 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.
Mike: Oh this is definitely ‘old school’. This place is dead.”
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…
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.
Mom Pro-Tip:
If the city is your primary vacation destination and you’ve got kids in tow, skip downtown. Stay on the Strip and hit up one of the newer, more family-friendly hotels like the Mandalay Bay, the Excalibur or the Mirage.
The Pitstop: Fremont Street and Downtown
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 and 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.
Downtown Container Park: home to a kid’s play area with giant Legos and a huge climbing structure, live music, restaurants and shops.
Mom Pro-Tip: Check out Bin 702 at the Container Park. It’s 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.
It’s Showtime: Tournament of Kings
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..
The Mountains Are Calling: Mount Charleston
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.
The Trails Are Also Calling: Red Rock Canyon
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.
Willow Spring Trail
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.
Racing In The Desert: Pahrump
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!
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.
Did Y’all Eat?
I am definitely doing Vegas wrong because pretty much everyone - in real life and on the internet - tells me that Vegas has a world-class dining scene but the meals we had were just….fine.
100% do not recommend the Cadillac Mexican Kitchen in the Golden Nugget. I swear, I’ve had better late-night drunk meals at Taco Bell and the rest of the food we had was just…fine.
If you have recommendations, please let me know because this has got to be a me thing and not a Vegas thing.
A chain in 14 states from Nevada to California to Arizona to Illinois, the Black Bear has great coffee, huge omelettes (avocados and eggs are a revelation) and the best biscuits west of the Mississippi.
We stopped for lunch in Blue Diamond, a tiny town of about 268 people and Cottonwood Station 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.
Weirdly enough, we did find truly excellent Indian food at Pahrump.
This 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.
The Takeaway
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:
