Town of Paradise does exists. Who knew I would be driving through a town when visiting the City of…read moreLas Vegas? Here's how I came across this revelation... I was heading to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Per Google Map, I can get from A to B without having to drive on Las Vegas Blvd. Sometimes it's much faster driving the back streets than the main attraction street, Las Vegas Blvd. Koval Lane and Paradise Road are key streets that go from south to north. Cool! Paradise is an unincorporated town adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It contains "Harry Reid International Airport; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV); the majority of the Las Vegas Strip; and most of the tourist attractions in the Las Vegas area (excluding downtown). However, all Paradise addresses, as well as other unincorporated areas in the Las Vegas Valley, have "Las Vegas" addresses." Who knew? Now we know!

Take me down / to the literal Paradise City / where there is no grass / and the roaches breed…read morefreely! Feels weird for a place with The Strip, UNLV, and McCarran airport to be a "town", but I didn't make the rules. If you aren't familiar, what most people think of as "Las Vegas" is actually a patchwork of smaller cities, towns and unincorporated areas. Actual Las Vegas is really a pretty small area. The Strip up to about where Circus Circus is is in Paradise, the rest is actually in Las Vegas. Paradise is a rough box shape with Decatur as the west border, Desert Inn as the north, Nellis to the east and Sunset to the south, with an annex stretching down south of McCarran just far enough to engulf Silverado Ranch. Though most of the Strip is here I hope people won't review the Strip in here. I'm not going to. The Strip has its own entry packed full of tourists making inane superficial observations that are of no help to anyone. I feel like this should be more about daily life in and around, considering most locals tend to not go to The Strip unless they work there. Or are peddling drugs/ass there. Which I guess is work, really. So if you've lived here, like me, you can say you lived in Paradise for a year and it's technically true. "I didn't find it to be that, exactly" - Sam Elliott. It's not the worst place to live and it's not the best. It has serious trouble spots, mostly along the eastern edge as you get close to Boulder Hwy (which is some level of trouble all the way up and down). But I also never found it to be TOO dangerous or TOO dingy. I've lived in a lotta worse places, and there's a lot that I actually enjoy about the place. It's started to feel like weird, busted home to me. Not a place that I want to settle down forever, but a place that I'm happy to come back to. UNLV is the big showpiece to me, outside of the casinos. What a great school with so many great resources. I'm not gonna list them though because I don't need you hornin' in on my hustle. Worst part is the roaches. They cool out in the colder months but maaan are they out in force when it gets warm. Like every possible variety from around the world is living just underneath the town in like hellish Cockroach Fraggle Rock. You basically have to live up off ground level here, it doesn't stop them completely but it does seem to make a big difference. Living in a legitimate 24 hour area is also really nice if you gotta keep weird hours sometimes. Eh. I can deal with it. You can do a whole lot worse.

A historically cool landmark…read more.. While we were hiking with Norm in Las Vegas, he mentioned The Last Spike. It sounded so awesome... it's a significantly important spot where the two teams of railroad track builders met and completed their mission! Alana and I set out to find The Last Spike. We followed the Yelp directions and walked from Las Vegas Boulevard to the railroad track, across and south of the Seven Magic Mountains. We were unable to find the marker. However, I found some loose, rusty spikes. Alana explained that they are dislodged with the vibration of the trains on the tracks...wow! Anyway, using Google maps, Alana found the informational sign across from where The Last Spike should be. It's on the same side of the road as Seven Magic Mountains and south of it. Hopefully, you'll be able to find it if you decide to take a look. It's an interesting piece of history !

Trying to find this sign should have been so easy! If only the location pin was in the proper…read moreplace! Nadine & I trekked from S. Las Vegas Blvd to the railroad tracks over uneven desert sand, rocks, a small trench, cacti, and other things. It would have all been okay if I hadn't been doing this with recently bruised ribs! Sadly, we didn't even need to be out this way! After safely getting back to the car, I took a look on Google and found the right location. When in doubt, Google it! It is south of the location pin on Yelp. If you are coming from the Seven Magic Mountains (or Las Vegas), head south and it is on the same side of the road. If you pass the train bridge which crosses the road, you've gone just a little too far. This Last Spike is Nevada Historical Marker 195. This location is near where workers drove the last spike on January 30, 1905. It's always good to learn a little history. This was a neat piece of history to learn! There is a gravel path where you can drive right up to the sign. The Kia Soul made it up just fine. If you have doubts about driving on it, you can park near the entrance. There was a huge silver sign that we didn't see, maybe it is now gone? It said, "Track crews constructing West from Salt Lake City met track crews constructing East from Los Angeles". This sign should have been visible when we wandered to the tracks. I hope you will find this more easily than we did! I must say, we did have quite the adventure!!

We went to Las Vegas' Chinatown every day for shopping, sightseeing, and dining!…read more There's so much to see, do, and eat in Chinatown! It's cleaner and larger than Honolulu's Chinatown! Plus, there are many cultures represented here! Bonus: free parking lots everywhere! We always go to Chinatown in Las Vegas... it's a must do, must see, must go place!

Although "Revolutionary" Rotisserie Chicken may not work in Chinatown, you'd be hard-pressed to…read morefind a better stretch of good eating anywhere in Vegas for such good prices. From Shanghai Taste to Mr. BBQ and Mama Chai's to Co Anh recent visits have all been excellent while oldschool favorites like Raku and Sora Ramen still hold their own.

I took a tour of Hacienda Palomino. This is also known as the Thriller Villa because it's where…read moreMichael Jackson lived in Las Vegas the last two years of his life. The house is privately owned and it's where many of the things from the Liberace Museum now reside. The tour I took was lead by Jonathan Warren, an expert on the life of Liberace. He's also is an expert in describing the Liberace items in the mansion. The tour lasted three hours and was very informative. The whole hacienda is not covered but the section closest to Palomino Lane is where the Liberace memorabilia is located. Reservations must be made for the tour. I was the only person yesterday because some that were scheduled needed to change their tour date. It was a fantastic tour. I had been to the Liberace Museum before it closed, but I never would know what I do now because of Mr. Warren's encyclopedic memory!

Marking the 2nd anniversary of the death of the King of Pop Michael Jackson,…read morehis private residence, Hacienda Palomino was open to the public today. MJ fans got to take a little peak into the estate where he and his family spent time in Las Vegas for the last two years of his life. Here's some info and facts taken from the Facebook page: For Michael Jackson fans, this is the experience of a lifetime! Hacienda Palomino, the Las Vegas estate where Michael lived for the last two years of his life is the only place where you will be able to go to pay your respects, leave your flowers, and walk where The King of Pop walked, lived, dreamed, and created. He lived here with his children and security detail in complete privacy.... -Hacienda Palomino was brought over BRICK-BY-BRICK from Mexico in 1952 -1.7 Acres -7 Bedrooms, 12 Baths -Chapel, Loggia, Columnade, Garages, Kitchens, Guest House, Conference Room, Formal Dining Room, Elevator, Secret Tunnel, Sound Systems, Maids Quarters, and much more.... -Value $12 Million Only a section of the estate was open to the public, but in the future, there may be guided tours of the estate in the works...ALOHA!!!

This is kind of a cool stop, if you're in the area. I wouldn't suggest anyone go out of their way,…read moresince you can't go inside. The owner does give private tours...there's information on the Liberace Mansion website. Hoping they give public tours in the future!

Today was amazing. We booked a private tour of Liberace's mansion. The amount of care and energy…read moreput into restoring this timeless piece of history really shows. Jason, our guide was very well informed. He answered all our questions, explained some Vegas history and didn't rush us through the experience. If you have the time, ability and can plan in advance, this is a must see.

I lived in Nevada for almost 30 years and in each of the 3 corners (you'll see it in a map) of the…read morestate-from Carson City & Reno to Ely & Elko and for 13 years in Las Vegas. I've traveled, camped and hiked in the mountains and desert-that covers the wide, open spaces outside of those towns. Each area has its own beauty. It's called the basin and range because as you cross the state from West to East there are mountains with deserts in between. Driving Highway 50, called the loneliest road in America from Carson City to Ely travels across long valleys of desert then into small mountains towns like Austin and Eureka. Carson City-Reno area is beautiful with desert area and snow covered mountains around. You can drive to Lake Tahoe to ski in the morning and be back down in sunshine in the afternoon. The desert lakes like Pyramind (outside of Reno) are magical in stillness and wildness. I've seen wild horses in my backyard while having coffee in the morning. Fallon, a farming area east of Reno is the location for the Top Gun school after it moved from California's coast. Ely, a high desert town on the eastern side of the state, is isolated-with ghost towns near Ruth, which still has mining going on today. When I lived there, I would see Ely as the coldest place, in the contiguous states, on Good Morning America. There are beautiful lakes, like Cave Lake, outside of town with great fishing-in summer or even in the winter for ice fishing. I've hiked the mountains to areas where few people have ever been. Then to the bright lights of Las Vegas. I lived in Vegas for 13 years. When I moved there, it, surprisingly, had a small town feel in the communities away from the strip and still may, though those communities are growing. When you live in LV, you tend to only go to the strip when visitors came to town to visit. Friends from out of town would often know more about new things on the strip than I did. Vegas has temperatures that rise to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to freezing in the winter. There is something so funny about watching my high school students run outside when it starts to snow-a fairly rare event-and scoop up an entire yard full of snow to make one tiny snowman. They also run out when it rains because Nevada gets under 10 inches of rain per year (USclimatedata.com) but I've seen years with less. But when it does rain, it rains hard causing flooding in intersections and low lying areas. When I moved there, one low spot under train tracks would close because it would fill almost to the top with water. Rain causes flash flood dangers in canyons and dry riverbeds so even if it's not raining where you are, rain from the mountains can make its way down. Red rock and the Valley of Fire are must see spots if you go to LV. I used to recommend Lake Mead (formed by damming the Colorado River) but it's water level is frighteningly low from years of poor snowfall in the northern areas of the Colorado river. Where else can you stay at the A'Le Inn (pronounces alien) on the Extraterrestrial Highway, in the town of Rachel (though it's address says Alamo), on the outskirts of the Test Site's Area 51. Be sure to get some alien E.T jerky before you leave. Nevada has the Great Basin National Park outside of the Ely area. It has great hiking to the ancient Bristlecone pines to caves with unique stalagtite-stalagmite formations. It's a great way to get cool during the heat of the day. They used to do lantern tours so you could experience total darkness but it's been a while since I've been there. Nevada is definitely a state to experience. It is more than the casino towns of Reno and Las Vegas. I definitely recommend visiting some of the outdoor wonders that it offers.

First off, if you dont gamble, or have a substance issue vegas wont be for you…read more Many people walking around here are either former addicts or current addicts. (I live here so I know). Second off vegas is dirty. You might live in a cute cookie cutter doll house in an HOA neighborhood but have horrible neighbors living next door who rent, Trash all over the streets in neighborhoods that no one picks up. You have to call the city or clean it yourself if you dont like it. Other than that, fairly cheap living with low paying jobs and lots of mountains in nevada. The libraries are a joke. They barely have adult educational books in most of them. Choose wisely before moving here. People can bag on cali all they want but at least there are some people with class living there.

My Apocalypse Vegas Experience has started in North Las Vegas and ladies & gentleman its real. WOW,…read moreI was heading to tour Neon Museum and decided to continue my drive deep into North Las Vegas where no man or woman should drive and discovered the end of the world here! Fellow travelers the Zombie Apocalypse Is real as it get and they live on the streets of North Las Vegas. So I'm driving and the first thing I see is an actual street walking prostitute getting ready for some Friday night tricks, needless to say I didn't stop and say hi.... As my drive continued into the waist-land of human carnage laid upon the streets in cardboard boxes, plastic tents and cement beds I also noticed the wheelchairs (vehicle of choice ) that people sitting around in. You can see the countless police cruisers handling some multiple incidents, so if you wanna watch just follow the flashing blue lights and it's no K-Mart Special happening. This went on for miles while I drove. A few casinos actually existed but you'd take your own life trying to get from parking to the doors without getting clubbed over your skull and robbed. ( Safety NOTE ), so be careful while driving cause people just start walking across the street no matter how fast your driving. I almost had some road kill mounted to the hood of my car while heading out of town for some person just walking ( HELLO RED HAND LIGHT IS FOR TO STOP ) and I even had a green light to drive...I'm fairly sure if you came into contact with anyone in this area you defiantly has a 100% chance of getting either HIV, CV19 or some new immune deficiency that's not been detected. Maybe you wanna take the kids to scare them about the dangers of drugs but you may scar them for life. But if you do I expect a family photo to be posted on YELP... Now if you do journey into North Las Vegas lock your doors cause you've been warned! Aloha

Journey To The West is a magnificent sculpture based from a Chinese novel. It's located in…read moreChinatown Plaza and there's ample parking. According to the plaque, it describes the novel as "the amazing adventures of Priest Xuanzang and his three disciples, the irreverent monkey, the greedy but lovable pig, and a hardworking river goblin as they go on the journey in search of Buddhist sutras." Furthermore, "In spite of all the trials and tribulations along the way, they are successful in reaching their goal" which is "the Palace in Western Heaven where the Buddha lives." It's a rather interesting story and the sculpture is a lovely representation of the novel!

Beautiful statue of depicting the 5 main characters from Journey to the West (西遊記) in the Las Vegas…read moreChinatown Plaza. Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Tang Sanzang, Sha Wujing, and White Dragon Horse. Although Las Vegas Chinatown is very tiny, this statue makes it unique for this specific Chinatown. As a Chinese kid growing up a big fan of 西遊記 and watching different adaptations of the story, this statue is most definitely worth taking pictures and videos of.