There is more to Nevada than Las Vegas
The trip began at Dublin Airport with the new seasonal direct flight from Dublin to Las Vegas with Aer Lingus. This flight leaves in the afternoon, so all the morning US departures were already gone and this left getting through the US immigration process very quick. I had completed the MPC app at the airport which again added to the ease of going through immigration very quickly.
The flight itself was just over 9.5 hours direct into Las Vegas airport. Having collected our rental vehicle, it was a short 15-minute drive to our first hotel, the proximity of the airport to the strip in Las Vegas being a major advantage.
Our first night was spent at the Rio Las Vegas, this property is set back from the strip and therefore more economically priced due to its location. It’s an older hotel and the rooms are very spacious of which some have been newly renovated. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the hotel in Luckley Tavern & Grill which specialises in steak dishes. The following morning we got on the road early to take the one hour drive out to El Dorado Canyon where we found a wonderful wild west gold rush town. This area was famous for mining and we had the opportunity to go below ground to visit the mines and learn about the process and see the conditions they worked in. There are lots of outdoor exhibits to look at including antique machinery and a whole host of modified vehicles.
Our next stop was the Valley of Fire State Park which boasts miles of huge red sandstone formations in the Mohave Desert. The colour of the rocks were spectacular and there are a number of hiking trails, we could have spent more time here discovering all the unique features, but we had to push on to our next stop which was a 1.5 hour drive onwards to the town of Mesquite where we took part in an ATV experience. Mesquite Outdoor Rentals offer 2 or 4 seater ATV’s which you can hire from 2 hours to 24 hours with or without a guide. If you want to go solo, they will provide you with a tablet device with all the routes marked out so you can choose one which suits the time you have available or any points of interest you want to see. We had stunning views of the town of Mesquite and the neighbouring mountain ranges from here. Mesquite is famous for golf courses and ATV’s plus lots of ‘snowbirds’ head here during the winter for warmer temperatures. Once our adventure was over, we headed to our accommodation for the night which was the Virgin River Hotel in Mesquite. The next morning, we ventured to nearby Peggy Sue’s Diner for the traditional American breakfast served in an authentic 50’s style diner with juke box. We headed off on a 2.5-hour drive to Cathedral Gorge State Park where thousands of years of erosion has carved dramatic and unique patterns in the soft clay. This really is a photographer’s dream! There are a number of hikes you can do in the area to explore the cave formations and cathedral-like spires. From here we drove to Pioche for lunch, with it’s claim to being the ‘liveliest ghost town’ in Nevada. Sadly many of the businesses closed once the main mining industry stopped but it offers a glimpse of how life once was in these booming gold rush towns. We made a final stop to the Ward Charcoal Ovens enroute to our hotel, La Quinta Inn and Suites in the town of Ely.
The following morning, we ventured down to the Northern Nevada Railway Museum where you have great access to look around all the various buildings and sheds showcasing historic trains, artifacts and the vital role the railroad played in Nevada’s development. We had a chance encounter with the station manager who was very kind to start up one of the engines and take us on a short train ride. The whole museum is a dream for anyone interested in trains and machinery with access to the workshops and the engineers who are working to preserve the locomotives.
We headed back into Ely and took a walk around the many murals on display before taking a drive out to Great Basin National Park which is home to the Lehman Caves and a dark skies conservation area. The following morning, we left Ely and made our way to Kershaw Ryan State Park where there are a number of hiking trails and viewpoints to enjoy in very peaceful surroundings. After this we took the Extraterrestrial Highway to Little A’Le’Inn our lunch spot and centre of all things alien related. A short distance away is the Alien Research Centre and souvenir shop. If time was short, I would perhaps give this a miss unless you are really into aliens! We made our way back to Las Vegas for our final night where we stayed in Planet Hollywood on the main strip.
The Planet Hollywood is a modern hotel in a perfect location just opposite the Bellagio so its convenient for watching the fountain show. We took a taxi to Freemont Street which is about a 10 minute drive away from the strip. Anything goes on Freemont Street it’s a mix of old world hotels, zip wires, street entertainers and bright lights - it’s certainly worth a visit! The next day we had some free time before our flight home so I took the opportunity to visit some of the hotels on the strip and I would highly recommend you take a trip to the conservatory in the Bellagio where they have the most stunning floral displays.
I had been to Las Vegas before and done the main sights but never considered hiring a car and leaving the city behind to explore more of what Nevada had to offer. The scenery is epic, mountains and rock formations of all sorts of sizes and colours, vast open roads for miles with very little traffic and a friendly people who appreciate that you left the bright lights of Las Vegas to venture out into the smaller towns. A self-drive holiday in Nevada would be ideal for those who like easy driving on quiet roads, it’s really suitable for those that hire an RV as there are lots of sites to park at within the national parks which puts you right at the centre of some spectacular mountain scenery. Nevada is also famous for Route 50 – ‘The Loneliest Road in America’.
Important to note – each state park has an entry fee and it averages around $8- $20 per car, sometimes there are manned kiosk’s otherwise they operate on an honesty box system. Temperatures can vary greatly in Nevada; it is colder the further north you travel where we saw snow on the mountains so pack layers. However, we found Las Vegas in March to be very warm at 28 degrees!
