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.

Here is the big red shoe. Las Vegas is filled with random statues and public art. This is another…read morecool example of it right when you enter downtown Vegas. It is hanging in the middle of the air next to a few shops. No idea why it is here but its here and its cool to see

They do a great job bringing tourists in to the city that is home to Boulder dam and the train…read moremuseum. Lots of historic buildings and great places to eat

The Magic Kingdom is the Happiest Place on Earth. With the happiest hiking trails, lake, and…read moredowntown in Nevada, Boulder City is the Happiest Place in Nevada. In my eyes Boulder City is the Magic Kingdom of Nevada. Where Disney Land's mascot is a mouse, Boulder City's is a big horn sheep. This review talks about the different lands that are the components of the Magic Kingdom of Nevada that is Boulder City (abbreviated BC). Main Street USA BC features a central business district that was built with the principles of town planning. It features two Main Streets: Nevada Way & Arizona Street. When the founders built the town in the 30's, it was designed so residents would not want to leave to drink & gamble. In similar fashion to good town planning, there is abundant greenery. If you picture Washington D.C.; Boulder City Square & Wilbur Square are the Mall. The Bureau of Reclamation Building, sitting on a hill would be the Capitol. There is so much to see & do. This includes Coffee Cup, Boulder Bowl, antique shops, Boulder Theater, & the Historic Boulder Dam Hotel. Events are held throughout the year. Adventure Land BC is a land of adventure. Bootleg Canyon is world known for the highly acclaimed bike trails. From high above Bootleg Canyon, a popular adventure is ziplining down Red Mountain. For the hard core adventurists, Gold Strike Canyon is a place to play Indiana Jones while you climb ropes and slide down death slides on the way to the Colorado River. My favorite adventure is to hike up Red & Black Mountain to see awesome views of Vegas, Lake Mead, & Boulder City. Lake Mead National Recreation Area offers infinite adventures. Boulder City Stone Circle offers adventures for astronomers. In 2005 Pluto was observed from this spot. And If your a golfer, the three golf courses offer adventures in golf. Frontier Land What a dam frontier BC is. In the 30's it was the hub for building Hoover Dam. With the electricity generation Hoover Dam accelerated the settlement of the southwest. The Historic Southern Nevada Railroad played a major role. Today people could ride in a Historic Nevada Railroad train on weekends in addition to experiencing the Southern Nevada Railroad Museum. Recently when the Memorial Bridge opened, it expanded the Las Vegas frontier into northern Arizona. There is discussion of major developments being built along US 93. At a higher elevation from Hoover Dam, the Frontier Land landmark would be Red & Black Mountain. Instead of a railroad, it is a hiking trail. Fantasy Land When I drive US 93 into BC, I am on the Journey to Imagination. BC is a place where fantasy comes true. It is a Fantasy Land where the dream of walking through 5 tunnels to one of the Wonders of the World comes true. It is a Fantasy Land where the pixie dust of the Hoover Dam created an inland sea known as Lake Mead. On this sea recreationists could ride in water craft or enjoy a boat tour. It is a Fantasy Land where the dream of sharing a picnic with big horn sheep comes true. And it is a fantasy land where people could share solitary moments in a valley with teddy bear cholla. At night I have lived my fantasies of walking on a dark River Mountains Loop Trail under the stars without the fear of getting jumped. It is a fantasy come true that brings me to Boulder City for night walks. Tomorrow Land BC is the city of tomorrow. It is a city designed with progressive zoning. The City Code of BC limits development to 120 single or multi-family residential permits per year. Voter approval is mandatory for the approval of city land an acre or more. It is a Tomorrow Land where power centers and sprawl are not in the horizon. BC is a Tomorrow Land that will include the Bypass of the Future I-11. It is a Tomorrow Land where people will be closer to nature than to space. At 202.7 square miles, BC has sufficient room to grow. Fast Pass to Bypass Line of Traffic In BC, people line up in cars. US 93 is known for its traffic headache. To bypass the gridlock on US 93 and Buchanan Boulevard, Lake Mead and Hoover Dam bound motorists use the fast pass to bypass a line of traffic. Here it is: At the first traffic signal on US 93 at the end of the freeway; turn right on Veterans Memorial Drive. At the traffic signal, turn left on Adams Blvd. At the 4-way stop, turn left on Buchanan Blvd. This ought to bypass the gridlock. Admission Boulder City is a public city. Admission is free. However if you drive a few miles above the speed limit, there will be a steep admission to enter the Magic Kingdom of Nevada. **Review 76 of The Daniel S. Yelp 100 Challenge.**

If you compare this to using the 15 freeway and the 95 freeway, yes, this is the best one, in terms…read moreof congestion, when there are no construction zones. (I am so used to this one, that I hate going on the other ones, true story.) But, like I said in my review of the 215 Beltway, there is no middle ground here, there are so many Speeders and so many Slow-mo's. If you have a driver tracking App like me, you want to keep it to a certain speed. But if you drive properly, use the signals, check your blind spots, and keep gas in your tank, (disregard, Electric vehicle drivers) you should be alright. I use this one every morning and every afternoon unless I have errands. My home is located near the exit, so it's really convenient for me to use. As realtors would say, "Location, Location, Location."

It flows. Lacking the congested 15 freeway touristing near the strip.read more

Not sure why this is called a ghost town. We drove through the Town of Nelson to get here. Though…read moretiny, it is still an active town. There were no remnants of a town here. Just the adjacent mine owners living quarters, some old buildings and a shitload of clutter - beat up old school buses, campers, dead vehicles, even crashed airplanes. Came here to actually take the mine tour. Which I will review separately. But there is no point in visiting this non-existent ghost town unless you want a tour of the mine.

After living in Nevada for almost a decade, we finally made it to the ghost town and mine…read more Highly highly recommend making a reservation. They will sell out, especially on the weekends. We made a reservation for a Friday tour a few days beforehand. Thankfully, we did because it was sold out. To make sure you are putting in the correct address just copy and paste directly from the business website. It was actually very easy to get there. Once you arrive, there is parking right in front of the general store and across the street. The location literally looks like it's out of a movie. In fact, several movies were filmed here, including 3000 miles to Graceland. Be sure to check in once you arrive and they will tell you where to wait for the tour. It is $20 each. They do take cash or card. There is a gift shop as well as some food and drinks for purchase. While you wait for your tour, you can look around the grounds which has old buildings as well as vehicles and other points of interest. The tour starts outside of the general store where the tour guide tells you some basic information. You then move inside for another presentation with photos and videos. The walk to the mine is roughly about a quarter mile. It is an easy walk, but it is not paved. The temperature inside the mine is about 68°. They do advise you to bring a light jacket, but I don't think one was really necessary. You spend roughly an hour inside the mine. The tour guide will show you different tools and actually use them and point out different types of rocks and mining techniques. It was very informational, but also fun at the same time. I highly recommend for all ages!

2nd of 4, 4th of July visits in honor of America 250. Sadly, the restaurant my parents & I ate at…read moreon July 4, 2019 in Henderson is out of business. My parents lived in Phoenix until 2021 before they moved to Lancaster, PA to be closer to their only kid, me. I had a wedding in Vegas on Saturday, July 6, 2019. I flew into Phoenix on night of June 30, spent 3 full days in my hometown, and then my dad drove us on July 4, and I flew out July 9. I had been to Vegas over a dozen times over the years, mainly in 90's & 2000's while living in Phoenix. Since living in the DC area, 2011-present, I visited 3 times, December 2013, July 2019 (wedding), & November 2019 (another wedding). I had been to the Welcome to Vegas sign a couple of times. When I was a kid in 1995 on my first trip to Vegas, we stayed at the Stardust Hotel. But Vegas has changed a lot since then, a lot of places from the old days. Stardust closed in 2006, and Frontier next door closed in 2007. New fancier hotels or other things take over. Funny thing speaking of America 250, Stardust opened on July 2, 1958, just in time for 4th of July that year. Welcome to Vegas sign is a must visit photo op when visiting. I've been there a few of the times. It's a must visit to try to get out there both day & night. At night the sign lights up. Day it's a different vibe, but both are cool times to visit. There's just enough parking between the north & southbound lanes of Las Vegas Blvd., where the sign is located. You may have to wait a little bit to get your photo in front as there could be a line of people waiting to get a selfie or photo. One year after the Stardust hotel opened, the Welcome to Vegas sign opened in 1959. It's always been considered the southern edge of the Vegas strip. Further south, you have McCarren International Airport runway very close to Las Vegas Blvd. and in the 50's was mainly just open desert but has been developed with shopping centers, etc. Hacienda Hotel was the southern most casino, just north of the Welcome to Vegas sign, from 1958 to 1996, and the much fancier Mandalay Bay Hotel opened its place in 1999. The interesting thing is that much of the Vegas Strip is in unincorporated Clark County and not actually in the City of Las Vegas. You aren't technically in Vegas proper for another 4 miles at Sahara Ave., at the far northern part of the Strip where Sahara Hotel is (southside still unincorporated) and north is where The Strat (Stratosphere) is actually in City of Las Vegas. But this Welcome to Vegas sign is a promotional sign and not an official city limits sign. On July 4, 2019, my parents & I took some photos of the Vegas sign that day. Likewise, got night pics from Vegas trip in November 2019. Overall, highly recommend a visit to Vegas sign both day & night.

What's up: Despite visiting Vegas several times before, I have never done the tourist thing and…read moregotten a picture with the Las Vegas sign. Since I'll be staying at a hotel nearby, I made it my goal to go to the sign. Parking: They have a small parking lot where cars can safely park in the between the northbound and southbound lanes of S Las Vegas Blvd. Environment: Since I was staying nearby, I made going to the Sign part of my early morning run. The streets were well maintained and before you know it, you're at the sign. Did you know? The sign is part of the National Register of Historic Places; there's an informational placard that proves historical information about it. The place can get busy later in the day when the crowds come, but luckily, there weren't too many people in the early morning. I got my pic and continued on. Yay/Nay/Meh: Yay. It's the touristy thing to do and I just had to do it at least once. One more thing I got checked off my list, woohoo!

"Man has always sought to express and preserve the magnitude of his exploits in symbols...They form…read morethe connecting link between the spiritual and the material world. They are the shadows cast by the realities of the soul." -- Oskar J.W. Hansen in 1928 This is an awesome Landmark at Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nevada... When you visit Hoover Dam, one of the Engineering Wonders of the World, you can't help but notice this magnificent masterpiece! To me, The Winged Figures of the Republic looks like two gigantic angels guarding our American Flag and reaching up to the Heavens - like a bridge between Earth and upwards - connecting us with the Universe! In the 1930's, a sculptor named Oskar J.W. Hansen entered a contest and his design won! He was born in Norway, immigrated to the USA, became a citizen, entered the US Army, retired, and became a well-known Artist and Sculptor. His Winged Figures of The Republic are made from over 4 tons of bronze. The two figures - with wings measuring more than 30 feet tall - sit on black diorite - all of these were lifted by cranes and set on blocks of ice so that everything could be adjusted precisely as the ice melted. What a creative and smart way to construct this unique Public Artwork! In front of the 14-story (142 feet) flagpole is a mosaic floor depicting the constellation in the sky. It's a map of where the planets and stars were when President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Hoover Dam on September 30, 1935. Tip: remember to rub the golden toes of the Winged Figures for Good Luck! And listen to the informative, inspirational recording that's playing while you browse around these sculptures!

When you go to Hoover Dam, there are the expected grand sights (the Dam itself) and unexpected…read moregrand sights, none greater than the Winged Figures of the Republic. This gorgeous landmark is the work of Norwegian-born, naturalized American Oskar J.W. Hansen. Perched on the north (Nevada) side of the Dam, you'll find two angel like, 30ish feet high winged figures with a 140+ flag pole. The bronze figures have a nice green patina after 85 years of weather and, at their base, black diorite (an igneous rock). Don't forget the tradition of rubbing the toes of the Winged Figures! The flagpole also has a black diorite base has the engraving "It is fitting that the flag of our country should fly here in honor of those men who, inspired by a vision of lonely lands made fruitful, conceived this great work, and of those others whose genius and labor made that vision a reality." I love the statues as well the grandiose backdrop of beige rock, which gives an epic vision of just how difficult it was to carve out this area. Near that, you'll find a monument dedicated to the 95 workers who died constructing Hoover Dam. There is sound: Speakers give a narration about the Dam and the Winged Creatures. Also check out the terrazzo floor, which includes a celestial map and star chart. Winged Figures of the Republic is a stunning, grandiose, and fitting tribute to one of the U.S.A.'s greatest man-made achievements.

PROS: This was amazing and I highly recommend coming here. Good views of the dam, gift shop is…read morenice, museum and movie available with purchase, and loads of parking CONS: You must pay for certain parking lots, movie/museum price is expensive at $40 a person as of 7/2026 OVERALL: This is a must-see experience if you're near vegas. There are lots that are free to park at past the dam. I recommend parking there

Fantastic place to spend a day away from casinos. I was so…read moreimpressed with the structure and the tours. It is so impressive to see all the details that went into the development and see how ingenious it was to complete the whole complex. Definitely worth the trip.