I stopped by what's left of the Kiel Ranch several years ago when there was some of the historical…read morebuildings in sad disrepoair. I knew that North Las Vegas decided to make a park out of the grounds of the ranch. There is little left of the original homestaed. It was just let go until it coould no longer be salvaged. NLV has built a nice park with interesrting interpretive signs around the grounds. There are walking paths also. The one building there is modern. It was built to resemble what one piece of the ranch looked like. I wanted to get closer to the building, but the gate was padlicked shut. I don't know if it's only open on weekends. Being a lover of history, I was disappointed to see the ranch years ago, but I was pleasantly surprised with the preserved history if only on signs. For those who wonder, the spelling Kiel is correct. Kyle Canyon at Mount Charleston was a mistake made by the map makers of that area. A ranch where three murders took place is interesting in our history. I like to think that Hiram Stewart murdered the two Kiel brothers in 1900 to avenge the murder of his father at the ranch years before.

It's a great place to take the family and walk around with a huge pond in the middle of the parkread more

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!!!

Beautiful national monument with well-maintained trails for hiking. This monument preserves fossil…read morebeds from the Pleistocene era, when Las Vegas was a lake and camels roamed freely. Times have changed and now it's a desert with no shade; make sure you're prepared for the heat with water, a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses. The trails are well-marked. The monument is open from sunrise to sunset and has several entrances with free street parking. Well worth a visit! Free admission.

We weren't quite sure what to expect and when we arrived it was on the edge of Vegas and literally…read morethe cutoff point for rural desert vs the neighborhoods. There wasn't much there BUT I'm sure when the temps are cooler it's a great place to explore, hike, bike and ride horses! If you're into the National Parks passport stamps and cancellations there's nothing here but if you head to the Lake Mead visitor center you'll find them there.

PROS: this looks identical to the real statue. This also has a turf yard off limits to the public…read morebut can be rented for special events. It's also in a good location being that it's next to the main avenue CONS: there isn't any good place to stand and view it. Along it, is a skinny walking path. So you need to stand across the street to really see it OVERALL: it's a spectacular statue to see. It's something you don't wanna miss

Pretty impressive, but not the real one. So it's doesn't count if someone wants to go to NY....but…read moreimpressive nonetheless. Pretty cool towards to end of the "new" strip in Vegas. Come check it out as you can get a better look than you would of the real one.

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!!

Sunset Road Plane Viewing is a local favorite spot for plane watching. The viewing lot is located…read moreon Sunset and Eastern near Paradise. Parking is Free. Watching the planes land and take off the runway is actually quite therapeutic, relaxing, and enjoyable. Did you know? Each time an airplane lands, it leaves up to 1 1/2 pounds of rubber on the runway. You'd be surprise how much you'll learn about planes just merely watching, observing, and tracking where they're going, it is fascinating!

I enjoy coming here periodically to watch the planes and take some photos…read more It has been a while because the county closed the area during COVID. The area is open during daylight hours. The fence makes it hard to get photos unless you aim through the openings in the fence. I have seen people with trucks and ladders in the back so they were above the fence height, but that's for the serious person who wants exceptional photos. There are a number of people who come here and keep track of the date, time, and tail number of planes for a record and to check if they've seen the plane before. You cannot park here when Air Force One is landing or taking off. The airport tunnel is also closed during landing and take off. If the president stays overnight, the area is reopened until departure. This is a pleasant place to spend some time when temperatures permit. If you're a plane nut like me, I suggest you make a visit to the viewing area.

The Las Vegas Gateway Arch is located just outside the Strat and is a cool enough thing to see if…read moreyou are on this side of the Las Vegas Strip. Overall, the Las Vegas Gateway Arch is a cool thing to see and I am glad that I had a chance to see this. I also notice that this sign is in an area that is getting more seedy, but it is still something to check out. I would definitely recommend a visit here if you are in the area.

Stopped by the Las Vegas Gateway Arch, pretty easy to park jump out and take a few pictures and get…read moreback in your car.

Small but cool. As an aviation buff I had to stop here, but if you are at all interested in…read morehistory, this is worth a few minutes. It's right on the way in or out, upstairs over the ticket counters (plus there are a few display cases scattered in the terminal.) Covering early history, jets, local airlines, personalities, and more. Mainly it consists of display cases, but there is also a 172 that set an endurance record of 64 days in the air, and a replica of the Thunderbird that supported the attempt. All sorts of interesting artifacts and stories. I visited on the way in and out, for a total of about half an hour. Check it out.

If you're in McCarran airport and have some time to spare, this baby museum is packed with tons of…read moreLas Vegas aviation history. The displays are educational and each one is packed with lots of reading to keep you busy. The visuals included pilot uniforms, airport and airplane parts artifacts, tons of vintage black and white aviation pictures. This is a nice little stop if you have about 15-30 minutes to spare. The readings are definitely more interesting than the displays themself. The C & D gate TSA entrances are close by and can be seen from the museum. It's definitely worth checking out once if you're in the McCarran airport. Safe travels!