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The Basque who came to Nevada seeking gold in the 1860s may not have all found riches, but the treasures they brought left an indelible, tasty mark. Many found work as sheepherders, forming communities with fellow Basque immigrants. Others started up boarding houses and kept alive their culture, language, and traditions. One tradition that outsiders came to embrace was the communal dining experience: picture enormous platters of steaks, steaming bowls of savory soup, and abundantly flowing homemade red wine. It’s the kind of meal that makes you wish you grew up Basque.

Until 2020, I don’t think there was ever a year that I didn’t go to Pyramid Lake. That means, for 54 years, no matter where I lived, I made sure to get to my favorite lake at least once a year. My parents started taking me to Pyramid when I was just a baby, and today, I take my grandchildren there. I think I have the lake’s dirt in my blood, and I know I have it in my soul. 

“One hundred ninety-eight miles to Panaca,” our GPS announced as my husband and I left Tonopah. The robot voice pronounced it panic-uh, and Google kept autocorrecting it to panacea, and in the end, our four-day trip resulted in both being accurate.

Cathedral Gorge State Park, born of volcanic activity more than 10 million years ago, touts itself a photographer’s dream and I can attest to that being true. For a relatively small state park, it is huge in character, drama, and opportunities to explore. We spent four days and three nights at the Swallow Cove B&B in Panaca, merely 2 miles from the park entrance. If not camping at the park itself, this is the closest lodging and a perfect option for photographers who plan to be there all hours.

Traffic jams, smog, lines, crowds, the DMV, cellphones, deadlines, alarm clocks…when will it all stop? 

It stops when you say it stops.

Through the chaos of everyday life that many of us experience, serenity never ceases to whisper in our ear. In fact, when dealing with life’s sometimes-less-than-ideal aspects mentioned above, nature’s constant calling may increase in volume to a violent roar, signaling the time to retreat to the state’s rural recesses for some rest, relaxation, recreation, and recuperation.

A birdcage of freedom. A grand literary conundrum, it’s true. Maya Angelou’s great poem may spring to mind, but I mean Yeats and his Byzantium, a place of spiritual fulfillment where what’s crucial to your soul sings out to you from a golden bough of what you need, what will get you there, and what awaits your arrival. Such a place exists at The Writer’s Block, a bookstore in Downtown Las Vegas.

In 1961, eager movie buffs filled theaters across the country for the debut of “The Misfits.” Shot entirely on location in and around Reno, the movie had all the makings of a blockbuster. Directed by John Huston and written by Arthur Miller, it starred Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, with Eli Wallach, Thelma Ritter, and Mont­gomery Cliff sharing the bill. The story was based on Nevada reality. In 1956 Miller, seeking a divorce, spent his six weeks’ resid­ency in a cabin near Pyramid Lake. While there he met three Nevada mustangers who impressed him as being “the last three unreconstructed originals in the United States.”

“If you build it, they will come.” Lifting a line from the 1989 baseball film classic “Field of Dreams” is fitting when talking about Downtown Las Vegas these days. Especially when it comes to sports-loving Derek Stevens, a Fremont Street titan who in October 2020 opened Circa Resort & Casino, an adults-only resort and the first newly constructed property to be built in Downtown Las Vegas in four decades. 

Family dinners are something many of us have a memory of—a meal where everyone gathers around the table, all talking at once, sharing jokes and stories full of laughter and connection. It’s a meal that is equal parts delicious, engaging, and memorable.

Now, take that meal and locate in an eccentric family member’s house, you know the one who has a crazy fun collection of memorabilia and whimsy lining the walls—with a story for most of it—and you’re getting close to the experience of dining at Pinocchio’s Bar & Grill.

The importance of women to Nevada’s history is well documented and irrefutable. From Sarah Winnemucca to Helen Stewart, Hanna Clapp to Felice Cohn, the sisters of the Silver State left their own indelible stamp on the face of Nevada. While many women have made their mark, a select few were the first to do so in their respective fields. These women—and to be sure, there are many others—helped pave the way for more women to enter the workforce and seek positions that had been previously dominated by men. These leading ladies took the chance to go where no woman had gone before, and for that, they are our favorite firsts.

Las Vegas is known for its toasty temperatures, celebrity-studded swimming pools, and steamy nightlife. It’s often called an adult Disneyland where adventure and fantasy can be found around seemingly every corner, and activities of every stripe can be found. There is one thing, however, that many visitors don’t know about Las Vegas: it’s a great place to go skiing and snowboarding. 

You read that correctly, and while no one is comparing the Spring Mountains to the Alps, with just a modicum of effort, a winter adventure awaits above the desert of southern Nevada.