(1) The Las Vegas Strip. Seen from the foot of Sunrise Mountain fifteen miles to the east. When I moved here twenty-three years ago the Strip was one-third this size.
(2) Downtown Las Vegas. The town mob money built. Although the mob is gone, (yup, uh-hu), comical music from the slot machines beckons visitors to buy dollar hot dogs, fifty cent pop corn and gamble in this circus atmosphere no other city in the world can imitate.
(3) Las Vegas Boulevard--The Strip. At the southern tip of an eight mile long adult Disneyland.
(4) New York, New York--The Strip. The Statue of Liberty in the foreground was framed in wood, enveloped in thick, molded foam and Faux finished in weather proof plaster.
(5) The Belagio--The Strip. Tasteful, eloquent, artistic; bring money.
(6) The Hard Rock. Two blocks off the strip. My wife and I had dinner there after we were married by the Justice of the Peace twelve years ago.
(7) The Luxor--The Strip. It is replete with an indoor canal, and a Pharaoh’s barge.
(8) The Hurricane Cliffs--Utah. The eastern divide between the Mojave Desert and the rest of the world.
(9) Hurricane, Utah. Seen from a popular off road trail for ATV’s
(10) Pine Valley Mountains, Utah. The northern boundary of the Mojave Desert in southern Utah.
(11) Hurricane, Utah. Geological features created by millions of years of desert winds.
(12) Cactus Springs, Nevada. Population--two.
(13) Brothel--Lathrup Wells, Nevada. If you haven’t guessed, prostitution is legal in every county in Nevada except two. Presently twenty-one brothels thrive in this state. There are even two legal brothels in Carson City, the state capitol. Sorry, prostitution is illegal in Reno and Las Vegas, the two cities where most Nevada prostitutes ply their trade. This establishment has seen happier times.
(14) Brothel--Pahrump, Nevada. The world famous Chicken Ranch. At one time this brothel actually did accept livestock as payment for services rendered.
(15) Brothel--Pahrump, Nevada. The Chicken Ranch is as elegant inside as it is outside. It is complete, with a bar, spa and multi activity sport room. It offers a menu of practically anything sexually legal.
(16) Brothel--Pahrump, Nevada. The welcome sign at Sheri’s Ranch. Free tours are offered here. It has a huge spa and a hotel in back for the overnight traveler. Ladies are welcome.
(17) Brothel--Pahrump, Nevada. It also has a bar where the prostitutes mingle with potential customers. The girls will sit with you at the bar and let you buy them a drink. They don’t pressure you to partake of their treasures. But, it is awfully hard to say no to their charms after a few cocktails warm your amorous soul.
(18) Brothel--Pahrump, Nevada. Such rare gratitude is hard to find in this harsh land.
(19) “Ghost Rider” by Albert Szukalski, Rhyolite, Nevada. Szukalski took up residence here in 1985 and sculpted this form around the upright body of a fellow artist with plaster.
(20) “Last Supper” by Albert Szukalski, Rhyolite, Nevada. The sculptor only expected this work to last a few years. It still stands intact, with minimal weathering, twenty-five years later.
(21) A local inhabitant on Colorado Street, Rhyolite. I stayed in the car.
(22) Rhyolite Mercantile, Nevada. One of 18 combination hardware/grocery stores.
(23) Porter Brothers Store, Rhyolite. The premier store in all of town. Anything could be bought there except whiskey.
(24) The Rhyolite Train Depot. At its inauguration it was the most elegant stop along the Tonopah, Las Vegas Railroad.
(25) Tom Kelly Bottle House. Built in 1906. Tom used 50,000 empty Anheuser Busch and ’Oh, Be Joyful’ bottles joined together by adobe cement. Miners were a thirsty bunch in Rhyolite. The house was wood framed. The total cost was $2500.
(26) Bullfrog Cemetery. It is all that remains of the town. Most graves are unmarked. Some are marked with weathered wood rounded off at the top. The names of many interred here are long forgotten.
(27) Bullfrog Cemetery. A Scottish sailor’s prayer on the headstone of Daihel G. Kennedy, born in Nova Scotia and died in Bullfrog May 4, 1909.
(28) Bullfrog Cemetery. “Panamint Anne” a local personality who forged her way as an independent miner, heavy drinker and mother of 8. Originally from Washington, D.C., in 1910 she died in Beatty, four miles from her grave. Her son still lives in Beatty the last I heard.
(29) The Jail--Rhyolite, Nevada. It was built around 1907. It is one of the few structures in this ghost town built to last. Aren’t all jails?
(30) The Borax Mine, Death Valley California. The Panamint Mountains can be seen in the back round. They divide the western side of the Mojave from the rest of California.
(31) Death Valley. As seen from Hell’s Gate. The day I took this shot the temperature was a calm, almost bearable 92 degrees at Hells Gate. When I reached the valley floor, 282 feet below sea level, the temperature increased to 117 degrees with 40 mph winds.
(32) Carrara, Nevada. Twenty miles south of Rhyolite. Platted in 1905 by the American Carrara Marble Co.. It bowed out in 1935 to its competitors who produced a better quality product.
(33) Amargosa Opera House, Death Valley Junction, California. Marta Becket is the lone ballet star here. She arrived in 1968, set up a stage and began performing before an empty house for many years. Not discouraged, she painted her own audience on the Opera House walls and ceiling. She owns the entire ghost town. She is 86 years old and now performs to a full house every season. Tours of the Opera House are offered but photos are not allowed. Visit her website at
http://www.amargosa-opera-house.com/
(34) Climber, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada. Red Rock Canyon is a national park five miles from the Las Vegas city limits. Numerous hiking trails and natural springs dot the area. A compass, food, water and a snake bite kit are required gear when hiking or climbing these lime stone cliffs.
(35) Red Rock Canyon. Looking east from the canyon’s horse shoe bend.
(36) Red Rock Canyon. At the canyon’s thrust fault line.
(37) Red Rock Canyon. The foot of a hiking trail.
(38) The Spring Mountains. Home to Mt. Charleston, the second highest peak in Nevada. It’s only a few miles from Las Vegas. The day this picture was taken the temperature at the Las Vegas Valley floor was 92 degrees at 1800 feet above sea level. This picture was taken at 8500 feet and the temperature was a refreshing 75 degrees.
(39) The Spring Mountains.
(40) Searchlight, Nevada--‘Bust‘. Searchlight sits at the southern tip of the Mojave Desert, nestled in a hilly rise 50 miles south of Las Vegas.