4 Comments
Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Justin M. Bowen
Fifth-grade students from around the Las Vegas valley attend the Cox Communications School Day Tuesday, May 18, 2010 as the Las Vegas 51s faced the Omaha Royals.
Published Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010 | 7:41 p.m.
Updated Monday, Aug. 23, 2010 | 6:18 p.m.
The stress is bubbling over from this writing post, which happens to be the sports book at the Palms. I am killing some tourists – I mean, killing some time – waiting for Billy Idol to take the stage at Pearl Concert Theater.
There is a lot of tension in the air here. NFL exhibition games are playing out on about a dozen big screens. It seems quite a few loudmouthed bettors have erroneously handicapped these preseason games.
One rule of sports wagering: Never bet good money on a kick returner who, in three weeks, might be working elsewhere. A Las Vegas sports book, for instance.
We feel the stress in the face of yet another bad list on which Las Vegas places atop. Ours is the most stressful city in the United States, says Forbes magazine, which also earlier this month reported that Las Vegas (and New York City) were the nation’s “coolest.”
These contradictory assessments of our cities have left me very traumatized.
But there are places in and around VegasVille where you can decompress. Spots I would recommend:
• Mount Charleston, especially the Mount Charleston Lodge. The numbers: 23 (log cabins), 35 (about how many minutes it takes to drive there from Las Vegas proper) and 7,700 (feet of elevation).
• Clark County Amphitheater for “Jazz in the Park.” The series is over now, but bookmark it. Twice I have dozed off at performances in Las Vegas, and both were at “Jazz in the Park,” thanks to Allen Toussaint and Spyro Gyra.
• Sunset Park. The giant pond with the fountain in the middle. Hypnotic.
• Las Vegas 51s baseball. Pick an early season night game. Our Triple-A baseball team is one of the best values in town. Tickets range from $9-$14. Parking is $3. And, we’re not so emotionally invested in the outcome to be stressed by one of the team’s inevitable losing streaks.
• Red Rock National Park. So obvious, but it is so non-Vegas out there that a cab-driver friend of mine once told me that his fares sometimes pointed to the park in the west and asked, “Is that real?” This is a place you never make it to enough, a 13-mile scenic drive with hiking, biking, rock climbing and camping. Seasonal camping, we should say.
• Lake Mead. It helps to own a boat, or be friendly with someone who does own a boat. The only stress I’ve ever felt on the lake was when I spun free from a one-person towable while being pulled by a friend who owns a boat.
• Super Summer Theater. "The best seats under the stars," they boast out there at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. True. The August production is "Damn Yankees." Tote a blanket, basket and at least one friend.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.
Kats: You should do more of this type of writing about stress relief. Good for the tourists as well as the locals.
you could always get some RNR
available at First Friday Sept 3, Diablo's Cantina Sept 9, Daddy Mac's Sept 11, The Wine Cellar at the Rio Sept 17, and the House of Blues Sept 25.
kats - thanks for the dull article. it put me to sleep - thus ending a bout with insomnia.
Great article, Mr. Katsilometes, good to know about the surrounding area, about where to go having already visited death valley, hoover dam, grand canyon and other places worth to be seen.
Thanks for keeping US informed.