Sin City, Saint Thomas and the Valley of Fire

How would you even describe this place? It shouldn’t exist. This is the driest place in the United States, and yet there’s a major city here that attracts people from all over the world looking to fill some empty space in their hearts with, well, whatever it is they think they’ll find here.

They call it sin city, and I suppose it is for some, but I would call it the freest city in America. That freedom has it’s risks of course. Nobody’s going to hold your hand here, you’ve got to make your choices and live by them.

Whatever you want, it seems you can find it here. Do you want to drive a Ferrari around a track? You can do that here. Looking for the experience of shooting a machine gun like your favorite action hero? You can do that too. Top notch food at a reasonable price? You better believe they’ve got that covered here as well.

Gambling is a given. There are endless gambling halls that are open 24 hours a day, every day. You can celebrate Christmas sitting at a slot machine if you really want to. Some would say that’s part of the sin city aspect, but I guess that’s up to you.

Las Vegas means the meadows in Spanish. Apparently there used to be abundant grass that grew here when the Spanish first saw it. Before them people had been leaving their mark on the place as far back as ten thousand years ago, in the form of petroglyphs.

In more recent centuries the place has been a lot of things. It was a way through to California for many pioneers. It was also a fort and refuge for Mormons making their way through the deserts. And finally a city in 1911.

Of course that 1911 city was not the same one we all know today, not really. Back then it was just a dusty desert train stop. The place we all know today got its start in 1931. That year gambling was legalized. Construction also started on the Hoover dam, bringing all sorts of people to the area.

After world war 2 the fancy decorated hotels started going up. In the 50s they started doing nuclear weapons tests about 65 miles northwest of the city. We associate the place with neon lights today, but just imagine being able to witness mushroom clouds going up from your hotel balcony.

Anyone arriving by car has probably seen just how bright this place is. It sort of appears all at once like countless diamonds glittering in the darkness of the desert at night. If there were still nukes being tested out there today I might entertain a bet as to which would be brighter, the city or the mushroom cloud.

Since those days the city has grown at an incredible rate. Between 1990 and the year 2000 the place doubled in size. There must be some magic here that brings people in, maybe its that freedom I mentioned earlier. Whatever it is, the city is still growing today.

Vegas has a very large Chinese community, and some of the best Chinese food in the whole country. If you feel adventurous, I suggest finding a hot pot restaurant and trying it out. As delicious as it is, we don’t really eat general tso chicken back in China, Vegas may be the place to take a gamble and try the real stuff if you want. Of course they do the usual American takeout variety just as well here if you prefer.

About 50 miles into the Mojave desert from Las Vegas is the Valley of Fire state park. The name suits the place. If Fire could be frozen in place and turned to stone, I imagine it might look about like this.

The formations that give the place its appearance were made from shifting sand dunes more than 150 million years ago. The name va

lley of fire was coined back in the 1920s by an article in a AAA travel guide. I can’t think of a better name.

You really get a sense of the vastness of this place when looking out over the desert. The parched mountains stretch on for as far as you can see. I think I understand why Hollywood has used this as a backdrop for so many movies. It just seems like an alien world.

Let’s take a bit of a hike. There’s a spot out here that acts as a reminder that although it’s incredibly beautiful here, it’s also unforgiving. A civil war veteran traveling through to Salt Lake City was found under his wagon. Apparently he had run out of water on his way through, and after a small search for some, he gave up and laid down under his wagon. He was found there later, and a cross along the hike marks the spot. Luckily today we have air conditioning and plenty of water as well.

Water brings life, and it brings death in some cases. St. Thomas is in the area of Lake Meade, which was created by the Hoover dam. The water is incredibly low at the time of my visit, and its just as well, since St. Thomas would otherwise be under the water.

The city was settled by Thomas Smith in 1865. Thomas is where the St. Thomas name comes from. The place grew to around 500 people, and was even the Paiute County seat for a time. Today it’s more like standing on the other side of the end of the world. The rise of water from the Hoover dam forced the residents to abandon the city.

The trail loop is about 2 and a half miles, but its not long before we start seeing signs that people once called this home.

It’s hard to imagine that the incredible modern world we inhabit could one day fall. I imagine the Romans and Egyptians felt the same about their respective worlds. And one day, just like with them, archeologists may dig up the crumbling remains of our civilizations and wonder what it all meant. This place reminds me of that.

The houses of St Thomas no longer offer their shelter to the citizens of this place. People no longer frequent the shops here. The stumps of the trees that lined the main street no longer offer their shade to the busy townsfolk, and the sound of passing cars has been replaced by the buzz of insects and the wind rustling through the desert plants. The service station no longer offers cold drinks for passing travelers, and the school yard is no longer filled with the sound of playing children. It is a reminder that nothing lasts forever.

Vegas is a complicated place, and never what you would expect. It is sin city to some, and freedom for others. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoyed the visit to Las Vegas Nevada.

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