Summer 2025

FROM NEVADA PUBLIC RADIO

VOICES OF THE DISCARDED FEDERAL WORKERS OPEN UP ABOUT BEING FIRED

HOW WILL LAWMAKERS COPE WITH A SHRINKING BUDGET?

Take a Good Look SEE ALL THE WINNERS OF OUR 13TH ANNUAL FOCUS ON NEVADA PHOTO CONTEST

Speck on the Horiz on FIVE S M T A

OWN LL S NEXT FOR YOU R ROAD TRIP

Heartfelt Care Meets Cutting-Edge Curriculum We are now accepting applications for our inaugural class in our new Doctor of Medicine (MD) program!

Through the development of Roseman University’s new MD-granting, allopathic College of Medicine, Dr. Pedro Jose “Joe” Greer Jr., Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, and Founding Dean, together with his team, will deliver a transformative educational experience designed for future physicians ready to embrace the rapidly changing landscape of healthcare.

By aligning students, educators, partners and the community, we will create an inclusive and collaborative environment for innovative learning, healthcare and research. Together we can improve the health of our most vulnerable communities and our region’s health overall.

Join our inaugural class of 60 students in July 2025 and be part of the future of medical education at Roseman University, where we’re transforming medical education and reimagining healthcare delivery in one of America’s most diverse and dynamic communities.

Learn more at roseman.edu Transforming Education. Reimagining Healthcare.

Embracing Discovery. Committed to Community.

roseman.edu | @rosemanuhs

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BUSINESS INSIDER

GO GRASS-FREE LOOK GREEN BUT STILL

State law prohibits use of Colorado River water to irrigate decorative grass at non-single-family properties beginning January 1, 2027.

Water-efficient grass alternatives such as Kurapia, dichondra and micro clover can help property owners meet the conservation law’s requirements while maintaining the appearance of traditional grass lawns.

The alternative groundcovers provide additional benefits when planted in desert-adapted landscapes. They grow well in the hot summer months, require much less irrigation and maintenance than traditional grass lawns, and help mitigate urban heat island conditions.

Replacing thirsty grass does not mean giving up the green aesthetic.

“One of the concerns HOAs and businesses have with removing nonfunctional turf is the loss of green space,” said Michael Bernardo, Enterprise Conservation Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). “These lawn alternatives look like grass when mowed, but they use much less water. They’re a great way to keep that green aesthetic in a drought-friendly landscape.”

The SNWA Water Smart Landscapes (WSL) rebate is still offering a cash incentive for properties that replace grass with dripirrigated plants and trees. The rebate for nonfunctional grass at non-single-family properties is $2 per square foot for the first 10,000 square feet of grass replaced, and $1 per square foot thereafter.

It is uncertain whether the rebate will decrease as the deadline to adhere to the new law approaches, and property owners with nonfunctional grass are encouraged to take advantage of this funding assistance to replace their grass before the law takes effect.

Kurapia, dichondra and micro clover look like grass when mowed, yet use much less water.

Visit snwa.com for WSL rebate details and to enroll online.

Grass irrigation remains the largest consumptive use of Colorado River water, which provides 90 percent of Southern Nevada’s water supply. The state mandate will save 4.5 billion gallons of water annually when fully enacted.

BUSINESSES, HOAs, APARTMENTS & CONDOS: NEVADA LAW PROHIBITS IRRIGATING DECORATIVE GRASS AFTER 2026

KICK GRASS TO THE

CURB

“Olen Living replaced the grass in our complex early—saving money and doing what’s right for Southern Nevada’s water supply.”

Alisa B Regional Director of Operations, Olen Properties

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Enjoy FREE Valet and Self-Parking saharalasvegas.com 12 | D E S E R T C O M P A N I O N .

THE PHOTO ISSUE

W A D E V A N D E R V O R T - L A S V E G A S W E E K LY

The all-new SAHARA Las Vegas is a boutique oasis featuring award-winning restaurants by internationally acclaimed chefs, including José Andrés and Shawn McClain. Add warm and impeccable service, chic lounges, elegant décor, and a stunning new casino for a Vegas stay that’s truly exceptional.

A Culinary Journey.

BALLA ITALIAN SOUL

From James Beard Award recipient Chef Shawn McClain, Balla offers aperitivos, handmade pastas, plus fresh seasonal vegetables, salads, and fire-roasted meats and fish.

BAZAAR MEAT BY JOSÉ ANDRÉS

This groundbreaking culinary experience is the James Beard award-winning chef ’s wild and wonderful celebration of the carnivorous.

Join us before we say goodbye on July 31!

CHICKIE’S & PETE’S CRABHOUSE AND SPORTS BAR

Join the fun at ESPN’s #1 Sports Bar in North America. Enjoy 20 beers on tap, game-day bites including the famous Crabfries®, and a variety of premium spirits.

THE NOODLE DEN

Explore the flavors of Northern China. Indulge in hand-pulled noodles, savory dumplings, and classic Chinese dishes expertly crafted by master chefs in our open-view kitchen.

THE PHOTO ISSUE

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The Photo Issue V O L U M E 2 3 I S S U E 2 l D E S E R TC O M PA N I O N .C O M

ALL THINGS 15

POLITICS

Budget shortfalls bode ill for Nevada

By Paul Boger

18

3 QUESTIONS

Josh Vermillion generates AI talk

By Scott Dickensheets

20

Local bands, global adventures

By Mike Prevatt

DINING

38

31

22

This isn’t your grandma’s high tea

By Lissa Townsend Rodgers

The Farm Basket hatches a comeback

By Andrew Kiraly

PROFILE

Cheyenne Kyle grows hope (and healthy food)

By DW McKinney

28

DISCOMFORT ZONE

Tall people wanted

By Clement Gelly

FEATURES

62

SHUTTER BUZZ See the prize-winning snaps from our 13th annual Focus on Nevada Photo Contest

54

GET GOIN’ Big fun awaits in these small towns

( COVERS ) PHOTOS BY

Ron Rierson Sydney Carnevale John Gilday Jose Davalos

SOCIETY

36

BUSINESS

Inequity still casts a long shadow in local restaurants

By Lorraine Blanco Moss

HUMOR

CULTURE 43

THE SHORT LIST

Our culturist will be at these events. Will you?

By Mike Prevatt

45

FILM

Vegas nods give a new movie comic relief

By Josh Bell

46

THEATER

To be or not to be less than three hours

By Janis Hashe

DEPARTMENTS 48

ORAL HISTORY

Federal layoffs, through the eyes of three affected Nevadans

By Anne Davis

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Publisher’s Letter

THE ‘PUBLIC’ IN PUBLIC MEDIA

C

ommunity nonprofits across the country — including Nevada Public Radio and other organizations that provide social, education, and health and human services — are processing the threat of federal and state funding cuts, along with (in many cases) the reality of immediate changes resulting from Presidential executive orders. As Nevada Public Radio’s city/regional magazine, Desert Companion is closely following this story as well.

Our organization receives financial support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting totaling nearly 8 percent of our annual operating budget. This funding is integral in making possible the productions you hear on the radio, read in our magazine, download via smart devices, and freely access anytime at KNPR.org without a paywall. This is how we reflect our growing community with news, and arts and culture coverage. This is also our mission.

Public broadcasters have never been more important. We pursue stories with rigor, provide balanced coverage of the news, and celebrate our state’s vibrant people and places through our lifestyle coverage. But this work has never been more threatened.

Aside from the federal support we receive from the CPB, our organization relies on a mix of individual, business, and philanthropic support. Together, this makes up the remaining 92 percent of our annual funding.

I’m writing this letter to you before we go to press and before the White House sends an expected proposal to Congress on April 28th. Much can change between now and the arrival of our magazine in your mailbox, but the rhetoric of defunding public broadcasters has been increasing in volume over the last few months.

The story has been covered on our airwaves, in national publications and news platforms including the New York Times, and was put on full national display during U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s DOGE subcommittee hearing titled Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS Accountable.

Today, Nevada Public Radio needs your support more than ever. If you’re a current member or subscriber, thank you. If not, please consider investing in this vital work by visiting KNPR.org/donate. You can also make your voice heard at protectmypublicmedia.org. This last resource helps connect public broadcasting supporters to their members of Congress.

If you have any feedback or questions, I invite you to contact me directly at favian@nevadapublicradio.org.

Favian Perez President & CEO Nevada Public Radio

N E VA D A P U B L I C R A D I O

With sincere gratitude,

8 | D E S E R T C O M PA N I O N .

THE PHOTO ISSUE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS

NEHME E. ABOUZEID chair

LaunchVegas, LLC AMANDA MOORE-SAUNDERS vice chair

Conduit Entertainment KATHLEEN M. NYLEN treasurer

FAVIAN PEREZ secretary

Nevada Public Radio DIRECTORS

STEPHANIE CAPELLAS

Carma/Connected

CYNTHIA A. DREIBELBIS

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck MIKE DREITZER

Gaming Arts, LLC ANDREA GOEGLEIN, PH.D

ServingSuccess

WILLIAM GROUNDS

Burraneer Capital Advisors

PHOTO BY MISTY EPSTEIN

FRED J. KEETON

Keeton Iconoclast Consulting, LLC EDWIN C. KINGSLEY, MD

Comprehensive Cancer Centers SCOTT NIELSON

FRAME OF MIND

W

hen I invited some uninitiated friends to last year’s Focus on Nevada Photo Showcase awards at UNLV’s Barrick Museum, I was only thinking it’d be a fun night out for them. But the impact went further, leading one of them to grab a photographer buddy and hit the road for rural Nevada in search of winning shots for this year’s contest. They’ll be back at the party — this time with a cheering section. I can’t tell you whether any of their photos won (again, the judging process really is blind), but I can relay their delight in the process of discovering and documenting a few captivating and curious corners of our state. This story demonstrates the natural marriage of our photo issue with our annual spring travel feature, both of which invite you to get out and see something new. Thank you to the hundreds of photographers, from newbies to pros, who took us up on the challenge to “show us your best shot.” We were wowed by the breadth and freshness of your 3,851 submissions — a record number. There were many more than you’ll see in these pages — and hanging on gallery walls, when the showcase goes on tour — that we wish we could have awarded. Though everyone won’t get a prize, you all have our deepest gratitude.

Stay adventurous, Heidi

DERIONNE POLLARD, PH.D

Nevada State University ERNEST STOVALL

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino DIRECTORS EMERITI CYNTHIA ALEXANDER

Dickinson Wright, PLLC SUSAN M. BRENNAN

The Brennan Consulting Group, LLC DAVE CABRAL

Business Finance Corp.

LOUIS CASTLE

Amazon Games Seattle PATRICK N. CHAPIN, ESQ.

Patrick N. Chapin, Ltd. RICHARD DREITZER

Fennemore

ELIZABETH FRETWELL

C4ward Strategies, LTD DON HAMRICK

Retired

GAVIN ISAACS

Consultant

CHRIS MURRAY

Avissa Corporation JERRY NADAL

Luna Entertainment Consulting Services WILLIAM J. “BILL” NOONAN

William J. Noonan Consulting ANTHONY J. PEARL

Crown Resorts

MARK RICCIARDI, ESQ.

Fisher Phillips, LLP MICKEY ROEMER

Roemer Gaming TIM WONG

Arcata Associates

10 | D E S E R T C O M P A N I O N .

LAMAR MARCHESE president emeritus THE PHOTO ISSUE

HEIDI KYSER: BRENT HOLMES

Editor’s Note

Nielson Consulting, LLC

PRESIDENT & CEO Favian Perez MANAGING EDITOR Heidi Kyser ART DIRECTOR Scott Lien ASSISTANT EDITOR Anne Davis EDITOR-AT-LARGE Scott Dickensheets KNPR PRODUCERS AND REPORTERS

Christopher Alvarez, Paul Boger, Mike Prevatt, Joe Schoenmann EDITORIAL INTERN Maicyn Udani GRAPHIC DESIGNER Ryan Vellinga ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Allison Hall, Markus Van’t Hul, Britt Quintana OPERATIONS MANAGER

Marlies Daebritz

CORPORATE SUPPORT MANAGER

Christine Kiely

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Jeff Jacobs

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Josh Bell, Kristen DeSilva, Dayvid Figler, Aleza Freeman, Alan Gegax, Clement Gelly, Janis Hashe, Andrew Kiraly, DW McKinney, Lorraine Blanco Moss, Petra Molina Ohlinger, Richard Powell, Lissa Townsend Rodgers, MikeWeatherford, Stacy J. Willis CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Ronda Churchill, Jeff Scheid, Miguel Manich

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christine.kiely@desertcompanion.com (702) 259-7822 marlies@desertcompanion.com WEBSITE: www.desertcompanion.com Desert Companion is published quarterly by Nevada Public Radio, 1289 S. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89146.

It is available by subscription at desertcompanion.vegas, or as part of Nevada Public Radio membership. It is also distributed free at select locations in the Las Vegas Valley.

All photos, artwork, and ad designs printed are the sole property of Desert Companion and may not be duplicated or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The views of Desert Companion contributing writers are not necessarily the views of Desert Companion or Nevada Public Radio. Contact us for back issues, which are available for purchase for $7.95.

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ISSN 2157-8389 (print) • ISSN 2157-8397 (online) THE PHOTO ISSUE

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A LL THINGS

IDEAS, CULTURE, FOOD, AND OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT WITH YOUR CITY

L E G I S L AT U R E

Money Troubles R YA N V E L L I N G A

Specificially, how will the state make due with less of it?

BY Paul Boger

“

This is not your typical hearing on a bill,” said Assemblymember Daniele Monroe-Moreno during an evening Ways and Means Committee meeting in late March. Usually, lawmakers try not to hold so-called “after dark” meetings until much later in the session, when the Nevada Legislature’s 120-day constitutional deadline forces them to work into the night. But that’s not what made this meeting unique.

As the committee chair, Monroe-Moreno asked legislative staff to create an in-depth presentation outlining steps taken by previous lawmakers to address the economic fallouts associated with 2008’s Great Recession and the pandemic. And for three and a half hours, the committee’s fiscal analysts outlined the cause and effect of every cut and furlough lawmakers approved as part of the state’s recoveries from those downturns.

The presentation on saving money was a departure for a committee tasked with deciding how the state’s revenues should be spent, especially considering that just two years ago, many of those same lawmakers were deciding how to appropriate a $2 billion surplus.

“I felt it was very important that we all know what the state has done in the past to keep the lights on, and then have a conversation about those things that we might have to do in the future,” Monroe-Moreno said. “None

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of us know what’s ahead of us, but the best way to deal with that is to prepare for it.”

How much lawmakers need to prepare is still a mystery.

That’s partly because Nevada was already struggling to improve a stagnant economy — a major talking point during the 2024 election. Since the pandemic, Nevada’s unemployment rate has stubbornly remained the country’s worst.

And while the state has seen wage growth in recent years, it comes at the same time that everything has gotten more expensive. Nevadans, on average, now pay more than the national average for groceries, fuel, housing, and childcare. And a

“None of us know what’s ahead of us, but the best way to deal with that is to prepare for it.”

- Daniele MonroeMoreno

new analysis shows it’s now one of the most expensive places in the country to own a car as well, mostly because of higher-than-average insurance costs.

It’s an economy forcing people to stay home and reevaluate their finances, and that’s a problem in a state so heavily reliant on tourism and sales taxes to generate revenue.

We’re already seeing this issue play out on the local level. In recent months, communities across the state began forecasting budget deficits for the coming years. Increased labor costs and stagnant tax growth will force Las Vegas to tighten its belt by roughly $25 million next year (in addition to cuts dictated by

the massive Badlands settlement).

Same with Reno.

There are also signs that President Donald Trump’s trade war may further hamper growth. There was a drop in international travelers to Las Vegas in February 2025 compared to the same month a year ago.

Flair, a Canadian airline, reported a 55-percent drop, and AeroMexico reported a 16-percent drop. Some say that’s due to rhetoric coming out of the Trump Administration. Others say it’s because Las Vegas hosted the Super Bowl that month in 2024.

Then there’s the state’s reliance on federal funding. A report released in April by Nevada’s nonpartisan Guinn Center for Policy Priorities found that federal money made up about 28 percent of the state budget last biennium. Much of it went to fund Medicaid, fix highways, and manage public lands. Those funds are potentially now on the chopping block because of Trump’s fundamental restructuring of the federal government.

$350 million: to buy the course from EHB Cos. (This will be paid by the homebuilder Lennar.) $64 million: paid to EHB Cos. By the city in 2024 $286 million: to settle three remaining lawsuits That money will come from various city sources:

Badlands Breakdown Ten years later, it’s over — but at what cost?

The legal battle over the 250-acre Badlands golf course began in 2015.

That’s when a developer bought it, planning to build homes. Unhappy, nearby homeowners filed suit to stop it, and the city sided with them.

Years of big-bucks legal wrangling followed, with the city on the ninefigure losing side. This year, the Las Vegas City Council approved the last settlement. Here’s how it breaks down. — Joe Schoenmann

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$87.5 million: liability fund and internal service fund reserves $49.7 million: delayed capital improvement projects and/or bond issue $36 million: eventual sale of Cashman Field Source: City of Las Vegas

B A D L A N D S : R YA N V E L L I N G A

I, CHARTICUS

$112.8 million: general fund reserves/operational cost savings (21 employees took part in a “voluntary separation program” and retired, with those vacant positions frozen.)

U N D E R G R O U N D M A N S I O N : C O U R T E S Y N E VA D A P R E S E R VAT I O N F O U N D AT I O N

Lawmakers are considering a proposed constitutional amendment to raise revenues by reforming the state’s property tax scheme.

In Nevada, property taxes are calculated based on the age of a structure. Newly built homes are taxed at a higher rate than older structures, even if the older home is worth more.

The proposed amendment, Assembly Joint Resolution 1, would instead reset property taxes, basing them on the price of the property upon resale, regardless of its age. It’s a move that would put the state’s property tax structure in line with the rest of the country. Analysis of a similar proposal from 2017 found that recalculating property taxes upon sale could have generated as much as $13 billion in additional tax revenue for the state and local governments over a 10-year period. Obviously, that proposal went nowhere, and even if this new resolution passes this session, lawmakers would have to approve it again in 2027 before placing a question about modifying property taxes on the 2028 ballot — meaning the earliest it could take effect is 2029.

In the meantime, it leaves state lawmakers with little choice but to prepare for the worst. That includes potential cuts to state employee pay and benefits through furloughs or layoffs, as well as reductions in services such as Medicaid, which could leave thousands of the state’s most vulnerable residents without access to healthcare.

Of course, many argue that less government spending is a good thing that will, in and of itself, spur more economic development. Others say Nevada has become over-reliant on the federal government, especially after the pandemic, when Congress sent billions to the states to stimulate an economy still reeling from shutdowns.

Either way, the unfortunate reality is that money is like a drug. You have to feed the beast more each time to keep the good times rolling.

It’s either that or experience pain when the drug stops flowing. Regardless, we’re going to feel the pain this time around. How much and for how long remains to be seen. ✦

COMMUNITY

What Should Be Saved Connecting locals to the city’s past is a pathway to preservation

BY Aleza Freeman

T

he weathered train tracks behind the Plaza Hotel & Casino are generally viewed with indifference, if they’re noticed at all, even though almost a dozen freight trains chug through Las Vegas on any given day. The tracks were laid and a depot built in that spot Downtown in 1905, connecting the new city to California and Utah.

“I think people forget Las Vegas was originally a railroad community until the ’40s, when … we switched over from mining to gambling,” says Paige Figanbaum. As executive director of the Nevada Preservation Foundation, or NPF for short, she aims to spread awareness of the city’s roots and advocates for the preservation of historic homes, buildings, and communities throughout the state.

Her mission is especially challenging in a city of rapid reinvention and development, where iconic casinos are imploded with fanfare. Las Vegas isn’t widely regarded for its cultural history and heritage.

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“We’re continually trying to work with city officials and fight for historic preservation,” she says. “When it comes to what should be saved and how it should be saved … that’s where the local community is so crucial because … what they find is important and historic — it’s different for every community.”

NPF is currently hosting the 10th annual Home + History Las Vegas festival, but the nonprofit stages events, cocktail parties, pub crawls, and tours throughout the year, sharing stories of vintage houses and places, iconic architects, and the city’s ongoing transformation. While this year’s festival includes a rare tour of the famous Cold War-era underground house, built 25 feet below the desert floor near the Boulevard Mall, there are many homes and neighborhoods in Las Vegas — McNeil Estates, the Scotch 80s, and old Henderson are also on this year’s schedule — with unique character and personality.

Built in 1960, the midcentury modern neighborhood of Paradise Palms was Las Vegas’ first master-planned community.

Designed by renowned architects Palmer and Krisel, it was home to mobsters and politicians, as well as celebrities such as Dean Martin, Johnny Carson, Debbie Reynolds, Buddy Hackett, and Rip Taylor. NPF helped the neighborhood achieve its designation as a historic overlay district in 2021 — the first such designation in the county, but not the last.

The 18b Arts District is another NPF pride point. Many buildings in this neighborhood are historic, some dating back to the railroad days, since that’s where businesses and tract homes first cropped up when passengers started coming and going. The multicolored Arts Factory building, at 107 E. Charleston Blvd., was originally an air-conditioning business; it’s now a thriving arts space.

“One of the things we really try to push

is adaptive reuse,” Figanbaum says, “using historic buildings and sites for contemporary use.”

A couple blocks away from the Arts Factory the railway tracks remain, though the city demolished the original Union Pacific train station in 1940 to make way for a modern depot. That one was torn down in 1970 to accommodate the Union Plaza Hotel and Casino (still standing minus the “Union”). Las Vegas saw its last passenger train in 1997; a mural near the hotel’s food court pays tribute to its history.

Stories like those shared at NPF events and on tours can lead to aha! moments for visitors and locals alike, even those who have driven across the tracks for years, stopped for a freight train, or occasionally hear the horn.

“You may live here and know the history and the connections,” Figanbaum says. “It’s not just about those connections. It’s how you make those connections.” ✦

THREE QUESTIONS

Joshua Vermillion

BY Scott Dickensheets

J

oshua Vermillion has a thoughtful way of saying “nonbiological intelligence” that underlines just how deeply mysterious AI is, while also dialing back the rise-of-Skynet vibes that invariably attend this topic. This isn’t surprising: Vermillion, an associate professor at UNLV’s School of Architecture, explores AI’s uses in the design trades, both in his own nationally recognized creative practice and in HEAR MORE the classroom. Thoughtfulness is required in from Vermillion both domains, and the edited-out portions of on our Desert this interview swell with references to the need Air podcast. to bring critical thinking to bear.

In honor of Desert Companion’s Photo Issue, we asked Vermillion about his Instagram page, where the curious can see his ongoing experiments in image-generation, and his thoughts about AI imagery more broadly.

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THE PHOTO ISSUE

PHOTOGRAPHY Jeff Scheid

Let’s imagine a spectrum: At one end is “extreme AI skeptic”; at the other is “AI evangelist.” Where would you locate yourself on that spectrum?

It really does seem like it’s one or the other, right? Alarmists on one end, and then the folks trying to raise billions of dollars to train the next model. So I try to stay in the center.

And, really, I think it’s a process of trying to understand what’s signal versus what’s noise.

A lot of words get thrown around, oftentimes very carelessly, and there’s a lot of almost propaganda on either end. So, I try to stay in the center, where I am both excited about experimenting with these tools — but at the same time, you have to come at it with a critical point of view, a critical lens, ask some tough questions about it, and that’s what I try to be.

Do you think there’s a concern about people feeling they can’t trust imagery anymore?

That was a big concern with the most recent election, right? The importance of trying to understand what’s fake and what’s real. … And I would argue that’s always been a concern.

I mean, technologies can always be used for good or bad, right? That that holds up a mirror to us humans to ask ourselves, How do we use these tools?

I see a lot of recycled, unserious critiques of AI, but there is really room to help ourselves understand what’s innately human, what can’t be automated. Things like ethics and empathy, those qualities that are probably more important now than ever.

What I would hate, though, is to unequivocally dismiss a technology that is really going to be transformative in the long run. I don’t think we can do that. ✦

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T R AV E L

Cultural Exchange Vegas bands rarely tour abroad.

These four have, and they’ve got stories CLAY HEXIMER, DRUMMER, THE IMPLOSIONS: “My wife and I have been to

Japan three times, and we’ve always talked to our friends about doing Bon Jovi karaoke. One (previous visit), we were at a bar that had karaoke. I had a headache, and a guy in broken English told me I needed to cheer up, we only have so long to live, and that karaoke keeps him from killing himself. So he picked a Bon Jovi song that was infectious (“It’s My Life”), sang one line of it, put the mic down, and watched everyone else take over.”

(Fast forward to the band’s March 22 show in Tokyo.) “So we finished a show, it’s the last night we were gonna be there, and we hadn’t done Bon Jovi karaoke yet.

Immediately after the show, the venue staff moved the furniture around, moved the bar to the middle of the room … and then Bon Jovi came on! They handed our singer (Adrienne Post) the microphone, and the whole room busted into “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and it was just perfect. I felt like I had let my friends down that we hadn’t done the karaoke I had promised. And then the universe provided it.”

LUKE METZ, BASSIST, SHANDA AND THE HOWLERS: “When we did our first

trip to Europe (in 2019), we relied on a lot of trains and buses for travel. On our first trip from Germany to Belgium, the bus stopped at a place off the highway, and everyone was able to hop off, grab snacks, etcetera. We made a mental note, certain that there would be several stops on our (subsequent) 11-hour bus ride to Austria. Well, we were stupid Americans, because that bus didn’t stop for anything except to let people on and off. We got so hungry, and kept passing billboards

P H OTO S C O U RT E SY O F T H E A RT I ST S

People can get an immediate look at some of your work on your daily Instagram feed, where you post these speculative architectural spaces you generate with AI, each one usually centerpieced by some showstopping design element. What are you trying to do with that project?

My take is, ambassador or skeptic, you need to have an informed opinion about these tools, and so, trying to understand what they can and can’t do became a daily posting. I’m always thinking about, what kind of information do I pump into these AI models, and what can they actually return? They can generate such exquisitely rendered effects, spatial effects, lighting effects, textural and material effects — I’m trying to understand what kinds of things it can actually draw, even though AI has no idea what light or materials or textures even are.

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with pictures of food that made us even hungrier. I made friends with an old guy who literally had bread scraps he was going to feed the birds later, and he gave them to me. But we were starving when we got in super late, and everything was closed up. But our drummer (Guido Tries) spoke German and got the innkeeper to make us some schnitzel at like 1 a.m. We were super thankful!”

SAMUEL RAMIREZ, GUITARIST, POST NC: (During our May 2024 tour of

Japan), “We played a venue in Osaka called Para-Dice. It was great, all the bands were amazing, and it was interesting to see people coming from work in full suits to listen to this experimental music. I mean, people in their 60s and 70s. I’m not used to that in the States.

“At this show, we were chatting with bands afterward and one of the locals says, you know, the trains stop going after 1 a.m. We were like, we haven’t even packed our gear yet! So we packed in like 10 minutes and booked it. We ran across Osaka with all our gear — keyboards, all my guitars and pedals, a lot of drum parts, and our merch — to barely make the last train!”

JAMES HOWARD ADAMS, GUITARIST AND VOCALIST, SAME SEX MARY:

“In Hiroshima after (our November 10) show, they pulled in all the merch tables that were just outside — these venues are very small rooms — and, all of a sudden, it turned into like a little dining room. There were hot pots on the table — what they call nabe, just big pots of soup. The bar was open, and so the drinks were flowing — I felt like we were taken in by their little music family.”

Tsvetelina Stefanova, keyboardist and vocalist: “It was delicious, first of all. But it was from the bar owner. He was also the sound guy, the bartender, and the chef. Everybody (in Japan) puts so much care (into everything). … We got to experience something that they do and felt part of the family. It was just an unforgettable experience.”

— Compiled by Mike Prevatt

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

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A Water in the Desert PROFILE

Cheyenne Kyle helps to revitalize her community through farming

BY DW McKinney

s an urban farmer, Cheyenne Kyle’s daily responsibilities are dependent on Mother Nature. “I’ve had to master the art of the pivot,” she says, shaking her head. It’s one of the better late winter days in a season riddled with windstorms that have destroyed crops and caused impromptu closures. Dressed in black yoga pants and a dark gray Obodo Collective T-shirt, her curly purple hair floating on the breeze, Kyle begins a guided tour.

Walking through raised beds of chard, mustard greens, arugula, and other winter crops, she stops to inspect a chunky cabbage. “The rule is: Every time you see her, you’ve got to tell her she’s thicc,” she says between coos and praises.

Kyle began her venture into food justice through Las Vegas’ kitchens — from hospitals to chain restaurants to fine dining establishments. “I fell in love with food because of my grandmothers, and the amount of care that they would take to prepare a meal for me,” she tells me after the tour. Kyle turned to the city’s hospitality industry knowing that it would give her the level of experience she needed. “The

PHOTOGRAPHY Ronda Churchill

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Foundation Room was probably my bougiest (workplace),” she says.

Her ultimate goal was beyond the Strip, where her culinary skills were needed most. Doing community service in tandem with restaurant employment, Kyle says, she “fell into food justice work” after completing culinary school.

Obodo Collective cofounders Erica Vital-Lazare and Brian Dice approached Kyle with an offer to join them shortly after they established the organization in 2020. Vital-Lazare and Dice asked Kyle what she envisioned for their half-acre property, located in a low-income residential neighborhood of Las Vegas’ Historic Westside. She told them, “I would build a farm.” And they answered, “Well, go build a farm.’”

So, she did. Obodo was fully operational a few years later, and in 2024 the farm won the Mayor’s Urban Design Award for Public Places. In those early days, Kyle filled many roles and developed much of the organization’s central programming, which addresses food security, housing justice, and family services. Today, as the food programs coordinator, she considers the farm her largest project.

“Our day-to-day can vary from general farm upkeep and maintenance, to store operations, to administrative tasks, to teaching at schools,” Kyle says. She harvests crops with her volunteers. They dig ditches when they need to expel frustration. Managing an urban farm in a designated food desert plagued by rising food insecurity is difficult work, but there’s always time for playfulness. On some Thursdays, there’s twerking.

Jahalisha Marzulli, the farm lead and a disabled Air Force veteran, helps Kyle with the workload.

Suffering from a traumatic brain injury that “makes it hard for (her) to remember things, especially in the short term,” Marzulli credits Kyle for the comfort she experiences while volunteering. “The way Cheyenne breaks things down and reiterates them makes it very easy for me to understand,” she says.

“I think it’s my obligation to teach everybody everything that I know,”

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BUDDING CHANGE A mural outside the Obodo Collective welcomes guests to the nonprofit.

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Kyle says. “What good does it do if I’m the only person that knows it? We’re currently operating in a food system where only 2 percent of the population knows how to do what I do.”

The farm has become busier since late February when Obodo, partnering with the Southern Nevada Health District, opened Greengrocer — the store adjacent to the farm that provides fresh produce and prepared to-go items, as well as products made by local Black artisans.

The week after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, visitors gathered on the patio area with congratulatory flower bouquets and petitions to partner with Kyle. Passing pedestrians approached to ask, “What is this place?” or attempted to visit outside operating hours. “It’s a lot,” Kyle confesses later, as tension bunches her shoulders. “I’m learning more about myself, and how I have to adapt to respond in these new situations.”

Zion Urban Farm worker Barbara Brown met Kyle during the pandemic through Brown’s late aunt, Estella Kline. Kyle would help Kline maintain her garden plot at the Doolittle Community Garden. Kline and Kyle learned a lot from each other, Brown says,

and when arthritis prevented Kline from gardening, she gifted all her seeds to Kyle, who planted some at Obodo to harvest on Kline’s behalf. Kyle now has a framed photo of Kline hanging on a wall at the Greengrocer and plans to establish a seed library, dedicating it to Kline.

“There’s nobody else like (Kyle) in this space and on this earth. She is so forward-thinking, smart, and headstrong,” says Tameka Henry, executive director for Obodo Collective. Henry met Kyle in 2017, when they worked at Vegas Roots, now closed. “She has planted so many seeds in the youth who (come here) every Saturday for class, or when people volunteer or have community service. I love the way that she gives them time to be in the space.”

Supporting the community means involving it, Kyle says. She wants to make sure that what Obodo offers doesn’t happen in a silo. “I’m not better than anybody. I’m not more special than anybody. I’m not more blessed than anybody,” she says. “I just didn’t give up. You come to a crossroads with yourself, where it’s like, ‘Can I still look at myself in the mirror if I quit this?’ I couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing something like this through.”✦

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LANDMARK IMPLOSION

PHOTOGRAPHY

Pictures Perfect Three local writers muse on their favorite iconic Las Vegas photos LANDMARK IMPLOSION. Self-destructive! In every way!

THE DUNES SULTAN

Even the way the Landmark Hotel and Casino cleaved down the middle screams of Vegas’ ubiquitous duality. Implosion and reinvention define the city’s zeitgeist. History loses to the future. The future here relies on luck and greed more than anything resembling economic planning. But as an aficionado of self-destruction, I’m betting — and have been for years — that it’s a bit more interesting than Wichita. Do I watch the implosion of the past because I’m optimistic about the future, or curious what might go horribly wrong? Yes. Also, some pop culture cred: This 1995 image appeared in the 1996 movie Mars Attacks! Jack Nicholson’s character says, “Gentleman, there is no way that we can lose!” as the building crumbles around him, assuring their loss — and further solidifying this as a quintessential Vegas image. — Stacy J. Willis THE DUNES SULTAN. Rarely have I loved as I loved this jaunty

POOL SLOTS

caricature of a Berber chieftain at the Dunes Hotel and Casino.

Later, when he stood on the Dunes golf course overlooking I-15, I’d feel comforted seeing him from my parents’ car window. My heart broke when I discovered that the Sultan had been lost to fire in 1986.

Was he not merely an example of cultural appropriation?

This is a question for yesterday, and Vegas doesn’t consider yesterdays. The question today is, does love — does anything — last in Las Vegas? Will we ever be else but an ocean, changing at every instant, resistant to memory?

The Sultan, like the Dunes, is gone and forgotten, as with any ripple on the sea in our most sea-like desert city. — Richard Powell POOL SLOTS. Las Vegas thrives on the absurd — even gambling

on solid ground isn’t always strange enough. If this city can put a roller coaster on top of a skyscraper and build a replica of Venice in the desert, why stop at something as mundane as dry land?

Capitalism doesn’t even bother with a snorkel.

Maybe you wished a little too hard at the Bellagio fountains, tossed in one coin too many. You probably didn’t wake up expecting you’d be playing slots at the bottom of a pool. The lack of oxygen can make you see things — flashing lights, spinning reels, a jackpot just out of reach. Or maybe that’s just Vegas.

Either way, you might want to come up for air before the city takes your last breath. — Petra Molina Ohlinger Photos selected from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s list of iconic Vegas photos: lvcva.com/who-we-are/75th-anniversary-gallery

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On being the tallest person at the Tall Club

BY Clement Gelly

I

am a tall man. I am not an astonishingly tall man, but taller than most. Our shorter readers will know the feeling of craning their necks up to talk to someone like me. The last time I had to do that was talking to a varsity basketball player in college.

I’m not trying to show off. Being tall isn’t all high shelves and unobstructed views at concerts. People hit me in the face with their umbrellas. My head touches the roof in the back seat of a Prius. Most of all, I have chronic neck pain. And there are few people who sympathize with these experiences. They don’t know what it’s like up here.

What warm embrace of fellowship I felt, then, to hear about the Las Vegas Tall Club. It is an organization specifically dedicated to promoting “tall awareness.” To become a member, you must be at least 6-foot-2 as a man and 5-foot-10 as a woman.

My friend Mike had found the club through a college scholarship it offers. It’s designed to encourage tall high school seniors “to look at themselves as vertically gifted, not just tall.” They reserve the right to measure an applicant upon request.

“You goddamn tall people, only looking out for your own,” said Mike, who is not vertically gifted.

The Las Vegas club is actually one local chapter in an international organization, founded in 1938, that now has dozens of locations across the U.S. and Canada. Groups include the Boston Beanstalks, the

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I L LU S T R AT I O N : S C OT T L I E N

Vertically Gifted DISCOMFORT ZONE

Portland Skyliners, and the Golden Gate Tip Toppers. Tall Clubs International organizes a yearly convention, sends out monthly “Talkin’ Tall” newsletters, and semiannually crowns a Miss Tall International, whose mission is “to advocate for change in various industries… for TALL people everywhere.”

Here was a whole lofty community, hundreds of members connecting above the low-slung quotidian like a network of mountaintop radio towers. Mike could never understand all this.

So I drove out to the club’s weekly meeting one evening. Though insecure about my short stature — I was just above the height threshold — I was comforted to know there would be plenty of taller people to commiserate with about umbrellas, Priuses, and neck pain. We would exchange tips on high-backed chairs and foam rollers, stretching techniques and physical therapists. And who knew what untold wisdom they’d pass down to me from the upper spheres.

Blinking as my eyes adjusted to the dim light of the bar, I scanned around for a group of heads near the ceiling. I must’ve been early. I was about to order a beer when a man in his mid-sixties, roughly my height, tapped me on the shoulder.

“Are you here for the Tall Club?” he asked. Yes, yes, I was! “I could tell from your height,” he said, nodding.

He showed me to their table, where there were four others. They were all in their fifties and sixties, with two married couples among them. We all shook hands and introduced ourselves. None of them seemed enormous, but they were all seated — most people didn’t realize my height until I stood up. I sat down too, and then came the pregnant pause.

“How tall are you guys?” I blurted out.

They were all the minimum height: the men were 6-foot-2 and the women 5-foot10. It took me a moment to process. I was 6 feet 3 inches. I was the tallest person at the Tall Club.

“But you guys have taller members that just aren’t here tonight, right?” I asked.

“We used to,” one of the men said wistfully, “but the really tall people, they just don’t live as long.” The other members looked solemn. We sat in silence for a moment, thinking about death.

“How did you hear about us?” asked one of the women, and I told them about my short friend Mike, who had found their scholarship.

D E S E R T C O M PA N I O N .C O M

“Ah, the scholarship,” one of the men said.

“We haven’t offered that for a couple of years now. We just weren’t getting enough interest.”

“The problem is that the younger generations don’t want to meet people in real life,” another added, gesturing around the near-empty Blue Ox Tavern that Wednesday night. I nodded in agreement.

The conversation soon turned toward work, careers, lives — things unrelated to our vertical gifts. They all knew each other very well, the kind of intimacy you only build over years. Who could begrudge them that camaraderie, a weekly meeting of tall friends? Certainly not I. But were they still promoting tall awareness, I began to wonder? My neck gave a twinge of pain.

“So, what kind of work are you doing as an organization?” I asked, trying to refocus the agenda.

“Not so much these days,” one of the women told me. “Back in the ’70s the national leadership was doing important stuff like lobbying for more legroom on airplanes, but we haven’t had as much energy since then.”

“We still host a barbecue, though!” another offered.

I wondered if a tall barbecue would be different from a normal one. Truthfully I’d never experienced any height-based issues at a cookout.

Mike liked to barbecue.

“Well the real reason I wanted to come here,” I said, trying to reinflate my hopes, “is because I have chronic neck pain ... you know, because I’m tall ... and I thought you guys must have similar experiences.”

“Mmm. Not really.”

“Nope.”

A few shakes of the head.

“I do remember this one time,” said one of the women. “I was at a big Tall Club meetup with other chapters, and I spent a while talking to this seven-foot guy. Afterward I definitely had a little crick in my neck!”

I nodded glumly.

Well, maybe Mike had neck pain talking to me. Maybe we could relate to each other.

Like the videos of horses that are friends with cats.

“So,” one of the women asked me, “are you going to join the club?” It was a $25 yearly due.

“What kind of stuff does membership get you?” I asked.

She looked around at the others, all of them seeing perfectly eye to eye, seated around the same lacquered-wood table they’d sat around for years.

“Well ... you get to be a member.” ✦

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AN ENGLISH TRADITION that stretches back nearly two centuries, teatime is finally having its Vegas moment. That’s in part driven by trendy, highly curated events, such as High Tea in the Sky at Circa’s Legacy Club.

DINING SOCIETY

Hot Cuppa It may not be your grandmother’s teatime, but it still offers chances for fun socializing and warm connections

BY Lissa Townsend Rodgers

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president of food and beverage at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

At the Upside Down Tea Party, the spouts pour more than just Earl Grey, including tea-based cocktails that might mix peach and orange blossom vodka with chamomile tea or Suntory Japanese whisky with Good Fortune mango tea.

The Upside Down Tea Party is held in the Shag Room, which does offer a British vibe, although the booths draped in sari fabric and touches of greenery and brass are more Rolling Stones in Marrakech than Princess Anne in the drawing room — fittingly, the music isn’t a string trio, but a live band playing lounge-y covers of Amy Winehouse and Oasis. “We wanted to make it more lively, approachable. It doesn’t feel stuffy. It feels like a party,” Pittard says.

The Bellagio also offers its version — with entertainment — of an Afternoon Tea at the Petrossian Bar. Some truly excellent piano players provide the musical accompaniment, and an endless procession of tourists makes for an always-fresh floor show. The menu leans into luxury, with Iberian

jamon and truffle-Gorgonzola sandwiches accompanying the traditional cucumber, as well as a caviar tea option that includes a caviar taco and caviar donut. Naturally, since this is a bar, you can also opt for something stronger than tea leaves in your cup.

The idea of teatime as showtime is taken to its outrageous extreme at the Electric Playhouse’s Teatime in Wonderland in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.

The venue’s technology is deployed for a Lewis Carroll-inspired theme, incorporating motion-activated visuals to “amplify the experience and encounters with characters, who will transport you down the rabbit hole with Alice,” says Vivian Sorenson, creative culinary director of Electric Playhouse.

A series of full-room projections ranges from croquet-mallet flamingos dancing across the walls to roses on vines swirling around your plate of scones with jam and clotted cream. You can watch the “walls” fly upward as you sip a tiny bottle of raspberry cordial labeled “Drink Me” and paint a white chocolate rose red with strawberry syrup be-

COURTESY CIRCA LAS VEGAS

C

linking china, sparkling silver, and the gracious gesture of lifting a teacup to a proffered pot.

What is more civilized, more sophisticated than afternoon tea, a repast featured at Buckingham Palace and in The Great Gatsby?

But tea also has its fantastical, whimsical side: the Mad Hatter’s manic tea party in Alice in Wonderland, the magical confections consumed by Hogwarts students in Harry Potter.

It’s this mix of elegant and eccentric that has moved teatime into schedules and menus across Las Vegas. Brunch is basic, lunch is lazy, but teatime can be the framework for a wide variety of tastes and experiences, from the comfortably traditional to the cunningly twisted … and combinations of the two.

The teapot is the symbol of teatime, serving as the focus of whatever nibbles and bites are served. It can also have its own flair, as demonstrated during the Upside Down Tea Party at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Each guest is served from a unique teapot, which might be shaped like a bulldog or a telephone or clock.

“We tried to make it as different and fun and whimsical as possible, while elevating what we were offering with the teapots, with our pastry team, with the culinary team,” says Andrew Pittard, vice

fore eating it. Performers dressed as the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit roam the space, and some guests add to their experience (and yours) by donning their own Wonderland-inspired attire. “Afternoon tea holds a rich tradition of leisurely indulgence and connection, lending itself perfectly to an interactive, whimsical experience like this,” Sorenson says.

A more grown-up version of theatrical tea can be found in the Tea Lounge at the Waldorf Astoria, where one can channel giant Alice, gazing down 23 stories at the Strip, lights winking like a litter of grinning Cheshire Cats. There are the expected tiny sandwiches and petit fours, but with seasonal inspirations and ingredients, such as strawberry tarts for summer, pumpkin-hazelnut for fall. You can also pair a coconut-pineapple Bellini with your lychee green tea.

One reason for tea’s popularity is that, within the format of the teapot and the three-tiered tray of treats, there is a lot of latitude for different moods and themes, from Disney princess to Bridgerton duchess, Christmas elf to Halloween witch. The dishes themselves also leave room for embellishment and adaptation: Cucumber sandwich-

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es can be crust-cut-off simple or elaborately garnished creations; macaroons can be classic flavors or exotic combinations. And, of course, the small servings of mostly cold finger foods mean tea can be served without an enormous, expensively appointed kitchen and staff.

Traditional tearooms also offer journeys to other worlds, and the Las Vegas Valley has a half-dozen or so spaces specifically dedicated to afternoon (and occasionally late morning or early evening) tea.

Queen of Hearts in Henderson is a tearoom whose Wonderland theme extends to both menu and décor. The walls are extravagantly muraled in black, white, and red patterns of stripes, diamonds, hearts, and roses, while playing-card sandwiches, chessboard cookies, and cream puffs with white rabbit ears are served alongside pots of Iron Goddess oolong or rose petal tea.

The Cobblestone Cottage is another extravagantly embellished space designed solely for tea service.

The room is decorated in rosy tones of velvet and brocade with furnishings that are a mix of Louis XIV, Victorian, and cottagecore. Many of the fixtures belonged to owner Arsine Rassam and were handed down from her family.

THE PHOTO ISSUE

“When guests see teacups or china patterns from their mothers or grandmothers, it brings warmth and cherished childhood memories,” Rassam says. “We could hire designers to create stunning, Instagram-worthy backdrops, but they wouldn’t provide that comforting embrace (you get) while enjoying a warm cup of tea.”

Cobblestone’s menu offers traditional afternoon and high tea featuring delicacies such as sesame-seeded cheese puffs and tiny chocolate lava cakes. The spot also holds holiday-themed teas with specialized entertainment and menus, as well as monthly “destination” teas that may be French, Italian, Greek, or other international themes, complete with dishes and passport stamps.

“In a world dominated by electronics, texts, emails, and social media, we often forget to disconnect,” Rassam says. “Teatime encourages us to slow down, allowing for genuine connection without distractions.”

This is also why afternoon tea suits Las Vegas — tourists with wide-open schedules and locals with less traditional ones can all find themselves with midday downtime. At tea, they can socialize in a relaxed setting, rather than shop or sleep or scroll.

Last spring, Circa’s Legacy Club hosted High Tea in the Sky, demonstrating how wide the audience for tea-centric events can be. A diverse mixture of girlbosses toting designer bags, petticoated rockabilly chicks, hat-wearing grandmas, and of course, Las Vegas’ ladies who lunch sipped from souvenir floral teacups, snapped selfies, and told each other how fabulous they looked. The atmosphere was warm, and the vibe was elevated — and not only because it happened a few dozen stories above Fremont Street.

Henry James begins his novel, The Portrait of a Lady, by writing, “There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” The ceremonies may have changed with the times and adapted to the audience, but the hour is agreeable as ever. ✦

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Behind the Counter Representation matters in back-of-house culture

BY Lorraine Blanco Moss

A

kitchen scar can be a badge of honor for professional chefs.

They trade war stories about run-ins with the broiler and nasty cuts from the meat slicer. Some even get body art highlighting charred skin and sizable scrapes earned from busy nights on the line. But for many Black chefs, the permanent marks are less visible; they come from the mental anguish of trying to make their way to the top.

“Most people confronted with some of the stuff that people of color deal with would say, ‘You know what? I’m not doing this, because it’s difficult. It’s painful.’ I still got scars from, you know, pushing through the resistance,” says Kweisi Ausar, a professor in residence at UNLV’s

A FULL PLATE Chef Marquita Duren is committed to ending discrimination, both in her kitchen and beyond.

William F. Harrah College of Hospitality. Ausar quit a high-paying, senior-level position after 23 years in the restaurant industry, because he could no longer put up with the discrimination he experienced.

Reminiscing about those decades in the industry, Ausar says he wouldn’t have made it as far as he did without some great mentors along the way. He says the key is to find advocates, adding, “I’m not talking about any particular ethnic group … because there were lots of white people that I ran into along the way that saw my value, that gave me information that I wouldn’t have otherwise gotten, that shared their experience and their process for moving through problems.”

According to 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Black chefs and head cooks represented 18 percent of positions at the helm, the lowest percentage of all demographics. By comparison, white chefs made up 57 percent of kitchen bosses, followed by Latino head chefs at 25 percent, and female top chefs at 22.

Antwan Ellis, executive chef of Emmitt’s Vegas, says he relied heavily on his patience and the progressive mindset of his upbringing in Barbados to cut through to the top.

That’s because, in his experience, people in the restaurant industry — particularly in the United States — cling to stereotypes, causing them to question his ability, his competence, and his knowledge. This happens “even when I’ve proven to be knowledgeable, even when I’ve proven to do the job, even when I’ve proven that my educational background is stronger,” Ellis says.

“Our mistakes are weighed higher and heavier than others. If I messed up a cream sauce, it was as if I caused World War III. Others may have messed up a cream sauce, and it was like, ‘Okay, let’s remake it and get it right.’ I’ve learned to make mistakes only once.”

Chef Marquita Duren, executive chef of Tailgate Social Sports Bar & Grill, shares a similar experience working her way up in professional kitchens. She saw first-hand how much harder it can be to achieve PHOTOGRAPHY Ronda Churchill

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and maintain the top back-of-house position as a person of color and a woman. “I feel like I’m always underneath the microscope.”

What’s more, Duren says, her superiors wouldn’t give her the tools she needed to succeed, forcing her to teach herself. “But I saw other people receiving what they needed to move forward,” she adds. “I felt like they didn’t really care if I moved up or not.”

Having heard and seen a lot of bad behavior by restaurant managers over the years, Duren vows to do the opposite in her kitchen. She recalls “being told I’m not good enough, being talked down to, being looked down on, always feeling like I’m beneath everybody else,” she says.

“I try to give (my cooks) some type of positivity in this cruel world that we live in, in this industry we’re in.”

She advises them to build resilience: “No matter what brick is coming your way, just step on it. Use it as a stepping stool. That’s what I did. Everything that came my way,

all the negativity, everything that was thrown at me, I just stepped on it. And I kept pushing.”

Duren fears that the current push to decrease diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in government and the corporate world could lead to more barriers for underrepresented communities. “It’s very scary in the times that we’re living in right now,” the chef says, “to be a witness of it and to not know what the future is going to hold for myself, my wife, or any minority or any woman moving forward.”

Elani Depke, the new general manager at Bardot Brasserie and former sous chef at Michelin-starred Joël Robuchon in LasVegas, says she gets it: “I graduated from CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in January 2014, and I’m just now getting to this GM position,” Depke says. “I’ve seen some of my male counterparts, Caucasian counterparts, have a similar trajectory, but it happens in half the time. And that can be very defeating for a lot of people.”

But she does question the success of DEI programs at present, and she’s concerned about the effect such programs can have on peer perception. “Their eyes take in what they take in, and they sum you up there,” Depke says. “And (they think) ‘It must be affirmative action, it must be DEI,’ and it’s like they don’t take the time to understand how qualified an individual may be.” Then, she adds, “But if we’re not going to have programs like that, we need to have something so that we don’t have to work twice as hard or worse.”

UNLV professor Ausar says the solution is complicated. “There’s racism throughout the fabric of the country that we live in. You know, anybody that says that there’s not has their head in the sand.”

He believes the solution may be a rebranding of sorts for DEI. “There’s so much backlash to DEI. (We need to) make this idea of inclusion and diversity clear that it’s not excluding anyone,

NEVADA BACK COUNTRY

ATV / Off-Roading

WATERING HOLES

Mountain Biking Bird / Wildlife Viewing Boating / Fishing

Nevada’s urban cities dish up some lavish sips and eats... but, if you’re craving something a little less refined and less confined, we invite you to get out and explore a few of these rural options that are worth making a weekend trip for!

Camping / RV Hook-up Climbing / Bouldering Ghost Town Exploring Golfing

Wineries & distilleries ♦ Pahrump, NV

Hiking

With several local vineyards, tasting rooms, rum distillery, and even a cider producer, Pahrump is fast becoming a hub to please every drinker’s palate.

UFO Spotting

tonopah brewing company ♦ tonopah, NV

History & Petroglyphs

“Proudly Tonopah”, the ownership have deep roots here. Enjoy a pint of their refreshing locally brewed beers along with some delicious pub grub.

Diners & Saloons

overland hotel & saloon ♦ pioche, NV

Known for its unique spirits (and we’re not just talking about the drinks) it’s the perfect place to bump into a local storyteller while having a drink.

Santa Fe Saloon ♦ Goldfield, NV

Open since 1905, it’s known to be the oldest local business in the town. Surviving a flood and fire, it still serves up cold brews and some very tasty pizzas!

NevadaSilverTrails.com

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DINING because that’s the perception,” Ausar says. “It’s not just about diversity for the sake of diversity.

It’s about representing … not just in the people who work for you, but also the communities that you serve.”

Another thing that would help increase the number of people of color choosing to persevere in the hospitality industry, Ausar says, would be to remove the stigma that it won’t amount to much.

“It’s really hard to break through those perceptions to get them to understand that there’s tremendous opportunity in hospitality for upward career progression,” he says.

Universities also need to offer more hospitality scholarships to people of color and do more outreach in those communities, he adds. And people who’ve progressed should share their stories.

Ausar tells hospitality students that have high hopes, “You’ve got to play the game. You’ve got to be willing to take the hits. You’ve got to be willing to weather through the storms. Because it’s not gonna be easy.”

Emmitt’s chef Ellis says it has been difficult, but the quest to create delicious food and bring others up with him still fuels him. “People like me who have my mentality, we tend to band together. And we will open the doors for others who come behind us,” Ellis says. “If it is truly merit-based, there will be a total shift of the employment paradigm in America. DEI will drive your workforce. Your workforce will be very diverse, because diversity is educational progress. Diversity is knowledge-based. We all bring different things to the table.”

He thinks that table will be more delectable and more efficient with varied flavors and voices. “The advice that I could say to anyone at the top who wants to see a proper moving organization is, listen to your people. Listen to those who don’t look like you, because if they don’t look like you, it probably means they know something that you don’t.” ✦

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HUMOR

Bawk to the Past A beloved local chicken chain pecks at a retro revival

BY Andrew Kiraly

FARM BASKET IS BACK. Okay, it didn’t go anywhere, but it’s “back” as in upgraded or, more specifically, retrograded. Local developer J Dapper recently bought out the local fried-bird chain and announced a menu overhaul that would return the Gobblers and Cluckers to their glorious original recipes after years of culinary drift into mediocrity. Hurray for the OG Farm Basket that longtime locals fondly remember.

Uh, actually, I don’t remember.

Which is weird, because I have a defensibly accurate sensory recall of Western fast-food chains of yore that stamped their presence on the Las Vegas Valley in the ’80s and ’90s — the odd, smoky richness of Naugles tacos, the crispy crinkle fries at A&W, the perpetual lazy Sunday beerhall vibes of Shakey’s Pizza. It’s entirely possible that part of my hippocampus has been compromised by a lifetime of high sodium intake, but I’ve always known and enjoyed the sandwiches at Farm Basket for the admirably mechanical rigor of their shape (oblong rectanguloid) and uniformity of flavor (bracingly salty, redeemed with a scrim of mayo), all optimized for rapid, unthinking, utilitarian, decidedly unfarmlike consumption. Perhaps I never paid close enough attention to take note of the menu’s gradual decline. Perhaps, scary

thought, I’ve been eating Late-Stage Farm Basket all this time, mistaking it for Original Recipe Farm Basket. Or perhaps in 2025 no one remembers anything anymore and this play at nostalgia is just a marketing hook to draw attention to the buyout and give the Basket a fresh boost.

In any case, after a recent visit, I’m happy to report that things are certainly better at the new/old/whatever Farm Basket. For the sake of purported objectivity, I wanted a broadband, multiform protein-sampling experience, so I ordered approximately 11 pounds of food in the form of a Clucker Meal and a three-piece Chicken Finger Meal. Good news on The Clucker: The functionally templated poultry-tab sandwich objects have been replaced by actual sandwiches, with tender fried-chicken chunks hugged in a Hoagie roll, layered with fresh lettuce and an evocatively Proustian slice of yellow cheese. (Miracle Whip packet and cranberry sauce cup on the side for personalized saucing.) The contemporary Clucker is, well, sandwichy in the best way — appetizingly unwieldy in a manner that dares you to engage it with your mouth. The fries are the kind I like: crispy, salty, skinny, spilling out all appropriately cornucopia-ish from their waxy white sleeve. The Chicken Fingers aren’t so much fingers as chunky thumbs of chicken (this is a good thing), and the crumbly fried coating is a fine flavor actuator for the dipping sauces.

I topped it all off with Farm Basket’s comeback carb de resistance, a swirly, buttery, citrus-kissed Orange Roll, which, the story goes, had vanished from the menu years ago and is now triumphantly returned.

Everything is as good as I don’t quite remember. But I can confidently affirm one classic constant: Farm Basket’s interior décor maintains its Wes Anderson barn charm, an eerily placid berth of burnt-umber wood paneling and harvest-gold plastic booths that touches on the suspect nostalgia that’s always woven into the fast-food experience. Is this live, is this memory?

The answer’s on the tip of my tongue.

Farm Basket, multiple locations, farmbasket.restaurant

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NETFLIX BITES

Stubborn Seed stubbornseed.com

Ole Red DINING

The Vegas Dish New chefs, dishes, and spots to try around the valley

BY Lorraine Blanco Moss

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Netflix Bites

olered.com

This corny excuse to consume Netflix-themed dishes turns out to be a taste bud hit. Try the "Squid Game"-inspired “Red Bite, Green Bite,” featuring a spinning wheel with three dipping sauces, and the crunchiest fried chicken nuggets on the planet. Cocktails are on the sugary side, but the service is inspired.

Yeehaw! The new “Honey Bee” brunch at Ole Red Las Vegas combines Southern breakfast favorites, live country music, and an amazing view. Saddle up for the hot honey chicken biscuit — a spicy, buttery, juicy piece of Nashville in your mouth.

Braseria

Wineaux Alley

netflixbites.com

Food lovers will have to wait a little longer for the opening of the highly anticipated Braseria, by the owners of EDO Tapas & Wine and Anima by EDO. Partner Joe Mikulich says they’ve “been blessed with five amazing chefs from the Joël Robuchon/L’Atelier team,” who will work with chef Oscar Amador Edo to meld the James Beard-nominated chef’s creativity with French technique. Opening has been pushed to late summer at The Collective at 3900 Paradise Road.

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wineauxlv.com

Soak up the sun while savoring your favorite wines. Wineaux, the popular wine bar at Uncommons, just opened The Alley, a patio spot to get your grape fix al fresco. With all the outdoor vibes, this will be the spot to drink, eat, and see and be seen this summer.

STUBBORN SSED: COURTESY STUBBORN SEED; NETFLIX BITES: COURTESY NETFLIX

STUBBORN SEED

The ambience and flavors at Michelin-starred chef Jeremy Ford’s Stubborn Seed in Resorts World felt Miami-edgy, and the service, top-tier. The staff glided around us in perfect precision, even offering to bring hot water to warm our baby’s bottle. Choose between three five- to six-course menus ($125-205). It’s worth the price tag.

Summer Challenge FREE Reading & Activities Program for Kids, Teens & Adults!

May 15 May 15 – July July 31 31 Sign up for the Library District’s Summer Challenge program to enjoy reading whatever you like and participate in fun events to win great prizes!

For details on these events and to see many more, go to TheLibraryDistrict.org/SummerChallenge or scan this QR Code:

EVENTS FOR KIDS:

EVENTS FOR TEENS:

EVENTS FOR ADULTS: Keahloa Hawaii’s First Poet Laureate Ages 18+ Saturday, May 17 11 a.m. Workshop Spring Valley Library

Uncle Ty-Rone: Kids Comedian & Ventriloquist Ages 6 – 11 Friday, May 16 at 4 p.m.

West Las Vegas Library Saturday, May 17 at 11 a.m. & 3 p.m.

Clark County Library

Circus of Bubbles with Kirk Marsh The art of bubble-making combined with lights and music Ages 3 – 12 May 30 & 31, June 1– 5 Multiple times & locations

Mutiple times and locations

Clay Creations - UNR Extension - 4H Teens learn to work with clay Ages 12 – 17 Clark County Library Tuesday, May 27 at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 3 at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 24 at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 1 at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 8 at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 15 at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 22 at 1:30 p.m.

Fyütch Children’s Hip Hop Artist Wednesday, July 30 Concert for ages 5 – 17 10:30 a.m. at Windmill Library Teen Workshop for grades 6 – 12 4 p.m. at Whitney Library Thursday, July 31 Concert for ages 5 – 17 10:30 a.m. at Whitney Library

4:30 p.m. at Whitney Library

Monday, June 16 at 1 p.m.

Enterprise Library

Scan here for event details

Monday, June 23 at 1 p.m.

Sunrise Library

Professional Poetry 101 A workshop with Clark County Poet Laureate Ashley Vargas Ages 18+ May 29 – June 28 Multiple times & locations Jay Cameron – African Diaspora Travels World traveler, speaker, author & radio personality Ages 18+ Friday, June 13 at 2 p.m.

West Las Vegas Library Sarah Penner Meet the author of “The Lost Apothecary” Ages 18+ Thursday, June 26 at 6 p.m.

Sahara West Library

Monday, July 7 at 1 p.m.

Clark County Library TheLibraryDistrict.org/ SummerChallenge

Monday, July 28 at 12 p.m.

Windmill Library

Read Play Win! TheLibraryDistrict.org/SummerChallenge TheLibraryDistrict.org/SummerChallenge

START HERE

123 Andrés GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY-winning duo Ages 0 – 5 Saturday, May 24 1 p.m. at East Las Vegas Library

Paint Pouring With Vibes DIY Studio Free art class for teens Ages 12 – 17 Monday, June 9 at 1 p.m.

Centennial Hills Library

3 p.m. Performance Windmill Library

ENGLISH

ESPAÑOL

GUTTER CREDIT TK

CULTURE

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I

The Short List THE GUIDE

Get these can’t-miss concerts, exhibits, and plays in your calendar

BY Mike Prevatt

ILLUSTRATION Miguel Manich

n most cities, the Maythrough-July quarter would mark the transition from spring to summer. In Southern Nevada, the only noticeable change is your air conditioner moving from “high” to “arctic” setting.

The local arts calendar also cools off a bit, peaking with season finales in May and then tapering off considerably while everyone takes refuge inside their refrigerated domiciles. Which is to say: Anyone parched for culture in July should head to a temperature-controlled gallery or museum, where visual art is equinoxally agnostic.

And on that note: Artist, curator, and Desert Companion contributor Brent Holmes’ exhibition People of Color opened during Black History Month, but it’s showing through August 7 at Las Vegas City Hall’s Chamber Gallery. Its multidiscipline works reflect American life through the lens of Nevada’s African diasporic artists, including Ashanti McGee, Joseph Watson, and Vogue Robinson, among others.

People of Color also serves as a good reminder that the valley’s most overlooked creative spaces include government buildings and libraries, which frequently show vital, relevant, and even unflinching art, typically made by locals and shown in widely accessible spots. Cue Maya Angelou: “Great art belongs to all people, all the time — indeed it is made for the people by the p e o p l e ” ( M o n d a y -T h u rs d a y, 7a-5:30p; free; lasvegasnevada.gov/ Residents/Arts-Culture).

UNLV’s Black Mountain Institute debuted its first salon-type event in May 2024, and it went so well that another salon blesses this May’s calendar. Elevations is the name and the theme of this multidisciplinary congress. Its participating artists — covering every base of the creative baseball diamond — explore the ups and

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FOR MORE cultural event recommendations, see The Guide online, read See Hear Do in our weekly newsletter, or tune in to “KNPR’s State of Nevada.”

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do-it-yourself shows than conventional theatrical productions. They also tend to be shorter, and often more experimental or offbeat.

Vegas Fringe Festival over at LVLT (June 6-15, dates and times vary; $20 per show) is in its 14th edition, and it prides itself on featuring both new and established works that never cross the 60-minute mark. Then there’s the newcomer, the downtown-based

MICRO-REVIEW

Striking a Chord Area15’s newest attraction promises an immersive retelling of rock’ n’ roll history It’s no problem for the 20-foot walls of the Illuminarium at Area15 to display 1,300 Rolling Stone covers. And the imprint’s cachet lends the venue’s current show, Amplified, the Immersive Rock Experience, some rock-generation credibility, helping to offset the tourist trap-iness of many so-called “immersive attractions.” Some 1,200 photos and 250 video clips project the history of rock and pop from Elvis to Chappell Roan on wraparound walls (and, sometimes, the floor). The Kevin Bacon narration also strives to give context to 30-plus classic tunes, “so when you see the images and hear the songs, you know why,” producer Brad Siegel says. — Mike Weatherford

COURTESY LAS VEGAS MEN’S CHORUS I L LU M I N A R I U M : CO U RT E SY I L LU M I N A R I U M

downs of living in the greater Las Vegas area. Film and play shorts, the Las Vegas High School mariachi band, a comedic ballerina, slam poets, student fashion — seemingly no one has been left out of this varied exploration of desert gradation, which goes down at the Clark County Library Theater.

(May 2, 6p; free with registration; blackmountaininstitute.org).

Theater and stage keep busy throughout May and June, and what has grabba-grabba-hey! my attention first is the return of Four Chords and a Gun at Vegas Theatre Company. It’s a black (leather jacket) comedy based on that one time when The Ramones recorded an album with “Wall of Sound” producer Phil Spector, who never hesitated to pull a gun on anyone, and, in the case of the New York City punk band, hold them hostage for six hours. With what we now know about Spector, who died in prison, this production should provide a master class in comedic tension.

(May 21-June 1, dates and times vary; $42.54; theatre.vegas).

Speaking of tension: Drama-heads will have to choose from not one, but two Fringe Festivals now happening concurrently. First, an explainer for the unaware: Fringe Festivals showcase more casual,

Fallout Fringe (June 3-25; days and times vary; $11.64-16.79 per show), which organizers say will “cater to challenging and bleeding edge work” with some 115-plus performances, artist conversations, parties, and workshops. The real challenge, theatrophiles, will be negotiating two packed schedules and the four-to-five miles between the two fests’ venues.

On the music front, another Vegas cultural tradition resurfaces: DjangoVegas! at the Historic Fifth Street School (June 28, 6p; lasvegasnevada.gov/residents/ events). Jazz guitar icon Django Reinhardt gets his annual homage — as will violinist Stephane Grappelli, with whom Django established the Quintette du Hot Club de France — at this concert, headlined by hot club-style guitarists Joscho Stephan and Paulus Schäfer. A day later over at UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall, the Las Vegas Men’s Chorus will finish its 32nd season with its Broadway Our Way program (June 29, 4p; $2555; lvmenschorus.org), and yes, Wicked will be on the program.

That’s some 100 men on stage, belting out showstoppers, with dancers complementing some of the numbers — Pride Month, what else ya got? ✦

BOOKS

Road Lessons The road trip in Elegy, Southwest takes us through climate change, grief, art, and the fragile state of a marriage

BY Scott Dickensheets

AUTHOR MADELEINE WATTS’ latest novel, Elegy, Southwest, passes its first truth test on page one: “There’s something f*****-up about Vegas streets, you said.” So far so good!

As the novel’s protagonists, married couple Eloise and Lewis, putter around town, Watts enshrouds their movements in a murmuration of smartly deployed Vegas deets and references: strategic name drops (Frenchman Mountain, Dave Hickey) and real places slyly depicted — for

random example, the downtown watering hole ReBAR, which one hipster loves for “its embrace of capital and kitsch, the forthrightness of the grift.”

In most cases, of course, fictional fidelity to a novel’s real-life setting doesn’t matter much to anyone beyond local readers. But this is literary fiction — you can tell by the lack of quote marks in the dialogue — so it’s not going to rely on high-octane genre plot mechanics to carry the reader’s interest. Instead, the story needs a constantly refreshed, origami-precise presentation of character and place. Watts’ careful verisimilitude is an early signal that she’s done the necessary work.

Vegas is the jumping-off point for a road trip the couple is taking — Lewis, so he can visit Southwestern land art sites on behalf of the arts foundation he works for, Eloise so she can study the gasping Colorado River for her PhD thesis. Lewis is struggling with grief from his mother’s death, and his changing behavior is already forcing cracks in their marriage, which the road trip will sharply widen. Eloise thinks she might be pregnant, but hasn’t

mentioned this to Lewis.

Their personal griefs and fractures are mirrored by larger ones of climate change and social discord.

Elegy, Southwest is set in 2018, a horrifying fire year in California, and thus the couple’s trip carries them deep into the planetary gestalt of loss and anxiety — as another recent book, Kyle Paoletta’s nonfiction American Oasis, points out, the Southwest’s arid present is everyone else’s near future.

Lest this all sound too didactic, let me add that Watts is too good a writer, and too invested in her characters, to turn Elegy, Southwest into a mere slab of cli-fi alarmism.

It’s a very good book about people and how they bear up, or sometimes don’t, under the pressures of modern life. ✦ Elegy, Southwest Madeleine Watts 288 pages, $27.99 Simon & Schuster

FILM

Making It Vegasy Las Vegas locations and celeb cameos ground a heartfelt new film

F I L M : K AY L A B OW E N E L E G Y, S O U T H W E S T : C O U R T E S Y S I M O N & S C H U S T E R

BY Josh Bell

F

or local filmmaker Jonathan L. Bowen, making The Comic Shop was a bit like traveling back in time. “I haven’t really been into comics since I was in middle school,” says Bowen, 42, who frequented comic book stores while growing up in Portland, Oregon. Those experiences helped shape his feel-good dramedy about struggling comic book store owner Mike (Jesse Metcalfe) and Mike’s friendship with teenage customer and aspiring artist Brandon (Micah Giovanni). But creating the movie meant that Bowen had to give himself a crash course in what he’d missed over the years.

In 2018, while still living in Oregon, Bowen stepped back from his day job working on corporate videos to dedicate himself to his filmmaking ambitions, writing five screenplays just that year, including The Comic Shop. He immersed himself in research, learning about the world of indie comics after being familiar only

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CULTURE

The Comic Shop is available for VOD rental and purchase.

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S TA G E

Hamlet, Prince of Mobile Homes Nevada Shakespeare Festival reimagines the classic

BY Janis Hashe

THE PRINCE OF DENMARK re-

emerges in a 1990s Southern trailer park in the Nevada Shakespeare Festival’s production of Hamlet, opening May 8.

Matthew Morgan, NSF’s artistic director for five years, is staging his own adaptation of the world’s most famous play. He promises both Bardaholics and Shakespeare newbies will enjoy the trimmeddown, accessible version.

Like a tiny kingdom, he says, “the trailer park is (the characters’) whole world. They will fight for what they have. Every moment of their lives is life and death.” Music and line dancing will liven up the proceedings. In one provocative twist, the play’s section in which pirates kidnap Hamlet — only recounted in the original script — will be staged in full swashbuckle. “People will sit up in their seats,” Morgan says.

Since a full-length staging of Hamlet would run more than four hours, as it did in Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 two-part filmed version, and given NSF’s commitment to two-and-half-hour shows, cuts were necessary. Morgan says he prides himself on being able to “take a scalpel” to the script while

retaining its essence.

One character feeling the knife will be notoriously long-winded Polonius. Hamlet himself describes Ophelia’s father as a “foolish prating knave.” And some of the more obscure poetry and references, difficult for most nonscholars to understand, will be absent as well, as Morgan is committed to making Shakespeare enjoyable for the “community we’re in.”

He says his day job as a comedian and clown, trained with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, informs his love of physical theatricality. This will be allowed full rein by the production’s venue, the Cornerstone Park Circus Tent in Henderson.

The original Globe Theatre in Shakespeare’s time was, in some ways, more like a circus tent than a modern theater, with boisterous “groundlings” standing outdoors in front of the stage, eating and making rude comments. This Hamlet will provide a taste of those times — presumably without the rude comments. ✦ Hamlet, May 8-11, 14-17, nevadashakespearefestival.com

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with the mainstream superhero series from DC and Marvel. “What I really loved about it is, the same with indie filmmaking, a lot of times you’re getting somebody’s real vision, somebody’s passion,” he says of the comics highlighted in The Comic Shop.

Bowen and his wife moved to Las Vegas in 2019, and when it came time to make the film, he based the production locally. Thus, now-closed local store Heroes for Sale became Mike’s World, with Torpedo Comics standing in for the flashy rival that threatens to put Mike out of business. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without them being really easygoing about us just taking over their store,” Bowen says, referring to Heroes for Sale. At Torpedo, which is owned

by System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan, Bowen and his cast and crew were amazed at the high-end selections: “There were people buying comics on the set.”

Bowen also scored cameos from local entertainers Carrot Top (playing himself as a customer at Mike’s World) and Murray Sawchuck (playing a famous comic book creator), adding to the movie’s authentic Vegas flavor. “I tried to make it where it’s Vegasy, but in the way that us locals think about it,” he says. “Carrot Top lives here.

If he likes comics, he would go into a local store.”

While his childhood memories of visiting a similar store owned by a guy named Mike inspired Bowen’s idea, the character arc for Mike, a onetime artist, who gave up his dream to open a small business, is more reflective of Bowen’s own life. He lived in Los Angeles for a while and made one previous feature film, in 2011, before shifting focus to his corporate video business. Now he’s hoping that, like Mike, he can keep pursuing what he loves. “I feel like I have to earn the opportunity to make another movie,” he says. With The Comic Shop making its way to audiences, he’s ready to do just that. ✦

Protecting Nevada’s lands and waters for more than 40 years Join us: nature.org/nevada

Image Credit:

Simon Williams/TNC

C

lean air, pristine national parks, safe water — all aspects of daily life in Nevada that the state’s estimated 22,000 federal workers help to make a reality. When the Trump administration’s mass layoffs began on January 28, however, this work was jeopardized. Unease permeated the state’s federal offices for the two weeks leading up to what’s come to be known as the “Valentine’s Day Massacre,” when, on February 13 and 14, probationary employees around the country (those who’d spent less than a year in their current positions) were suddenly laid off. Three of those workers shared their stories with Desert Companion: an aquatic ecologist who helps safeguard Lake Mead against invasive organisms, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who helps protect endangered species, and a Veterans Affairs technician who makes sure VA healthcare facilities have the supplies they need. All three, who have since been rehired — for now — following a preliminary injunction from a district court judge, recount that day and the weeks surrounding it.

Riley Rackliffe, aquatic ecologist: We (at Lake Mead National Recreation Area ) had anticipation. As January 20 rolled up with a new administration, we knew that that was going to affect us, because we had employees that remembered eight years ago, the last time Trump came into office, and he had a pretty tremendous effect on the Park Service then.

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Oral History

‘I SERVED MY COUNTRY, BUT IT’S NOT SERVING ME’ Chaos, apprehension, and uncertainty: Nevada’s “Valentine’s Day Massacre” through the eyes of the federal employees who lived it

By Anne Davis

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Kaesee Bourne, IPaC biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlif e Service: Everyone was very stressed out. ... An email that really rattled a lot of us was one where they talked about how each agency needed to send in a list of all their probationary employees, and at that time, all of us already assumed they wanted this list so that they could fire all of us, because in the email, they mentioned how easy it was to fire all of us. So, that was a really hard thing to read. But my supervisor and the whole leadership team were saying how they had no intention of getting rid of us.

That, if it was up to them, they would keep all of us, because they obviously needed us, which is why they hired us onto these different teams.

So, for the moment, I didn’t feel as afraid of losing my job. Overall, everyone was more so afraid of their work becoming

ORAL HISTORY harder, or it being harder for them to save these species, because of changes to important environmental law or because of reduced funding. ... Morale was pretty low most of the time. We wouldn’t even ask how people were during meetings, because we all knew that most people were probably feeling sad or scared.

Mark Wagstaff, retired U.S. Marine Corps sargeant and supply technician for the Department of Veterans Affairs: About two weeks (before Valentine’s Day), this is when the initial “fork in the road” email went out to all federal employees.

With this deferred resignation, they were trying to get you to quit your job with the incentive that they paid you throughout the rest of the fiscal year. ... For me, it wasn’t an option, because I’m a career public servant.

I love what I do. I uprooted my life to be here (in Las Vegas). So, it was everything to me to stay in a position.

RR: We were getting the resignation emails, the “fork in the road,” where they emailed everyone in the government and said, “Hey, anybody that wants to resign, go ahead and do it.” So, there was a lot of chatter about that. Is this even real? Can we trust it? ...

Initially, I looked at the resignation offer and said, “Well, I’d rather have a job. I worked pretty hard to get here — I’m not just going to give it up.” ... But we were a nervous wreck. ... How do you make decisions in the face of uncertainty? There was definitely a sense of dread going into that Friday (the 14th).

MW: I just wanted to just enjoy some time off — it was Valentine’s Day! There was a food festival — the Dream Asia Food Fest — in town. That’s what I was actually going to do. (Around 10 a.m.) I get a phone call from my supervisor on my personal phone. So, at that point I’m like, “Okay, this has got to be urgent, getting a call on my personal phone on my day off.” So, I answered a phone call to my direct line supervisor saying, “Unfortunately, now that the fork in the road is over, these emails came out and they terminated you as an employee of probationary status.” And it cited poor work performance.

KB: I was supposed to be off. I had some other plans that I made (to visit a group of old coworkers). I was driving down the road, I was about to get to my location, and then I saw that my supervisor was calling

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me on my personal phone (around 8:30 a.m.). There was literally no reason for her to be calling me. And I was like, “I bet you this is it. I bet you this is about to be where she tells me that I don’t work for the service anymore.” So, I pick up the phone, and she goes, “Hey, Kaesee.” And I was like, “Hey, you heard something, didn’t you?” And she took a minute, and I could tell that it was really hard for her to continue talking. And she just said, “Kaesee, I’m so sorry, but we just got notice that we have to get rid of all the probationary employees.”

RR: Since it was a Friday, the technicians were all off. So, the office was relatively quiet. ... I went in, and it was me and my boss and another supervisor. ... We all kind of had (the layoffs) in the back of our mind, checking the news headlines every 20 minutes. But I went through all my work, and then it hit about noon or so, and nothing had happened yet. And I was like, “Okay, well, I’m done for the week. I’m going to go home.” I slipped out to our little laboratory — I have a lab that’s next door to our office — to calibrate some instruments and an incubator. When I came back into the office (around 12:30 p.m.), my boss ran into me and said, “I’m sorry, you got fired.”

MW: (The call) felt really impersonal from the direct line supervisor. ... It was just kind of like, “Read the termination letter that they give you. Godspeed; best of luck in your endeavors.” The part that made it much more frustrating is that they sent the termination paperwork to my work email and work cell phone. I tried to access it that same day, but they had already cut off my access to my government email and my work phone, so I couldn’t see any new messages that were coming in for that day at all. ...

And also, how am I being let go for poor work performance (when I had just gotten my appraisal back with all outstanding remarks), but you also tell me I’m being let go for being a probationary employee?

KB: From that point on, (and) I’m really not the type of person who cries in public, but I was bawling so much that I had to pull over off the road and park in a random parking lot so that I could wrap my head around what (my supervisor) had just told me.

RR: The termination notice carbon copied me into it, but they had the wrong email address, so I didn’t actually get it. ... It

terminated me because of a lack of fitness to meet the qualifications of the role that I’d been doing for 11 months — I was about 25 days short of meeting my one-year probation.

MW: It was shock, but it was just kind of like, well, that just happened. ... (I told my wife the same day) but I didn’t want to raise her anxiety up. ... I asked her to take more of a hands-off approach with it, like just taking it in stride.

KB: The first person I called was my mom.

I don’t call her crying very often, so when she heard me, she was very concerned. I was very sad, but I think me having plans in between all of the sadness definitely helped me to have some happiness during the day.

So, when I went to visit my old coworkers, I was obviously still sad, but I was able to laugh with them and have some fun.

RR: I cleaned up my office; canceled any appointments I had on my calendar. It took about two to three hours to kind of tie loose ends up, and I had all this government equipment that I had to return, a little park ranger badge, and a cell phone and credit cards.

KB: Then I went home, and the reality set in a little bit more.

MW: I didn’t really deal with it until that Monday morning, physically walking into the office to turn in my equipment and my badge.

RR: There was a lot of disbelief. It was also kind of crushing. How do you react to that? So, you kind of take your emotions and stick them in a bottle and just say, “I’m going to deal with this later.” All of these little appointments that you had, (you now have to cancel).

KB: Over the next few days, the feelings definitely changed. I was really mad, especially when I was looking on LinkedIn to apply for new jobs. There were some that I was seeing, and I was like, “Ah, this isn’t what I want!” And then I would think, “Okay, what do I want?” And then everything I wanted would be the position that I had with Fish and Wildlife. … I was mad because I had what I wanted: I was 25, I was young, I was already in the federal government, I had health benefits, I had a good-paying job.

I finally had a permanent position, and I

didn’t have to worry about doing all these seasonal positions and having to apply for jobs all over again. ...

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KB: And then there was definitely fear too — fear of not being provided for, because I just lost the money that I was making.

I was used to not making a whole lot of money, but with this position, I was super excited, because I thought, “Oh, man, I’m finally making a livable wage! I can finally start saving” … Now I have to go back into survival mode. It wasn’t until about a few weeks ago that I was able to feel less mad, and at that point I was still a little bit sad, but kind of coming to terms with everything. And then (the week of March 3), it was the first time I was able to actually go a day without having any of those negative emotions.

MW: (I’ve been centering) the adapt-andovercome mentality. ... I know I’m going to be one of those stories to be like, “Well, that happened to me, and it’s unfortunate, but here I am now still standing in my new position, being happy around people who care for me as an individual, as well as (for) my career.”

RR: (In the weeks since), I’ve done a lot of thinking back. Where did I go wrong?

Where are the signs that I missed? ... You go through all of the five stages of grief — it’s a roller-coaster. Just like breaking up with somebody, you go through each of those stages, and they’re not sequential.

You just kind of bounce back and forth between different stages. One morning, you’re like, “No, I’m ready to move on.

This is fine. The world is my oyster! Go get a higher paying job somewhere.”

Then the next day, you’re like, “I just want to move away from Nevada and never come back.” You want to hide in a trash can or something, because you feel like you’re worthless.

MW: (I’m concerned, because) I know that there are individuals (still at the VA) pretty much pulling double duty right now to make sure that the veterans and their families have what they need at the local hospital. And (that leads to) fatigue, frustration. You’ll have employees that are burned out.

RR: The biggest thing that we’re losing (right now) is basically the last year of effort in developing staff expertise —

that’s all been thrown away, because everybody who was hired in the last year got fired. So, that’s a lot of effort and work on training people and building up resources that’s all been tossed out.

I had all these studies lined up and grants that got funded. All that’s getting thrown away. ... But if the government’s going to step down and not maintain our wild places, then who is? I think that means the public has to do it.

We have to step up, and we have to take care of these places as citizens, as members of the community, or they will be destroyed.

KB: I’m just really hoping that we’re able to keep the integrity of our systems, or else, I’m not only going to be nervous for the Fish and Wildlife Service, but for the entire environmental field in general. ... We’re not politicians.

We’re not people who got into this work because of any type of political agenda. We’re here because we love the animals. We love the plants and their habitats and the waters. And we just want to make sure that these natural resources are something that our kids and our grandkids and great-grandkids are able to experience.

RR: I’m certainly looking at any local ( job) options, but I’m kind of a specialist, so I’m also looking all over the country and even in other countries to find a position that will take me. ... (My wife) is a stay-at-home mom (of two young children). ... So, she is also job hunting — we went to a zero-income household.

KB: It’s been a month now, and every single time I pass that spot on the road (where I got the call), which I pass frequently because it’s (the way I drive to get to church), I’m like, “Dang, this is where it happened. This is where I got some of the worst news of my life.

MW: If I could give a title to how I feel (in the weeks since the layoffs): I feel like I served my country, but it’s not serving me. ✦

HEAR more about how federal workforce cuts will impact Nevada’s public lands on “KNPR’s State of Nevada.”

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small towns

There’s a long weekend’s worth of things to see and do in each of these five little gems DOWNTOWN ELY, NEVADA

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Big Fun

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NEVADA STATE CAPITOL BUILDING

CARSON CITY, NV A doorway to the Sierras and Nevada’s past

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eople taking a road trip through the eastern Sierra and legislators presenting a bill before the Nevada Legislature can feel equally at home in Carson City, because of its small-town charm. While it may not rise to the top of destination wish lists, the capital city is like the setting of a Hallmark Christmas movie. It also serves as a great home base for big outdoor adventures around Tahoe or the Sierra Nevada.

“We really focus on history and the outdoors,” says Visit Carson City’s Lydia Beck. It’s no wonder. Serving as the capital city since statehood in 1864, Carson City

has a lot of state lore to showcase, including the silver-domed Capitol building in the heart of town.

“People love going to the Capitol building because it’s so small and accessible,” Beck says. “There’s a museum inside, and you can do tours.”

However, she thinks it’s Carson City’s historic downtown that really wins travelers over with its small, quaint, mom-andpop bars, coffee shops, antique stores, and restaurants just across the street from the Capitol building.

“For me, following the Kit Carson Trail through the town’s West Side Historic District is one of my favorite things to do in the spring through the fall,” Beck adds.

“It’s just lined with towering cotton trees and beautiful historic Victorian homes. … Our downtown really holds a lot of the charm.”

WHERE TO STAY

While there are a handful of quaint bed-and-breakfasts in town, lodging is one place where Carson City could use

some attention. A number of well-known chain motels offer a quick, inexpensive getaway. Airbnbs are also plentiful, and make an excellent option, except when lawmakers are in town. However, with the Tahoe National Forest just minutes from downtown Carson, one might instead consider turning their trip to the capital city into a camping trip around Tahoe. fs. usda.gov/tahoe WHAT TO DO

You would be missing out if you didn’t take advantage of Carson’s proximity to Lake Tahoe and the outdoor recreation available there. Whether you’re skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, or mountain biking and backpacking in the summer, it’s among the state’s best outdoors destinations. visitlaketahoe.com It’s also a wonderful place to end an adventure — with a soak. Flowing out of the ground at more than 120 degrees, the mineral-rich waters of Carson Hot Springs have served as a place of rest and relaxation for generations. The resort

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ELY, NV An Escape on the Loneliest Road

NEVADA STATE MUSEUM

has both outdoor/public and indoor/ private pools, is open seven days a week, and is the perfect place to rejuvenate in any weather. Just bring your own towel. carsonhotsprings.com If being outside isn’t your thing, Carson City also boasts several fantastic museums, including the Nevada State Capitol, the Nevada State Museum, the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada, and the Nevada State Railroad Museum, which features one of the world’s rare wood-fired locomotive engines still in operation. visitcarsoncity.com/attractions/ nevada-capitol-building, carsonnvmuseum. org, cmnn.org, carsonrailroadmuseum.org If you do nothing else in Carson City, stop at the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum. The campus served as the federal government’s Indian boarding school for Great Basin tribal children from 1890 to 1980. Now, it’s a memorial to the thousands of children subjected to forced assimilation and the resilience of Nevada’s Native American communities. The stirring exhibits come alive with the help of a free, phone-guided audio tour of stories by Stewart alumni. stewartindianschool.com WHAT TO EAT

If you’re a sucker for diner food like I am, then check out The Cracker Box Diner. This Carson City institution has served some of the best breakfast bites the capital city has had to offer for just over 45 years. thecrackerboxdiner.com

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CARSON HOT SPRINGS

HISTORIC HOMES EXUDE SMALL TOWN CHARM

Another Carson City staple is The Basil Creative Thai Cuisine, a small, family business that’s served Carsonians authentically delicious Thai dishes for more than 20 years. thebasilthaicuisine.com If you’re looking for a more lively establishment, then I recommend Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint. Next to Carson Hot Springs, this place has it all: good food, good drinks, and great live entertainment.

Sassafras also hosts an impressive lineup of beers on tap and by the bottle, tons of specialty cocktails, flavored ice tea, and Italian sodas. Make sure to try the fried cheese grits with garlic ranch — absolutely delicious! sassafrascarsoncity.com —Paul Boger

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o matter the departure point of your road trip, the city of Ely emerges around the final bend of the journey with an immediate charm. The highways feeding into this northeast Nevada city are traditional mountainous twists with all the splendors of the desert landscape: diverse flora, glorious mountainsides, majestic (and tiny) creatures like Rocky Mountain Elk (and jackrabbits and chipmunks). Also, a windmill farm! It’s a magical drive that sees snow in the winter months and generally cooler temperatures year-round, though summer months can top 90 degrees.

Few towns in Nevada pack as much punch in such a small space. The entire city is only about seven square miles, and the population hovers around 4,000, but it has a vibrancy reflected in its penchant for artistic and cultural endeavors. Originally a stagecoach station for the Pony Express, Ely is like many places across Nevada that experienced a cycle of mining booms and busts. Here, it was the discovery of copper in nearby McGill around the late 19th century that put it on the map. As a result, the Nevada Northern Railway began construction in Ely in 1905. That train station and its attendant structures continue to resonate as the historic town emerged into a modern tourist destination.

According to Kyle Horvath, director of tourism at White Pine County, “Ely is a friendly and proud rural town. We love sharing our story and our community with people. Guaranteed you will meet fun people, have interesting conversations, and have memorable experiences.” Celebrating that pride, Horvath continues, “We know Ely is a trek to get to us, so we focus on providing quality events, attractions, facilities, and experiences. If you are into Nevada and American history, there is no more important place than Ely. If you are into the outdoors, our mountains are unparalleled. If you’re into the arts, it is celebrated everywhere.”

Ely is easy to get around, and most of the highlights are along the main drag, Aultman Street, which is part of US-50, the celebrated “Loneliest Road in America.”

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ELY, NEVADA

various tours (about 90 minutes) through the basin on a steam engine. The one tour you need to plan is the stunning nighttime stargazer route that can be booked a year ahead of time. nnry.com Ely is fabulous and self-contained, but you’re so close to Nevada’s only national park, Great Basin, that there’s no reason not to take the quick hour drive to see this beautiful spot. While there, tour the famous Lehman Caves, home to prohibition parties in the 1920s, and the cutest tiny town, Baker, near the entry. nps.gov/grba

NORTHERN NEVADA RAILWAY

One of Ely’s many charms is the abundance of murals on the sides of historic buildings along this street. The Hotel Nevada, built in 1929, has probably the best-known, with a gun-toting mule cooking over an open fire, promising “Western Hospitality.” But throughout the easy-to-walk city, you’ll see ample art, some of which honors the Basque traditions of its early residents. There’s also a fantastic collection of art, jewelry, and crafts in a converted bank building aptly called the Ely Art Bank. It’s there along with thrift stores, mercantile shops, and even a throwback eatery called the Economy Drug and Old-Fashioned Fountain that has a toy store in the basement.

Ely has plenty of modern diversions, too, but with a retro flair. This includes the historic Central Theater, which offers first-run movies in a 1930s art deco film palace equipped with updated sound and projection; a nostalgic bowling alley (Sunset Lanes); and old dive bars aplenty, such as the Club Rio. Finally, for the more adventurous, a few legal brothels are within walking distance of the main drag, most of which, like the notorious Stardust Ranch, include a cocktail bar for mingling, even if professional services aren’t sought.

WHAT TO EAT

A MURAL DEPICTS THE AREA’S BASQUE HISTORY

WHERE TO STAY

The area has ample, midcentury roadside motels and modern, well-known name hotel/casinos, such as Ramada’s Copper Queen, (805 Great Basin Blvd.) but the true gem is the Hotel Nevada. This historic place has an Old West vibe, impressive facade, modern casino, and quirky, surprisingly comfy rooms with some good-sized, decorative suites in the mix. Be mindful of the signage in older rooms warning you that the hot/cold setting on the shower may have a mind of its own. hotelnevada.com WHAT TO DO

The Northern Nevada Railway Museum is a hands-on institution, where you can experience a mechanical shop and take

Hector’s Cellblock Steakhouse in the Jailhouse casino is exactly what the name implies — patrons eat in a jail cell (that’s faux and far more comfy) and steak. A lot of steaks are offered a la carte with all the traditional fixins and veggies available as a side. jailhousecasino.com An up-and-coming rival is JT’s Steakhouse at the Copper Queen Casino. It’s celebrated as a true farm-to-table restaurant co-owned by a husband and wife duo (she’s a rancher, he’s a local school teacher and councilman). There’s no set menu, rather a rotating menu to keep with seasonality. jtssteakhouse.com Racks Bar and Grill is a sports bar with burgers, sandwiches, and appetizers, plus a full dinner such as chicken or fish if you’re hungry. This is the best option if you’re looking for a craft cocktail in a small town (or, you know, just an ice-cold beer). racksbarnevada.com Happy Garden provides a wide range of Asian cuisine from pad Thai to chicken chow mein. It’s offbeat in a rural Western town, but the locals rave at its authenticity. happygardenely.com —Dayvid Figler

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LAUGHLIN, NEVADA SKYLINE

LAUGHLIN, NV A river of nostalgia

the increase was 6 percent.

When you’re there, you can soak in the relaxation and just veg out. Or if you want to exercise something beyond your elbow lifting a drink, there are options for that, too.

I

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LAUGHLIN RIVER WALK

as of last year, two bridges now cross the river into Bullhead City: one to the north and one to the south.

“We’re safe, we’re outdoors, we’re less expensive,” says Jackie Wallin, executive director of the Laughlin Tourism Commission, when I asked her about the town’s draw. “Value, value, value.”

She’s got the receipts. Post-pandemic, the town has averaged about 1 million visitors a year, but saw a 3.3-percent increase in visitors in the first 11 months of 2024, compared with a year earlier. In November,

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Laughlin is, first and foremost, a casino town. Don Laughlin bought an eight-room riverfront motel, and the resort industry there was born. Today, there are well over 5,000 rooms in hotel-casino resorts. Numerous rooms and homes are also available for short-term rentals. visitlaughlin.com WHAT TO DO

Hiking there isn’t the same as anywhere around Las Vegas. Avi Kwa Ame is the newly designated national monument north of Laughlin and sacred to the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. Its rock formations are both eerie and entrancing. If you’ve been to Sedona and never got that sense of energy and awe visitors frequently talk about, there’s a good chance you’ll

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n Laughlin, a river town 100 miles southeast of Las Vegas, I found the experience I’d been expecting when I moved to Nevada from Wisconsin almost 30 years ago. Back then, the Strip had a reputation for cheap steaks and luxury service. Not anymore.

But Laughlin is still affordable — from slots and tables to gas and food. Water, in the form of the Colorado River, is a few feet away from almost everywhere in town. And a slower pace permeates the entire Laughlin/ Bullhead City, Arizona, area, infusing a welcoming calm in the people there. That sense of ease stuck with me months after I made the short, 90-minute drive for a much-needed getaway from Las Vegas.

The day before I left, I’d easily booked a room at a resort with rates vastly cheaper than Las Vegas. Adding to the convenience,

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OVERTON, NV Moapa Valley’s adventure basecamp RIVER BOAT TOUR ON THE COLORADO RIVER

get it here. blm.gov/avi-kwa-ame-national-monument Wallin also points out the nine Laughlin Labyrinths — short hikes just behind the Tropicana Laughlin — as another major attraction. visitlaughlin.com For golfers, Laughlin Ranch Golf Club is right across the river in Bullhead City. It’s a public course ranked by Golf Pass Golfers’ Choice 2025 as the second-best in Arizona with the 10th best public course conditions in the country. laughlinranch.com Water sports abound. Water taxis cruise the Colorado River from riverside resort to resort. There are also jet skis, river boat tours, and more. “We have the cleanest water this side of the Mississippi,” Wallins says. “It’s a fact, it’s science. You can see the bottom.”

She recommends a six-hour boat tour that goes to Lake Havasu, taking passengers by big horn sheep and ancient petroglyphs. visitlaughlin.com

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long the Muddy River, between the Mormon Mountains Wilderness and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, lies a string of tiny communities — Jackman, Amber, Logandale — collectively comprising Overton Township. It’s a place almost every Las Vegan has been to, but many can’t recall, likely because it’s surrounded by Southern Nevada’s most majestic landscapes.

Here’s a refresher. If you’ve driven an hour northeast of Las Vegas on I-15 and turned south on a small highway in search of the artist Michael Heizer’s Double Negative — a land-art installation dug into the plateau that locals call Mormon Mesa, high above the Virgin River — then you’ve gone through Overton. If you’ve taken the scenic route to Valley of Fire State Park — driving east/northeast on Northshore Road through Lake Mead and passing Echo Bay and Stewarts Point along the water to your right — then you’ve been within a stone’s throw of Overton.

Also found along Moapa Valley Road

(that highway off the 15 that becomes Overton’s main street within town limits) is the turnoff to the historic town of St. Thomas — you know, the famous town that was submerged by the river after Hoover Dam was built and then uncovered again as the water receded.

As for the town itself, it’s a cute, quiet berg with everything you need to enjoy yourself for a few days, from a grocery store and pharmacy to a couple small hotels and a laundromat.

“This area is unique in the history of the valley,” says Judy Metz, commission analyst for Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick. “At the community center, we have a fabulous mural that was done by Gig Depio. It shows the beginning of the valley’s history with the Native Americans, the settlement by the LDS community, and goes on through time. …

We also have another piece of art (“Earth Rise”) installed in front of the community center by Mark Brandvik.” Visitors who’d like to learn more about the events those Las Vegas artists depict in their work can head to the Lost City Museum at the south end of town. Or, they can call Metz, who says she’s happy to give tours (702397-7475).

The art, for such a tiny town, may be impressive, but nature is the real attraction here. You can spend mornings hiking around Valley of Fire and St. Thomas, have

WHERE TO EAT

ELEPHANT ROCK INSIDE VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK

My dad owned a bar, and people drove from miles around for his hamburgers.

Or, at least I thought so as a kid. To find a great hamburger, you need the mind of an explorer, and the ability to separate tall tales of burger masterpieces from fiction. This is no fiction: Just over the bridge in Bullhead City is the Shangri-La of hamburgers: Culver’s. The place attracts burger aficionados who drive 90 minutes from Las Vegas for a famous Culver’s butter burger (I recommend adding cheese curds).

That’s how good it is. culvers.com For fast and friendly service with a standard casino-diner menu, try the Feathers Café at Avi Resort & Casino. For a higher-end experience, Wallins suggests The Range Steakhouse at Harrah’s Laughlin and The Gourmet Room at the Riverside Resort and Casino. avicasino.com/dining, caesars.com/harrahs-laughlin/restaurants/ the-range-steakhouse, riversideresort.com/ dining-riverside-resort —Joe Schoenmann

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VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK

YUCCA VALLEY, CA More than Joshua trees

lunch at one of the town’s cafés, and pass the afternoons birding at the Overton Wildlife Management Area (outside hunting season). In the evening, catch a sunset at your campsite or hotel, marvel that there’s an outdoor paradise so close to a major city, and ask yourself, as I did, why you don’t come here more often.

WHERE TO STAY

My husband and I went the outdoors route for our trip, because we own an overland camper and there are about a million places to set it up within 15 miles of town, including the wildlife management area, Valley of Fire, and Lake Mead. If you’re more the water-hookup-and-flushable-toilets type, the recently opened Mesquite Trails RV Resort in Overton gets good reviews. Also well-rated on Google is the North Shore Inn at Lake Mead, a cozy spot with a pool and free breakfast! Parks. nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire, nps.gov/lake, mesquitetrailsrvresort.com WHAT TO DO

Of all the things listed above, my favorite was the St. Thomas ruins. Although it’s not much to look at from the road, the 2.5-mile loop through the town’s ruins is a trippy walk through history with excellent interpretive signage. We didn’t make it to Double Negative, though locals told me it’s eroding, so if it’s on your bucket list, you’d better move it to the top. There is also Ultimate Desert Adventures for OHVing at the highly popular Logandale Trails, the Clark County Fair & Rodeo every spring, and Indian Pictograph Park,

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LOST CITY MUSEUM

an archaeological site west of town. nps. gov/lake/learn/nature/st-thomas-nevada. htm, moca.org/exhibition/Michael-heizer-double-negative-1969, blm.gov/visit/ logandale-trails, ccfair.com WHAT TO EAT

In July 2021, Mindfreak star Criss Angel bought the property where, for 31 years, Metz had run Sugars Home Plate, a homestyle café featuring her husband’s impressive collection of sports memorabilia. Angel opened Cablp (pronounced “ka-blip” by locals), which stands for Criss Angel’s Breakfast, Lunch & Pizza, a contemporary interpretation of Sugars, minus the sports. Earlier this year, another café, Salts, opened, offering an option on the days Cablp is closed. But Metz says the real culinary treat is the annual Pomegranate Festival held the first weekend of November. It marks the harvest of the wild pomegranates that grow in the area, which have given rise to a bustling cottage industry of all things pomegranate — marinades, jams and jellies, pastries, and more. “Our art guild puts on a wonderful event!” Metz says. eatblp.com, moapavalleyartguild.com —Heidi Kyser

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n the northern edge of Joshua Tree National Park sit a few unassuming towns, including Yucca Valley, named for the abundant Mojave yucca trees growing there. The plant also shares a name with the surrounding Mojave Desert.

This High Desert area, southwest of Las Vegas and extending into Southern California, is a peculiar place. You’ll find towns and cities whose vibes range from the ’50s flashback of Palm Springs to the off-grid solitude of the Salton Sea. On the three-and-a-half hour drive to Joshua Tree National Park, you’ll pass through Mojave National Preserve, a mosaic of desert habitat now partially scarred by the 2020 Dome Fire.

The Inland Empire, as the larger region is known, is marked by extreme heat in the summer, near-reliable High Desert snow in the winter, and an endless sea of Joshua trees. (Worth noting: In 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided the two Joshua trees that decorate the Mojave Desert aren’t fit for protection under the Endangered Species Act despite threats to the iconic trees, accelerated by climate change.)

Yucca Valley is the second largest of the towns along the Twentynine Palms Highway, just west of the town of Joshua Tree. I’ve visited the area a handful of times over the past decade, and I’m astounded by the dramatic change it has undergone in that time. This may largely be because of a recent tourism boom. The national park surpassed 1 million annual visitors for the first time in 1990. Until 2014, it welcomed 1-1.6 million visitors per year. Then, in 2021, more than 3 million people visited.

A resulting Airbnb boom seems to just now be leveling off.

Mayor Jeff Drozd, who, with his wife, runs a popular Airbnb location called the Tres Burros Ranch, has witnessed a lot of change in his five decades living in the desert — and nine years on the city council. According to Drozd, the pandemic turbo charged tourism to the area.

It was “people just wanting to flee the

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SKULL ROCK INSIDE JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK

city and get a taste of nature and others started moving to the area (not just Yucca Valley) since they were able to work from home,” Drozd says. “Now some that have built vacation rentals are selling their properties, but the area still remains busier with tourists than it did before COVID.” He said that, while the tourism rates have climbed, the city’s population has grown by only 1,000 between the last two Census counts.

To accommodate tourists and enhance life for residents, the city government is paying attention to traffic and infrastructure, Drozd says. “Our residents deserve well-maintained streets but also quality-of-life projects,” such as an outdoor event space. The city is also building a sports complex to serve children and the elderly. Drozd believes a high-speed train connecting Las Vegas to Los Angeles would benefit Yucca Valley, should the train stop in Victorville.

What makes the Mojave Desert crossroads a great place to visit, he says, are its hiking trails, side destinations, parks, restaurants, and shopping.

WHAT TO DO

Joshua Tree National Park, like Nevada’s Great Basin National Park, is a dark sky park — as the saying goes, “Half the park is after dark.” Drozd says the area gets a bump of folks during celestial events. nps.gov/jotr/index.htm Then there’s Pioneertown. Yucca Valley is the gateway to this unincorporated Wild West community, started in the 1940s to replicate the 1880s in film and television. The draw now, beyond the remaining sets-turned-town, is Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, a “Twin

WHERE TO STAY

The area has many short-term rentals, or you could check out Field Station Joshua Tree, a recently opened boutique motel catering to the outdoors crowd. fieldstation.com/joshua-tree

THE COPPER ROOM

Peaks”-themed roadhouse come to life with an astonishingly fantastic lineup of indie talent in a rough-and-tumble Western setting. Check their calendar regularly, because there’s always a great show coming up. I also recommend a stop in the Hi-Desert Nature Museum, which just celebrated its 60th anniversary. visitpioneertown.com, pappyandharriets. com, hidesertnaturemuseum.org WHAT TO EAT

In the 1950s, a twist of fate led local physician John Bendall to buy land for an airport and dinner house, the Copper Room. The moody, lovely, classic atmosphere only lends to the place’s impressive dining and drinks menu. I recommend the paper plane cocktail and a slice of Basque cheesecake. thecopperroom1957.com If you’re looking for something more casual, pop over to the Tiny Pony Tavern, which, on the weekends, hosts DJs and drag shows, and on weekdays slings a mean burger. thetinypony.com They also have brunch, but it would be criminal for me not to suggest a short drive north to visit La Copine. The Philly food cart turned high desert phenom is serving Michelin-level seasonal meals at unbelievably reasonable prices. Get there well before opening to put your name on the list, or make a reservation via text. lacopinekitchen.com —Kristen DeSilva

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HONORABLE MENTION ARTISTIC & ABSTRACT

DEVIN SHEFFIELD This composition shows the photographer lit by headlamp and replica lightsabers at Techatticup Mine near Nelson, with a starry night sky taken from the parking lot at Lee Canyon.

CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS The Judges CARMEN BEALS Associate Curator, Nevada Museum of Art DANIEL JAMES CLARK Photojournalist HEATHER HARMON Executive Director, Las Vegas Museum of Art BRENT HOLMES Fine Artist & Curator RON PHELPS B&C Camera Representative MICHAEL PLYLER Fine Art Photographer

Much has changed since last summer. But you, the community, and your dedication to the Focus on Nevada Photo Contest have remained a constant. And we've got receipts to back us up here: You made 876 total submissions, including more than 3,800 snapshots of Nevada. Some entries came from as far away as Alaska and New York.

Round of applause!

It was hard whittling all this down to only 32 winners and honorable mentions. But “hard” doesn’t mean uninteresting, or even unenjoyable. Seeing photo after photo of our state was a heartening reminder, and a showcase, of our state’s stunning diversity — culturally, demographically, ecologically, and more. Stepping into a year when diversity feels threatened — or, at the least, taboo — we hope these photos spark a sense of solidarity with the many communities represented, from urban to rural, well-worn to pristine, and everything in between. Thank you to everyone who contributed, and here’s to finding togetherness through the arts!

— Anne Davis and Kristen DeSilva

ANNE DAVIS Assistant Editor, Desert Companion HEIDI KYSER Editor, Desert Companion SCOTT LIEN Art Director, Desert Companion

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1ST PLACE

JESSE BRADFORD

Lit by a drone light, this little tree on a rocky island near Sand Harbor State Park, in Lake Tahoe, was shot in single exposure.

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LANDSCAPES

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2ND PLACE

ZALMAN WAINHAUS

Low clouds hang around the crests of rocks of Calico Basin in Red Rock Canyon after a winter rain.

HONORABLE MENTION

HALEY GIBBS

While living on the road full time, the photographer captured a sunset from a sand dune in Big Dune Recreation Area in Nye County.

HONORABLE MENTION

MARYLOU SCHINDLER

A thunderstorm adds dramatic flair behind an old building at Fort Churchill State Historic Park in Northern Nevada.

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1ST PLACE

CHRIS SCHILLER

A lesser-known petroglyph panel is seen in Valley of Fire State Park, shining under wispy Southern Nevada skies.

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SCOTT MORTIMORE

Lake levels at Pyramid Lake have fluctuated up and down over the years, at one time creating forests which, years later, are flooded.

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BLACK & WHITE

HONORABLE MENTION

CHRISTINE TROUT

At Reno's J Resort, an all-female AC/DC cover band called Helles Belles rocks out in 2023.

HONORABLE MENTION

MICHAEL VIAPIANA HONORABLE Weaving underneath the hustle MENTION and bustle of Las Vegas is a NORM CRAFT series of winding pathways.

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HONORABLE MENTION

SAMANTHA STARMAN

Water from the Colorado River calms after flowing through Hoover Dam, becoming a mirror to its canyon walls.

2ND PLACE

L.E. BASKOW

A flower bud hangs from a spider web around other plants at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas.

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ARTISTIC & ABSTRACT HONORABLE MENTION

ASHLEA GOFF

In Northern Nevada's Black Rock Desert, a cowboy runs from an explosion of gunpowder and gasoline.

HONORABLE MENTION

JOHN PEREZ

A stormy sunset adds dramatic lighting on the tower of the Strat in Las Vegas.

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CLUAYNNE CORWIN

A dizzying view from the top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas on the Strip.

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STORYTELLER

1ST PLACE

DAMIAN CZAJKA

Smoke from the Davis Fire near Reno drifts, as the blaze’s glow illuminates the waters of Little Washoe Lake.

HONORABLE MENTION

STANISLAV SABEV 1

Shadows add a striking dimension to this Nevada scene showing children running alongside a bus.

HONORABLE MENTION

CASSIA LOPEZ

A young girl plays in an irrigation ditch in spring.

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MISTY EPSTEIN

Two juvenile Great Horned Owls play in the Clark County Wetlands Park, only to freeze when they catch the photographer's gaze. Moments later, they continued to play until one owl pushed the other off the branch, flying away.

HONORABLE MENTION

MARK MCEWEN

On a hot June afternoon, cowboy Clance Cox feeds and waters his cattle that he has trapped in a corral in a remote desert area near Bunkerville.

HONORABLE MENTION

CARLOS MANZO

On Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard, a pious man crosses the street filled with bars and partiers.

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PLANTS & ANIMALS

1ST PLACE

SYDNEY CARNEVALE

A robber fly, family Asilidae, tries to blend in at Floyd Lamb Park in Las Vegas.

The predators are known for their ambush tactics and often capture their prey in flight.

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2ND PLACE

JULIE JAY

An owlet bathes in morning light as cottonwood tree fluff floats around the small grove it calls home. The owl family was popular at Clark County Wetlands Park.

HONORABLE MENTION

ROGER PORTS

A coyote traverses a field near Reno after a heavy snowfall.

HONORABLE MENTION

DAVID ANDERSON A Greater Roadrunner is seen with prey at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge near Las Vegas.

HONORABLE MENTION

DOREEN LAWRENCE

A macrophotography lens gives a cactus bloom a different look at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas.

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1ST PLACE

HUGH BYRNE

With a lot of careful planning, the photographer caught the moonrise overlapping with the sunset behind the Strat in Las Vegas.

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TOWN & COUNTRY

NICK CHRISTIANSEN

On Las Vegas' famed Fremont Street, the apt word appears in large neon lettering across Binion's Gambling Hall.

HONORABLE MENTION

JEFFREY WEIER

Built in 1937, the Gem Theater in Pioche showed films until 2002. A new owner is hoping to reopen the theater.

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TOWN & COUNTRY HONORABLE MENTION

LAZER LOU

Comet/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was visible to the naked eye in October, appearing for the first time in 80,000 years.

This photo was taken in Delamar, a preserved Nevada ghost town.

TOWN & COUNTRY HONORABLE MENTION

WILLIAM MARK SOMMER This unnamed diner, which sits in afternoon light, conveys the real America within its walls, the photographer says.

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GRAND PRIZE

CASSIA LOPEZ Along a Nevada mountain road, passengers gather around a woman's just-delivered baby.

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AN ELEVATED TRADITIONAL STYLE TAVERNA, FEATURING CONTEMPORARY GREEK FARE, NAXOS TAVERNA SERVES APPROACHABLE MEDITERRANEAN SEAFOOD-FOCUSED CUISINE COOKED FROM THE SOUL.

BOASTING ONE OF THE CITY’S LARGEST AND FRESHEST SEAFOOD MENUS, RED ROCK OYSTER BAR SHOWCASES MORE THAN 25 TYPES OF FISH AND SEVERAL VARIETIES OF OYSTERS, ALONG WITH OTHER SEAFOOD SPECIALTIES, INCLUDING THE WORLD-FAMOUS PAN ROAST AT AN INTIMATE 16-SEAT BAR.

11011 W. CHARLESTON BLVD. LAS VEGAS, NV 89135 | NAXOSREDROCK.COM | OYSTERBARREDROCK.COM

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‘ O U T D O O R N E VA D A’

ALAMO ROAD

GROW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR ANIMALS!

DESERT NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

BIGHORN TRAIL

Desert National Wildlife Refuge

By Alan Gegax

COYOTE TRAIL

VEGAS PBS

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question may occur to viewers of episode 12 of “Outdoor Nevada,” wherein host Connor Fields visits the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR); specifically, a wildlife guzzler. The question is, “Where did the animals get their water before we built the guzzler?”

The answer to that question speaks to the necessity and importance not only of wildlife guzzlers, but also of the entire DNWR. The answer, for many animals, is, “They got it at the Visitor Center.” Or, it might be more accurate to say, “They got it at the big spring that has since been taken over by a homestead, and then a visitor center.”

Before humans arrived in the Las Vegas valley, numerous natural springs, seeps, and creeks served as critical water sources for desert-adapted animals. When humans moved in, they sensibly settled next to these water sources, making them unavailable to wildlife.

When the valley held a few thousand humans, a balance could be maintained. But now, as the valley has grown to more than two million, wildlife has been forced to retreat to more and more inhospitable areas. Areas that don’t have the springs they used to depend on.

The purpose of guzzlers is to give SEE THIS back some of what we have taken from episode of the animals that were here before us.

“Outdoor Nevada,” by And that’s also the purpose of the refuge Vegas PBS. itself. DNWR serves as a stronghold against future habitat loss. We have already taken so much from these animals. DNWR is a small promise not to take any more. It’s a promise that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fulfills every day, just an hour north of town.

This easy hike starts from the Corn Creek Visitor Center and offers the opportunity to learn about the abundant wildlife in the refuge. For more challenging hikes, as well as information on camping and events, visit fws.gov/refuge/desert. ✦

HIKE: Bighorn and Coyote Trails DISTANCE: About one mile EQUIPMENT NEEDED: Ample water, comfortable shoes, and maybe a hat for the open areas of the trail. Binoculars will come in handy for wildlife viewing.

GETTING THERE: Take US-95 North out of Las Vegas and turn right onto Corn Creek Road at the signed turnoff for DNWR. Once at the Corn Creek Visitor Center, the trail starts to the right, behind the building.

PRO TIP: Take the trails in a counterclockwise direction, and don’t be afraid to meander. The trail system stays in a reasonably confined area. Be sure to budget extra time to enjoy the Pahrump Poolfish aquarium. The fish get their moniker from their playful nature, and they definitely live up to it.

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AFTER DARK. NATIONAL PARK. NEVADA’S HEART.

Las Vegas shines, but beyond the city limits, stars shine brighter. From Death Valley to Gold Butte and Cathedral Gorge to Great Basin National Park, some of the West’s darkest skies are just a drive away— ready to light up your night.

Massacre Rim

Ruby Mountains

Reno

Fort Churchill State Historic Park

Ely

Tonopah Stargazing Park

Great Basin National Park Basin and Range National Monument

Death Valley National Park

Gold Butte National Monument Las Vegas

Lake Mead

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