All About Nevada
Nevada is without doubt the most desolate state in the US, consisting largely of endless tracts of bleak, empty desert. Its flat sagebrush plains are cut intermittently by angular mountain ranges, and the lack of rainfall or fertile soil has ensured its maintenance as untouched wilderness. Apart from the huge acreages given over to mining and to grazing cattle and sheep, much of Nevada is under the control of the military, who use it to test aircraft and weapons systems, including Stealth fighters and atomic bombs. Dozens of intriguing small communities are scattered around the state, some showing signs of strong Basque influence. Many more are decrepit roadside ghost towns, often little more than a gas-station-cum-general-store, flanked by a saloon and perhaps a brothel - Nevada is the only US state not to have outlawed prostitution, though it is illegal in Las Vegas.
Though millions of people pass through on their way to and from California, there's only one real reason why anyone ever visits Nevada, and that is to gamble : as soon as you cross the state border, you'll be attacked by a 24-hour onslaught of neon signs and gimmicky architecture, each advertising the best odds and biggest jackpots, nowhere more than in the surreal oasis of Las Vegas . Even the smaller and more down-to-earth settlements of Reno and state capital Carson City revolve around the casino trade. At least the casinos' energetic pursuit of passing trade keeps rooms and especially food inexpensive, so the towns make good places to break a long journey - and, with Nevada's relaxed marriage and divorce laws, make or break a relationship.
As there's almost nothing in Nevada outside of Las Vegas and Reno, it's hardly surprising that getting around the state's vast empty spaces is nearly impossible without a car. Las Vegas is no longer served by Amtrak, but Reno still welcomes daily trains between San Francisco and Salt Lake City; both Las Vegas and Reno have airports.
Las Vegas is not like other cities. No city in history has so explicitly valued the needs of visitors above those of its own population. All its growth has been fueled by tourism, but the tourists haven't spoiled the ''real'' city; there is no real city. Las Vegas doesn't have fascinating little-known neighborhoods, and it's not a place where visitors can go off the beaten track to have more authentic experiences. Instead, the whole thing is completely self-referential; the reason Las Vegas boasts the vast majority of the world's largest hotels is that around thirty-seven million tourists each year come to see the hotels themselves.
If you don't make it to Las Vegas, you can get a feel for the nonstop, neon-lit gambler's lifestyle by stopping in RENO, on I-80, very near the California border.''The biggest little city in the world,'' as it likes to call itself, is a somewhat downmarket version of the glitz and glamour of Vegas, with miles of gleaming slot machines and poker tables, surrounded by tacky wedding chapels and quickie divorce courts. While the town itself may not be much to look at, its setting at the foot of the snowcapped Sierra Nevada, with the Truckee River winding through the center is superb. There are three things to do in Reno: gamble, get married and get divorced. The casinos are concentrated in the downtown area, along Virginia Street either side of the railroad tracks. To get married, the requirements are the same as in Las Vegas, though here you obtain your marriage license at the Washoe County Court.
