"That weekend, there were Bellagio-fountain-worthy waterworks, women traipsing naked in hotel hallways, bitchy pool encounters, and just enough scandalous activity to keep me interested."

I've been coming to Vegas for years: it's a bit like Los Angeles in a desert with a giant adult Disneyland in the middle, the glitter of the lights, the gambling and the shows. This …

Rolling into the small town of Beatty, Nevada, is a strange experience. One of the few settlements on the edge of the brutal Death Valley, it appears as a welcome rise of gaudy lights after …

I don’t get it. I’m an avid people-watcher. But I’ve never been a Las Vegas fan. Seems contradictory, right? So when a friend of mine announced a birthday weekend in Vegas, I decided to give …

Though the city of Las Vegas is full of odd characters and bizarre scenarios, none compare with what exists just outside of town, off Interstate 15: Area 51. Area 51 is the stuff of legends …

Watching the Manny Pacquiao/Shane Mosley fight on Showtime. Venue is the MGM Grand in Vegas. The camera pans the crowd and then there’s an outdoor shot of the strip. This always gets me. I lived …

Late August, over 50,000 participants from around the world spent a week in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada for the 24th annual Burning Man. A handful of San Diego performers braved the Martian …

Detectives followed a trail that traversed the kitchen, then continued across the dining room and through the hallway. The bloody footprints faded noticeably with each step up the staircase. More bloody footprints led to the …

Henderson in Nevada, Sunset Station, Punk, Bowling, Pabst Blue Ribbon. What’s the connection? Three words. Punk Rock Bowling – a weekend of raucous and drunken activities having something to do with bowling and music. Normally, …

For some, a visit to Lake Tahoe means time away from the frenetic scenes of everyday life. Libation in hand, it’s a time to listen to the wind waft through swaying pine trees, to enjoy …

If it came down to visiting Tahoe in the winter or the summer, I’m not sure I could pick one over the other. While Tahoe is commonly praised for its impressive winters, I’d argue that …

In San Diego, those who do good do not do well — from an income standpoint, that is. The professions devoted to helping people down on their luck, such as social work, are not at …

We arrived at the Valley of Fire’s south rim late morning. An hour northeast of Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert, the terrain turned abruptly into deep red sandstone hills. This red rock beauty is …

For lots of sinless fun in Las Vegas, these are my favorite options: Take a trip to the top of Eiffel Tower at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel – nighttime is best for a view …

After you've exhausted all of your desires to gamble and eat at the buffet, it's a nice day trip out to Red Rock Canyon State Park (about 15 miles outside of Las Vegas, Nevada). Once …