Las Vegas Mixtape v43: Anything Goes Comedy, Essential Empanadas, and Punk’s Unhinged Stories

Track #4 (of 5): Nevada State Railroad Museum @Boulder City

Step into this elegant time machine. (Image: Vegas 411) 

For me, it was love at first sight when I visited Boulder City, located around 25 miles from The Strip, a few years ago.  The winding streets in the historic downtown are gloriously lined with antique shops and restaurants—no chain stores here—and the classic Boulder Dam Hotel. It’s been attracting guests like Bette Davis and Boris Karloff since the 1930’s and was restored in 2005 (if the walls could talk, as they say).

If you go, pair your visit with a stop at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. On Saturdays and Sundays, ride “historic diesel-electric locomotives in early 20th century rail cars.”

“People get ready/There’s a train a-coming.” (Image: Vegas 411) 

This 45-minute Nevada Southern Railway excursion train is a 10-mile round-trip between Boulder City and Paradise Hills. Leave your car and the complicated modern world behind and honor Nevada’s railroad history. This trip-back-in-time experience definitely got me out of my own head on a day where my news feed was overwhelming. Between now and December 21, the museum offers various holiday-themed train rides with Santa on board. Cynics and heathens are presumably welcome too.