Holiday train excursions create memories families hold dear for years to come. Southern Nevada families seeking special holiday experiences find possibilities of traveling with Santa aboard vintage Nevada trains in Boulder City, Ely and Carson City, as well as in Northern Arizona at Williams and Cottonwood. Tickets go fast for the holiday train rides, so act soon.
Occupying a little bluff outside Overton, the Lost City Museum, Pueblo Grande de Nevada, interprets thousands of years of cultural heritage along the Muddy River in northeastern Clark County. Inside, the facility protects a treasury of artifacts spanning 10,000 years of human activity in the river valley. Outside, it re-creates the kind of multi-unit village developed by farmers of prehistory populating areas with water resources in the desert Southwest.
Across the nation this month, Native American history and culture receive special recognition and remembrance. President Bush recently declared November as National American Indian Heritage Month. Additionally, federal officialdom designated the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, as Native American Heritage Day. Thereafter, governors of many states, including Nevada, gave their stamp of approval to the 2008 observations.
The Death Valley 49ers Days annually ushers in the peak visitation season in Death Valley National Park. Winding up today, this early November celebration draws hundreds of visitors, filing campgrounds, restaurants, park hostelries and accommodations in surrounding communities. As scores of recreational vehicles and other transportation depart following the festivities, regular visitors find park facilities back to normal and far less crowded.
Special events jam November calendars, luring Southern Nevadans outdoors to enjoy the bright, balmy days of autumn on the desert. Next weekend, for instance, activities deserving notice include art festivals in Logandale and Boulder City, a Mountain Man Rendezvous in Red Rock and a Native American powwow in Las Vegas. So many events; so little time.
Typically balmy autumn days in the Southwest invite vacationing Southern Nevadans to explore scenic and historic regions such as the Four Corners area of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Among the many treasures of the past preserved in state and national parks and monuments in that region, hautingly beautiful Hovenweep National Monument stands out.
