When small talk gives way to deeper conversations, a world of thoughtful insight reveals itself. Penetrating through questions about where one works and lives, opportunities to know someone more deeply start with simple, but profound questions.  

“What travel destination changed the course of your life?”  

Nine little words strung together with a real chance to know someone. At the best dinner parties or conversations over drinks at a bar, questions such as this have been served. It is one of my favorite questions to answer and it is something I am always happy to investigate in a new way.  

For the last entry in this series, I saved a city I have visited more than any other in the United States. My fourth city is Las Vegas, Nevada.  

On the surface, you might find it odd for me to name Las Vegas as a favorite destination. I get it. Vegas is loud, confrontational, and seems to exist solely to feed our sinful desires. I know myself. These characteristics are opposed to who I think I am. But this is precisely what I love deeply about this city. One of my great joys of travel is visiting a new destination and stumbling across a different version of yourself along the way. This feels especially true for me in Las Vegas.  

When I first started visiting “The Meadows” on my own, I found myself enamored by the strip. Along Las Vegas Boulevard, you can live vicariously through your fellow tourists. You can live experiences stolen from television shows and movies. You can eat, drink, gamble, and party until the sun rises over the mountains. You can live a life that would be impossible back home. Then, after three days, you can return home licking your wounds with over-the-top stories to share.  

For a while, this is how I experienced Las Vegas. Then I decided I wanted something vastly different. I wanted to know where the locals ate and drank. I had to get off the strip. I didn’t want to stand in the shadows of resorts any longer. Even Old Vegas wasn’t far enough away. I wanted a taste of what it means to call this city home.  

When I did, my entire view of the city changed. No longer was it just some place catering to the desires of tourists. It became a proper city with residents, each with their own unique experiences. As I explored, I found new things to love. Local bars, restaurants, galleries, and adventures that felt special unfolded before me. Now, when I think about return trips to this city, it is these spaces I crave.  

As fun as giant hotels and casinos can be, give me a quiet bar and time spent with real people any day of the week. In these conversations, I still find myself perplexed by the people who call Las Vegas home. Like living in a towering complex above Times Square, it feels surreal to me. Unpacking this mystery may be my favorite thing about these trips to the desert.  

Las Vegas feels like a paradox. But I still love every single inch of it. It is a destination that continues to baffle me. It probably always will.  

Be good to each other,  

Nathan