TOP VEGAS HOT SPOT

Sandy Valley Ranch

West of Las Vegas, Sandy Valley exit off Highway 161 

In this dusty desert outpost 40 minutes from town, you'll find a corral full of horses and pens of cattle, pigs, as well as an errant goat or two. Sandy Valley Ranch opened ten years ago, and ever since, it's been giving Vegas refugees a chance to escape the neon and see how the west really lives. The folks here do it all: ho-downs, hayrides, barbecues and rodeos. Any urban cowboy or cowgirl is welcome. A few lessons with a rope and a baby cow and you've roped your first calf. Horseback rides come with the territory: nose-to-tail, or running the range - your choice. Sandy Valley reminds you that you are on the frontier and there are no rules. The Boss Lady, Marilyn Kelch Gubler, and her family are bonafide Westerners. Her parents settled in Las Vegas in 1939 to realize their dream of putting down roots in the mysterious Mojave Desert. Real Vegas pioneers who started the first radio station in the Las Vegas Valley, Maxwell and Laura Belle Kelch are listed in Las Vegas history books among the most important early citizens.  In 1997 Marilyn bought 110 acres of mesquite and joshua tree-covered range and began to carve Sandy Valley Ranch out of the hidden valley formed by the graceful mountain ranges that guard the entrance to the Las Vegas Valley.  As they like to say, "We're 45 minutes and 100 years from Las Vegas".  Check out http://www.sandyvalleyranch.com/ for more information.