Las Vegas: What Can Tourists Do Away from the Casinos, Bars and Entertainment?

As a Las Vegas native and former hotel/casino employee, I've seen my share of tourists come and go. Unfortunately or fortunately, the vast majority will spend most of their time drinking and gambling exclusively on the Strip. Which is fine, but little do they know that Las Vegas has oh so much more to offer!

Here is a list of seven things Las Vegas tourists might be surprised to find themselves experiencing while hitting the casinos and wandering from hotel to hotel on the Strip or if they venture off the Strip into the town and country surrounding it.

1. Visiting a really spread out zoo. Las Vegas is home to so much wildlife, be it the MGM lions, Siegfried and Roy's white tiger and dolphin habitat at the Mirage, the flamingos and penguins at the Flamingo Hotel, the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay... the list goes on and on! Many exotic animals are free for the viewing. Don't be surprised if you're strolling through a lush entryway and think you see a live animal, chances are you have!

2. Neon Signs. It may sound silly and not surprising at all for a tourist to see neon signs in the Entertainment Capitol of the World. Not so! If you're downtown, chances are you may come face to face with a huge, heavy relic of Las Vegas' past: one of 11 'antique' neon signs that have been preserved as part of Las Vegas' history - all 100 years of it.

3. Enjoying the feeling of an atomic bomb going off. This is just one of the features of visiting the Atomic Testing Museum east of the Strip on Flamingo Road. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Nevada Test Site - about an hour's drive north of Las Vegas - would test atomic bombs. Residents would have parties where they would ooh and ahh over the bright lights past the mountains west of the city. Now, the Nevada Test Site is closed but many of the machinery, photos and folklore from its day are preserved at the Atomic Testing Museum.

4. Staring into a fire on top of a waterfall in a swanky 1970s-style bar. The Peppermill Lounge is a locals favorite, for its totally unsheik, outdated charm. Mirrored walls lined in red neon, circular couches, dim lighting and yes, oh yes, water fountains with fire spewing from the middle. You have to see it to believe it, folks. Located just north of the Riviera on the Strip, the Peppermill is definitely a stop tourists should make.

5. Being propositioned by a short, middle aged man with sun-aged skin and a baseball cap. I'm not talking about the man himself being a prostitute; I'm talking about the literature he's trying to pass to you - tiny fliers bearing images of naked ladies and the stars that scintillatingly cover them, and the seven-digit number you can call to have them sent to your room. Tourists beware! Contrary to popular belief, prostitution is NOT legal in Las Vegas - only in the counties surrounding it.

6. Enjoying a cheap, tacky trip around the world. Las Vegas is home of the five-dollar replica: Greece, France, Italy, Egypt... All can be visited for free, save for the cost of some comfy sandals and a jug of water. Take pictures - you'll never see this overview of great cities at this price and in this timeframe again!

7. Taking in some wildlife. Las Vegas has more national parks and diverse nature in a 200-mile radius than anywhere in the world. Take a trip to nationally-preserved Red Rock National Park, drive to Bryce Canyon, visit the Mojave Desert or Death Valley. The Grand Canyon, a wonder of the world, is a mere four hours drive (and, what, half that in helicopter time?) from Las Vegas. Get out and see something!