Nye County (Reno, Pahrump, Tonopah: sales, HOA fees, credit)

[dynimagelv]

Cathouses have ALWAYS been that way....Beverly Harrell [Cottontail Ranch] used to have a policy.....they had a dirtstrip airport behind the House that was frequented by glider pilots making unsuccessfull attempts at long distance flight....we'd run out of lift around there and have to land.....drinks were ALWAY on the house.....

[kimba01]

Very interesting! Great descriptions and explanations! Who knew?

How far is the drive from there to Reno or Las Vegas? What do you enjoy more?


BTW, wouldn't it be a drag if someone saw their husband's car in one of those brothel parking lots?

[cre8lite]

Pahrump to Vegas = 1 hr (Vegas is southeast from Pahrump)
Pahrump to Reno = ~7 hrs
Pahrump to Tonopah = ~2.5hrs
Pahrump to Beatty = ~1hr
Pahrump to the California border = 15 minutes

Vegas & Reno have very different qualities. Reno has a smaller hometown feel to it, Vegas is flashier; more visually impressive. I will say the layout of Vegas is more organized than Reno.

[cre8lite]

Tonopah is the county seat for Nye County. It it pronounced toe-no-paw, elevation is ~6000 & population is ~2500. Hwy 95 runs directly thru Tonopah. The speed limit is 25 while you are in town & yes the cops patrol it heavily.

Jim Butler was the founding father of Tonopah. They celebrate Jim Butler days around Memorial Day in May, but trying to find a schedule of events online is freaking impossible. Since their weekly newspaper isn't online, you pretty much have to call or show up. I know they have a parade, a Miss Tonopah pageant & some games (double jack, single jack, etc). Please note: if you do attend Jim Butler days, head for the mining park behind the Mizpah. There will be NO SIGNAGE letting you know "Welcome to Jim Butler Days" or "Jim Butler Days this way". And dress warm!!! It's very possible you will get snowed on at the festival.

I don't mind visiting Tonopah, but I could never live there. It is simply too small for my liking. Everyone knows everyone or is related some how to everyone; your current boy/girlfriend used to be so & so's boy/girlfriend. They have an urgent care facility but no "hospital". I've heard there are no natural births, they are all scheduled c-sections, which are done on days when the doctor will be in town. If you want to shop, you will have to drive to Reno (~4 hrs); Vegas (~4 hrs); Bishop, CA (~2 hrs); Pahrump (~2.5hrs). They do have a Scolari's for their grocery needs, but I make no guarantee how fresh the produce is....

Hotels are limited. I believe there are 3 descent hotels in town, the 2 or 3 others are questionable.

The Mizpah Hotel is located on the main street in town, it was built in 1907. This hotel sat vacant for many years until just recently, when Fred & Nancy Cline purchased it in 2011 for a steal!! I believe they bought it at a tax sale for something like $200k. The Cline's own successful vineyards in Sonoma County, CA. Their wine is for sale in the cafe & I've heard they are trying to open an actual restaurant inside as well. They have done an excellent job restoring the hotel back to it's glory & have kept the antique feel to it as well. If you stay at the Mizpah, be sure to keep your eyes/ears open for the "lady in red". It's said she haunts the hotel

[.highnlite]

The Mizpah, my wife was staying there years ago with her prior husband. They were in a room on the fifth floor, and ice cold. They asked for a space heater and extra blankets.

In the middle of the night they were shaken awake by a woman in the room saying, "you are in grave danger". They looked up and saw sparks and flame shooting out of the space heater, and the woman was in an old fashioned red dress, then she left.

[dynimagelv]

BITD.......when we didn't have spud limits, I left Harveys Waggonwheel In Loch Tahoe at 1AM and rolled into LV 4 hours and 35 minutes later.......Those were the days, my friend, we though they never end........

[cre8lite]

How cold does it get in Pahrump? C-O-L-D! This last week temperatures have dropped to the teens at night, mid 40s during the day. The pix are the fountain in town. This fountain is located at Hwy 160 & the Calvada eye - it's called this as when you view it on a map it looks like an eyeball.

The eye is where the County Administration offices are located, which includes the BOCC chambers.

I heard while we were in the teens, Tonopah was in the negatives

[cre8lite]

I couldn't get a whole lotta pix on this next location, as security is a little tight.... when you arrive at the front gate, you HAVE to be there for a course. They discourage you from showing up "just to look around".

Front Sight is located in Nye County. The road to it is in Clark, but the facility itself is in Nye. Take Hwy 160 (aka Blue Diamond Hwy) from Vegas, turn left on Tecopa Rd - which is 14 miles south of Pahrump. Stay on Tecopa Rd for about 3 miles. Turn right onto Front Sight Rd. This is the only way to get to Front Sight, there have been requests to put in a back road that'll take you directly from Pahrump to the campus, but so far it's all talk.

Firearm Training Courses - Handgun ( Glock, etc.), Shotgun, Rifle, (Sub) Machine Gun - from FrontSight.com

Front Sight offers handgun; rifle; shotgun; automatic; martial arts; rope climbing; defensive driving; youth safety AND hand to hand combat! The courses are NOT cheap, but I've heard they are one of the best places to take these type of courses.

Just before the main entrance, there is a small sign indicating "staff parking". This is also a spot for RVers to camp while attending classes. As you can see from their schedule, majority of their classes are multi day events. They encourage everyone to stay at some of the hotels in Pahrump, as well as purchase their ammunition here too.

It's amazing to see how many people use this facility - I see them in the s/o weekly getting their CCWs; I see them frequenting the local restaurants as well. It's a nice boost for our town. My only complaint? The facility is in Pahrump; they support the Pahrump community; they charge Nye County sales tax rate to their customers (7.1%) and they pay Nye County property taxes but....on ALL of their tshirts? It flat out says "Front Sight, Las Vegas, NV". I think they need a geography lesson!

[cre8lite]

Let's chat about food. One of the things I envy about Vegas is the diversity of the food. Spend a week in Nye County & you'll fully appreciate what you find over the hill.

This post is NOT about the mom & pop shops. Those will be discussed later. This is the fast food/chain restaurants we have. No pix, as I'm quite certain we all know what these things look like

Tonopah
Subway
Burger King
McDonalds

Beatty
Subway
Denny's

Pahrump
Subway x2
Denny's
McDonalds
Burger King
Carls Jr
Panda Express
Sonic
Dairy Queen
Starbucks x2
KFC
Long John Silvers
Port o Subs
Capriottis
Taco Bell
Papa Johns
Papa Murphys
Dominos
Little Cesaers


When Home Depot went in, there was rumors the 2nd phase of the project would include an Applebee's or a TGIFridays. The economy tanked & phase 2 was abandoned. We're still waiting....

At one point we were also supposed to get a Buffalo Wild Wings, but same thing...economy tanked, yadda yadda yadda.

Denny's is BIG news around here, they've been here a year now & is only the 2nd place to offer food 24/7 here in town. The other location is the cafe inside the Nugget. I'm not necessarily a fan of Denny's, but I must say I am quite impressed at the Pahrump location. Food is timely, service is good, nothing is screwed up. Beatty? I can't say the same for that place, even tho they have the same owner. It's getting better, but there is a noticeable difference between the 2.

When a new place opens up, doesn't matter if it's a chain or a mom & pop, the line is horrendous as EVERYONE IN TOWN goes there to try it out (imagine 30k people excited about your biz coming to town). After about 2 weeks, business goes on like normal & you're able to get in & out of that place in a descent amount of time.

If anyone out there owns a restaurant & is thinking about opening up another location....HINT HINT, Nye County would welcome you with open arms!!! Oh, to those that had a Round Table Pizza here & closed before I moved to this town - you seriously NEED to move back. Our pizza choices are less than acceptable to me.

[cre8lite]

here are my favorite mom & pop places. are they the ONLY ones in town? no. IMHO they are the BEST ones in town. the others have....issues. ice tea that tastes like tap water; "refried" beans that don't taste like refried beans should; or food that just plain looks questionable.

Mom's Diner - located Basin & Humauaca. Mom's is my absolute favorite, hands down. Their food is home cooked every day, the owners are a delight & their prices are reasonable (average $10 with a drink). Different specials every day/night with Wednesday being meatloaf day. If you purchase one of their coffee mugs ($5), you get all you can drink coffee for FREE. Each time you come in, bring your mug & enjoy FREE coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker so I can't tell you if the coffee is good or bad, but the food & service are GOOOOOOOD! They've also started a classic car night in the parking lot, I think it's Saturday. And don't be surprised if you find Front Sight attendees here each night. Lunch fills up fast, by 12:05 there are no tables available.

Red Sky BBQ - located Basin & Emery. Doesn't look like much on the outside, but Red Sky has GENEROUS portions & dang good food. The prices are reasonable ($14 for a steak salad, has ooooodles of veggies & is served in a HUGE bowl with garlic bread, most people can't finish it). The service is a problem. Do not be surprised if you have to go to the kitchen to get a refill on your drink; or find your own "to go" box; or if the orders aren't quite right; or if you haven't received your meal & it's time to go back to work. We've discovered if we turn in our order early - like the day before we go - it's 99% correct & 99% on time. There are rumors the owners are trying to find a buyer for the place. If it's true, I hope the new owners fix the customer service problems.

Ohjah - located Basin & Hwy 160. Until recently Oooojah only existed in Pahrump. A 2nd location has opened in LV, right off of Blue Diamond & Decatur. When they opened out here, the newspaper did an article on the owners/cooks/etc, they were all from Vegas with YEARS of experience. They offer hibachi or regular dinning. I haven't had anything here that isn't DELISH! Hibachi can be a little pricey (esp for dinner), but dang worth it! Lunch fills up fast for regular dining, so get here early or do hibachi for lunch.

My Thai - located on the south end of town, Pahrump Valley Blvd & Manse. The staff is extremely friendly. I haven't been here in a while, but it was dang good! With each dish, you get to select how hot you want it. It's not a big place, but well worth the trip to find it.