No doubt about it, there are plenty of ways to spend money in Las Vegas. But there are just as many things to see and do without spending a penny. So stash your wallet and take in a spectacular Vegas-style production, enjoy a relaxing stroll around a secluded lake or check out some exotic wildlife. Because when it comes to complimentary attractions in Las Vegas, you’ve got nothing but options.

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A journalism professor at the University of Nevada has been traveling around the state off and on for several years working on a project. Howard Goldbaum has been shooting photos for himself and for the Online Nevada Encyclopedia’s website, which documents Nevada’s history and present through articles and photos.

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Gim soaks in the tub at Pott’s Ranch Hot Springs. Photo by Joyce Hollister.I settled gingerly into the steaming tub—a round galvanized iron livestock watering trough—in hopes that I wouldn’t burn myself. “That’s why they call them hot springs,” my husband said. “Ha, ha,” I replied.

Someone had placed the trough next to a grimy old white porcelain bathtub, which had obviously been used for years and was now thankfully retired. You change into your bathing suit—if you brought one—and leave your clothes on a wooden bench. When we arrived at Potts Ranch Hot Springs, it took me about half a second to realize that the twisted washcloth sitting on the bench was the hot tub’s stopper. I pushed the cloth into a small hole in the tub and Gim pulled over three plastic pipes, somehow connected to the springs, and filled the tub to chest height.

It was about 10 in the morning. The August sun shone overheard. We leaned back in the water with a sigh. Ahhhh…

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Ralph Crouse’s signature inside the Belmont Courthouse. Photo by Joyce Hollister.It was strange to see the signature of an old cowboy we’d known years ago scrawled across the faded blue wall. “Ralph Crouse, Tonopah” was etched into the plaster in letters nearly a foot high. We wished Ralph had dated it, as so many of the nearby names had been.

The thought crossed my mind: When does signing the wall on a state monument become vandalism, and when is it historical graffiti?

But I am ahead of myself…

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Photo by Joyce Hollister.The notice said: Campgrounds full.

We had raced across Nevada on U.S. 50 from our home in Genoa—almost 400 miles—to Great Basin National Park. What with one thing and another, we didn’t arrive there until after 3 p.m.

Well, the park’s Web site did say if you want to stay in one of the four developed campgrounds in the summer, you should get there early…

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