{"id":521,"date":"2007-12-07T13:51:52","date_gmt":"2007-12-07T19:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/vegas-is-cowboy-country\/"},"modified":"2018-03-24T15:06:56","modified_gmt":"2018-03-24T20:06:56","slug":"vegas-is-cowboy-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/vegas-is-cowboy-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegas is cowboy country!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Joe Vegas<\/em>\"Vegasmonorail\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Historically, December was a slow time for a Las Vegas vacation<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy to think \u201cholidays\u201d when you\u2019re in a city with virtually no fir trees and whose neon-lit Strip easily outshines the most audacious Christmas-light display.<\/p>\n

That changed when the National Finals Rodeo<\/a><\/strong> came to town in 1985.<\/p>\n

And from now through December 15, Vegas is a whoopin\u2019, hollerin\u2019, beer-drinkin\u2019, bronc-ridin\u2019 heck of a good time.<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands of cowboys and their cowgals flood the town with leather, hats, chaps and chaw for those 10 days, with the NFR rodeo selling some 175,000 tickets.<\/p>\n

But where to go to watch this wind-burned parade of humanity, now that Gilley\u2019s went away with the closure and impending implosion of The Frontier? Well, there\u2019s always the Thomas & Mack<\/strong>, which is the UNLV auditorium where the rodeo is held.<\/p>\n

More to the point — imbibery and fun — I’ve found two places, one almost brand new, and one ancient, that no self-respecting cowboy, or cowboy wannabe, would want to miss during a Las Vegas vacation<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The new place is Stoney’s Rockin’ Country<\/strong><\/a>, which is south of Mandalay Bay<\/strong><\/a> on Las Vegas Boulevard. Walk in here on any Thursday \u2014 which happens to be Ladies’ Night; no cover and $1 drinks for the missus — and I swear it feels like you walked onto the set of \u201cUrban Cowboy.\u201d Dudes in stevedores and women in perfectly tight jeans and cowboy boots boot-scootin\u2019 the night away.<\/p>\n

But my Holy Grail of westernized taverns is The Pioneer<\/strong><\/a>. This place, with corrugated tin full of Colt-45 bullet holes \u2014 or so you might imagine — is a fantastic hole-in-the-wall, about 35 miles southeast of Las Vegas in the middle of the desert near the amiably named town of Goodsprings.<\/p>\n

Related Orbitz resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n