Every year, 37 million visitors flock to Las Vegas to see the hottest shows, try their luck at the casinos, and immerse themselves in the sights and sounds of America's Garden of Neon. Every night, they rest their heads in some of the biggest and best-known hotels in the world. Quite a few get married. Most never look beyond the bright lights of the city.

With a population of 2,414,807 and counting, Nevada is the country's fastest growing state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 estimate. Las Vegas, home to 545,147 residents, is far and away the state's largest city, but the 4.5-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard commonly known as The Strip actually lies outside the city limits in unincorporated Clark County. What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but if Clark County is an open book, watch out; the county contains seven of the state's 10 largest cities.

Las Vegas, of course, can't be defined by geographic borders or statistical demographics; it is an undeniable iconic glow on the American landscape. Elvis impersonators, showgirls, and neon lights are only part of the story, though. In recent years, according to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, Las Vegas has secured its place on the cultural map. From the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and the 7,660-square-ft. Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino to the Liberace Museum, the city delivers a well-rounded dose of art and entertainment.

The roads less traveled

Beyond the bright lights and bustling cities of Clark County, thousands of miles of road penetrate Nevada's wide open spaces, leading to a number of less well-lit, yet naturally dazzling attractions. As the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCT) points out, “Long before the glass pyramids and manmade volcanoes, nature created her own landmarks in Southern Nevada.”

The magnificent Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, as popular with rock climbers and hikers as it is with bighorn sheep and wild burros, is just 20 miles west of downtown Las Vegas. The nearby Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, once owned by the legendary Howard Hughes, hosts summer performances. Another neighbor, Mount Charleston, rises nearly 12,000 ft. above the desert. “In the summer, it is the place in Southern Nevada where visitors can stay cool without air conditioning,” the NCT reports. “In the winter, it's the only place in Southern Nevada for skiing and other snow sports.”

Boulder City, located southeast of Las Vegas, is the gateway to Hoover Dam, often referred to as one of the “Seven Modern Engineering Wonders of the United States.” When the dam was completed in 1935, the 726-ft. structure created Lake Mead, which remains the largest synthetic lake in the Western Hemisphere. The dam produces electricity, while the lake produces abundant recreational opportunities. The Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which includes Lake Mohave to the south, features a number of beaches, marinas, campgrounds, and other services, such as boat and Jet Ski rentals.

The northeastern shore of Lake Mead, still an easy 55-mile drive from Las Vegas, is the starting point for a State Scenic Byway that winds through the Valley of Fire State Park. For centuries, the bright red sandstone hills had nothing but wind and water for company. The forces of nature shaped the lonely landscape into startlingly beautiful shapes that seem to play with the shadows. The park also harbors evidence of other ancient visitors, sporting several fine examples of prehistoric Indian petroglyphs. The Lost City Museum at Overton features a wealth of Anasazi artifacts, as well as a full-size replica of the type of adobe dwelling associated with the ancient tribe.

Scratching the surface

Today you can hit the jackpot at the casinos, but a century ago, fortunes were won and lost during the boom-or-bust era of Nevada's famous gold and silver mines. Ghost towns and historic mining outposts dot the region identified by the NCT as Pioneer Territory. Vestiges of the Old West and vast horizons are plentiful in this south-central area of the state.

In Gold Point, Belmont, Manhattan, and Hot Creek, a handful of abandoned buildings may be all that marks the site of a once-thriving mining community. Unlike these 19th- or early-20th century ghost towns, however, some historic mining towns continue to prosper. In the heyday of the mining boom, Goldfield had a population of nearly 20,000. At the time, it was Nevada's largest city and the home of what was reputed to be the most luxurious hotel between Kansas City and San Francisco. Today only a few hundred residents stroll the streets lined with historic buildings. The city's glory days have passed, but mining remains a major industry in Nevada, which ranks third in the world for gold production, according to the NCT. Round Mountain Gold, a modern open-pit mining operation, invites visitors to watch the blasting of rock that contains gold, invisible to the naked eye.

Nevada's past lives on in other areas of Pioneer Territory, as well. Grazing livestock and fields of alfalfa hay mark the Smith and Mason valleys as authentic cattle country. The traditional western lifestyle has been passed down from generation to generation on family ranches that have operated for more than a century.

Modern-day adventure is also plentiful in the region. Mountain bikes, wild horses, burros, antelope, deer, and elk are all common sights in the Toiyabe and Toquima ranges. Sandboarding and paragliding are the latest trend at Amargosa Dunes. Other popular attractions in Pioneer Territory include Death Valley National Park, the mysterious Devil's Hole and its tiny endangered pupfish, and Cathedral Gorge, Echo Canyon, and Beaver Dam state parks. The Walker River flows through the Mason Valley into Walker Lake, remnant of a giant prehistoric inland sea that once covered parts of Nevada, Utah, and California. Today Walker Lake is popular for boating, water-skiing, fishing, and bird watching.

On the road to adventure

State Route 375, Nevada's “Extraterrestrial Highway,” runs through the heart of Pioneer Territory, skirting a top-secret military base said to be dedicated to the study of extraterrestrials. Since the mid-1800s, the Humboldt River has been the defining thoroughfare in Northern Nevada's Cowboy Country. The river stretches more than 300 miles across the upper third of the state, paralleling Interstate 80. Tens of thousands of 49ers first beat a path to California along the river's trail. Later the transcontinental railroad was built along the Humboldt Trail, linking the West - and Nevada - to the rest of the nation. In the late 19th century, the region attracted cattle ranchers. It is their unique traditions, culture, and heritage that have had the most lasting effect on the region, according to the NCT, which adds that “Today, Nevada's Cowboy Country remains one of the last outposts of the real American West.”

U.S. Highway 50, once dubbed “The Loneliest Road in America” by Life magazine, parallels the historic Pony Express route. In the 1860s, riders braved a dangerous trail that stretched from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif. Today the road cuts through picturesque vistas, sagebrush-carpeted valleys, and quaint mining towns. “Few places capture the Nevada experience as well as the Pony Express Territory,” the NCT reports. “ … Only a handful of small towns are strung along the highway … Motorists who get pangs of loneliness when they're not surrounded by buildings and traffic may feel isolated. But the rest will find tranquility in the splendid solitude.”

Those who follow the highway west, across Nevada's dramatic landscape, will be rewarded. The western reaches of the state contain many of Nevada's most scenic and historic recreation areas.

Mark Twain once described the view of Lake Tahoe as “the fairest picture the whole earth affords.” The lake is, many believe, the crowning jewel in the scenic Sierra Nevada mountain range. As one of the clearest and deepest lakes in the world, Lake Tahoe is also a popular year-round destination. Skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling will bring the color to your cheeks all winter, while in the summer months, the lake is the perfect setting for boating, waterskiing, hiking, and fishing.

Nestled in a valley between Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake is Reno, which was Nevada's second-largest city until it was surpassed by Henderson only a few years ago. Reno gained national attention in the 1930s and '40s when its wide-open attitude earned the town a reputation as Nevada's original gambling and divorce capital. Today Reno shares a sloping valley and optimistic economic outlook with the city of Sparks. Carson City, located 30 miles south of Reno, is one of the smallest state capitals in the country. Historic Virginia City is a short drive away. The photogenic 19th-century community stood at the heart of the legendary Comstock mining district, one of the West's largest silver discoveries.

In Nevada, every mile of open road evokes the spirit of adventure. Anything is possible with the turn of a card or roll of the dice. The state's history is laced with excitement, its future flush with opportunity. For nurses willing to explore a land that embraces the rugged individualism of the Old West, as well as the 21st century's best and brightest, the most satisfying discoveries may lie just ahead.