Sometimes it’s hard to believe that among the 20-somethings wearing short dresses and spiked heels in Las Vegas, couples are pushing baby strollers and families with kids in tow. Yes, Sin City, is indeed an adult’s playground, but a kid-sized jungle gym is hanging out nearby.  Family-friendly activities are plentiful on the Las Vegas Strip, including the rides and midway at Circus Circus, the Tournament of Kings show at Excalibur, browsing the colorful aisles at M&M World and watching the lions at MGM Grand. But beyond this classic laundry list of things to do in Las Vegas, many other fun and family-friendly events are scattered across the Las Vegas valley.

In order to take full advantage of these activities, keep in mind that you’ll probably want to rent a car. Sure, you could try to figure out the public bus system, but to keep things simple and easy, consider finding four wheels to call your own.

Learn about the vegetation of the desert Southwest when you visit the Springs Preserve. This 180-acre cultural park on S. Valley View Boulevard features museums, galleries, botanical gardens and many outdoor concerts and events that cater to the family. Regardless of the season or holiday, chances are you’ll find some sort of activity involving crafts, the environment, music or education at Springs Preserve.

Bonnie Springs Ranch, located ten minutes west of Las Vegas, is set in the style of the Old West complete with a miniature train, riding stables and petting zoo. Guests enjoy several reenactment shows a day at Bonnie Springs as well as seasonal events, such as Wicked West Haunts around Halloween.

In the spring, a local radio station Mix 94.1 holds Pet-a-Palooza, an animal awareness event combined with a day-long concert featuring mainstream musicians. In addition to taking the kids, feel free to strap in Sparky because pets are invited too. Many organizations on site have information about pet care, and several animals are up for adoption as well. Because this is a family-friendly event, the concert is fun for adults but also appropriate for kids. Last year, for example, the Barenaked Ladies made an appearance.

The Vegas Valley Children’s Book Festival is free, open to the public and extremely popular. This is the largest children’s literary event in Las Vegas and includes exhibitions, hands-on activities, theatrical performances, story tellers and costumed characters. Also expect to find readings given by local authors and free books given out to participants. The Vegas Valley Children’s Book Festival is normally held in November of each year.

During the holiday season, make your way to Henderson, which is located southeast of Las Vegas, for Ethel’s Annual Chocolate Wonderland. This yearly event is as delicious and beautiful as it sounds … and it’s free! During the holiday season, the botanical garden at Ethel M Chocolate Factory is lit up with hundreds of thousands of lights strung across more than 300 species of desert plants. The factory is open, and kids will be able to see how chocolate is made … though they may like the free chocolate samples even better! Make sure you stop by to see Santa Claus, who gives out M&Ms instead of candy canes.

Another favorite holiday event in Las Vegas is the Opportunity Village Magical Forest , which is celebrating its 19th year in 2010. Visitors wander through hundreds of trees decorated in more than three million lights. Families will enjoy a passenger train and carousel on the grounds, and of course Santa Claus himself also makes an appearance. The Opportunity Village Magical Forest is the largest fundraiser for this local non-profit organization, and more than 150,000 people show their support every year.

VegasGal JoAnna Haugen pens WhyGo Las Vegas, a Las Vegas travel guide with information on cheap airfare, hotels and things to do in Sin City. She also writes the popular travel blog, Kaleidoscopic Wandering. Top photo courtesy Springs Preserve, bottom Brian Jones/Las Vegas News Bureau.

Halloween and Las Vegas – were ever a holiday and a travel destination better made for each other? The Vegas Strip is like Halloween all year ’round, with crazy costumes (and crazy behavior) on display all night long. While almost every US vacation destination is more child-friendly than Las Vegas, adults who want to act like little kids will find themselves right at home here (at one point there was a push for family-friendly Las Vegas travel; I fall firmly on the side that considers the hot spot more appropriately a playground for adults). Here are the top three Las Vegas hotel casinos that really celebrate Halloween, Las Vegas style.

MGM Grand Hotel & Casino

I love the MGM Grand for its sheer over the top commitment to a theme; the roaring lion has long been MGM’s icon, and the live lion habitat at the MGM Hotel and Casino is open for everyone to see. The 13th annual week-long Halloween celebration here is at MGM Grand’s Studio 54. It changes year to year, but the Nightmare on 54th Street in 2010 features costume parties, “spider girls” on aerial webs and bungees, and live music. On Halloween night itself, Studio 54 throws the 44th annual Beaux Arts Ball. This can’t be missed for anyone in Las Vegas for Halloween: entertainers from many different Vegas shows (hello, Vegas showgirls!)  perform together in a spectacular evening of Halloween glitz and glamour. Best of all, proceeds benefit Golden Rainbow, which provides assistance to people living with HIV/IDS in Nevada.

Circus Circus Hotel & Casino

I’ll admit it; when Vegas was pushing the whole family-friendly credo, I checked out Circus Circus as being a supposedly child-appropriate Vegas casino. I wasn’t sold on it then, and Circus Circus took a bit of a beating during that campaign (since drunken debauchery isn’t really a hallmark of child-friendly travel destinations). But this Las Vegas hotel and casino is getting back in the “…stays in Vegas” swing of things, and its Halloween-themed Fright Dome is considered one of the top five most frightening haunted attractions in the US. Not for kids or the faint of heart, the Fright Dome has jump-out-of-your-skin scare zones, haunted houses, old-timey freak shows, and more.  It’s in the Adventuredome all October at Circus Circus, and over five acres as well. The freaky sound effects, roaming actors with creepy makeup, and flashing strobes make this a serious scare destination for Halloween.

Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino

I’ve stayed at Mandalay Bay a handful of times now, and except for one pickpocketing incident, I’ve never been disappointed.  While I’ve never been at Mandalay Bay for Halloween, the hotel and casino puts on a couple of events that are very tempting. First, the Shark Reef Aquarium is done up in Halloween decor and called the “Haunted Reef.” For this exhibit, children under age 12 who come in costumes get complimentary access, and candy. People over age 17 who donate blood at the United Blood Services booth also get into the Shark Reef Aquarium for free. This is only on Halloween, from 9:00AM to 6:00PM.  All the darkened tunnels seem spookier on Halloween, with swinging jack-o-lanterns and sound effects accentuating the visions of marine predators. The second Halloween event at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino involves weddings (come on, you knew there had to be at least one Vegas wedding on the list). Couple who get married at Mandalay Bay can opt for the “Till Death Do Us Part” wedding package. The themed haunted chapel and spooky ceremony makes a Halloween wedding…well, memorable, that’s for sure! The package includes passes to the Fright Dome at Circus Circus.

It’s too bad that the Liberace Museum is closing in Las Vegas; the man exuded all that’s not frightening, but fun and glittery, about Halloween. Nevertheless, there is hardly a shortage of fun Halloween events in Las Vegas hotel casinos — surely the holiday can be spent happily in this gambling mecca. For adults traveling to Vegas without kids in late October, consider partaking in any of these spooky activities — it’ll make your Las Vegas Halloween even more exciting.

This Gal’s still in Lake Tahoe, loving the amazing blue-sky days here in the Sierra Nevada. Yesterday’s activity, as part of the SATW Western Chapter meeting: skiing Heavenly. (I know, rough assignment, right?)

The Lake Tahoe Visitor’s Authority could not have ordered up a more beautiful day. Truly, we couldn’t see a cloud in the sky when about a dozen SATW members started our ski day at the base of the Heavenly gondola in Heavenly Village, dominated by a Marriott Grand Vacation Club, shops and restaurants (including the super cool Stateline Brewery).

Representatives from Heavenly spent the day guiding us on the slopes of this massive resort that sprawls across two states and 4,800 acres. I have to give huge props to Troy Gier, an incredibly patient ski instructor and all-around awesome guy who was my group’s guide for the day. He’s passionate about skiing and Heavenly, and his enthusiasm for the sport and the slopes was contagious.

Brilliant blue Lake Tahoe — surrounded by white mountain peaks — from 10,000 feet is an unparalleled view. I snapped a dozen photos of the phenomenal scenery today, but my favorite came from my Blackberry (as if you needed a sign to tell you this was a scenic viewpoint):

This week I’m having a fine time on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe, which straddles the Nevada-California border in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. I’m attending my first Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Western Chapter meeting, and it’s been a great introduction to the organization, with networking and professional development, as well as plenty of activities that highlight this gorgeous area of the country (one I hadn’t seen before). My personalized events today centered around snowshoeing, snacks & a spa treatment. That’s my kind of ideal day!

With my private tour guide, Jennifer Boyd of Weidinger Public Relations (a peach!), I traipsed around the snowshoe trails at Camp Richardson, a historic, lakeside resort. Here, visitors can rent cross-country skis and snowshoes at the Mountain Sports Center to explore the 35 kilometers of trails on the property.

Jen and I checked out the neighboring Tallac Historic Site; maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, it’s the site of the former estates of three very wealthy families who descended upon the lake every summer to escape bustling San Francisco around the turn of the century. The restored buildings — from grand homes and big ol’ barns to  gardeners’ quarters and the tutor’s house — are open in the summer to visitors and are decorated with period furniture. But even in the wintertime, boarded up and buried in snow, the buildings evoke a romantic, opulent era — I could easily envision women in Victorian dresses, and later Great Gatsby-esque flapper dresses, enjoying tea in the wooden gazebo or playing croquet on the lawn.

We also skirted the lake on snowshoes, taking in the absolutely incredible view of Lake Tahoe. Surrounded by snow-covered peaks that rise from the water, the lake is so clear by the shore — reflecting the sandy bottom, it appears tan — but blends into a bright royal blue and then deep midnight blue as it increases in depth. Truly stunning!

After about an hour and a half of post-holing through deep snow and walking along packed trails, we met up with our group of SATW cross-country skiers for appetizers and beer at the Beacon Bar & Grill, also part of the Camp Richardson resort and an amazing venue for enjoying lovely views of the lake.  In the summer, I’m told, it’s packed with locals and visitors especially when bands play on the patio. The restaurant offers a great mix of beers on tap — plus its locally famous Rum Runner — and a family-friendly menu. After working up an appetite, we devoured plates of steamed clams in savory broth, tortilla chips with spinach and artichoke dip, meaty calamari (right) and cheesy garlic bread with vodka marinara sauce — all washed down with microbrewed beers, including yummy Back Country Blonde from the local Mt. Tallac Brewing Company.

As if vigorous outdoor exercise and good beer weren’t wonderful enough, I topped off my afternoon with a half-hour massage and a steam at the MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa. With a nondescript exterior and massive, old-time, individually lettered sign (circa 1970 Vegas), the MontBleu doesn’t exude hipness from the outside, but its Onsen Spa is all about tranquility and sophistication. Removed from the blinking lights and dinging slot machines at the hotel casino, the Zen-like spa with Asian decor, trickling stone fountains, and muted grey and beige accents soothe the soul. Heated massage tables, a women’s steam room, sauna and Jacuzzi (with ice-cold towels on hand), plus two women-only relaxation areas, are appreciated amenities at this upscale hotel spa.

Great food, outdoor adventures, pampering relaxation — three ingredients for my perfect afternoon at Lake Tahoe’s South Shore.

Disclosure: I paid a fee to attend the SATW conference, but most outfitters and restaurants provided complimentary activities and meals to travel-writer participants.

About eight years ago, before my son was born and when my daughter was a toddler, my husband and I escaped to Las Vegas for a romantic weekend getaway. With no concrete plans in mind, we did a lot of exploring of the mega-resorts on the Strip and wandering into restaurants we thought looked pretty good. While strolling the indoor, entertaining “streetmosphere” environment of  the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian, we happened upon the Mexican restaurant Taqueria Cañonita. My husband, Quent, ordered the Zácatesas Chile Relleno and pronounced it the best chile relleno in Las Vegas. Nope, scratch that. He said it was the best chile relleno he’d ever had.

Chile relleno, jicama salad and roasted vegetables at Taqueria Cañonita.

Now this isn’t your typical chile relleno. Rather, ingredients such as goat cheese, dried fruits and almonds combine for a savory-sweet flavor. I agreed with Quent: the gourmet twist was unexpected and good — however, the accompanying guajillo (chile) sauce was a bit too spicy for my tastes.

But my husband loved it. And couldn’t stop talking about it even weeks after our Vegas trip. We tried to replicate the dish at home with our own grocery-store poblano peppers, dried cherries and goat cheese, to no avail (in fact, it was an epic fail). I even went so far as to email The Venetian to try to get a restaurant recipe, but never got a response back.

I eventually forgot about the chile relleno, but I guess my husband didn’t.

Flash forward to last spring, when we returned to Vegas, again sans kids. With an entire weekend to play, my husband suggested seeking out the Mexican restaurant with the famed chile relleno. Sure! Why not! We scoured the Las Vegas dining guides and could not find one Mexican restaurant in The Venetian. Must be closed, we figured, and settled for a Friday night meal at a Mexican restaurant at Treasure Island (which was good, but not outta this world; and it sure didn’t have the goat-cheese chile relleno on the menu).

No, we're not outside. The ceiling is painted and illuminated in the Grand Canal Shoppes to look like "real sky."

It wasn’t until Sunday late morning, the day we were returning home, when we were walking down the Strip and passing the outdoor “canals” and gondolas in front of The Venetian that it hit me — we were looking up Mexican restaurants in the wrong place! The restaurant wasn’t in the hotel proper, but the adjacent shopping plaza! (It was one of those definite Homer Simpson “d’oh!” moments.) We walked into the building, found the Grand Canal Shoppes, and sure enough, the restaurant was still there — with the dang chile relleno still on the menu. But we were stuffed with sausage and eggs from our morning buffet meal; it made no sense to eat again before our plane took off.

Flash forward again to two weeks ago, New Year’s Day, when we were driving home from my mom’s house in California — through Las Vegas. The kids were hungry as we neared the California-Vegas border, and wanted to stop to eat lunch, but I insisted: “We need to get Daddy his chile relleno.”

Nope, we couldn’t stop at some random eatery just off the interstate. We had to pull off, negotiate ridiculous traffic and crowds of people on the Strip sidewalks to go to Taqueria Cañonita. (Quent was frankly more ambivalent about it — “We don’t have to go,” he said. But I was all about the successful hunt, chase and satisfaction of getting him the yummy meal he’d had eight years prior. Plus, the man was about to drive 10 more hours to our Colorado home. He needed a sated belly.)

Anticipating the first bite of the spicy chile relleno...

So we parked in a crowded hotel parking garage, negotiated plenty of hungover folks in the shopping plaza, and settled into a table next to the faux canals (complete with real gondolas and singing gondoliers) in Taqueria Cañonita. The kids devoured chicken-and-cheese quesadillas, I enjoyed my chicken enchiladas and Quent ordered his beloved chile relleno.

I asked how it was, and he replied, “Good. Really good. But not as good as the first time.”

D’oh!

I suppose I wasn’t surprised. Oftentimes your first taste of anything — the first time you see the Eiffel Tower, the first time you jump out of a plane, the first time you kiss the love of your life — is the best. Still, we sure had fun giggling about the quest for the chile relleno, I liked showing my kids the crazy man-made canals, and we talked about how we’d like to travel as a family to Italy someday.

I suppose the next time we go to Vegas we don’t have to worry about returning to Taqueria Cañonita. But I’d highly recommend to anyone else to try the chile relleno for yourself!

On my most recent trip to Las Vegas, I found myself saying to my husband more than once, “Oh, the kids would have liked this!” That’s because we happened to take in a handful of family-friendly attractions while we were there — without our children!  I’m not a big proponent of vacationing with kids in Las Vegas; do you really want to explain the why people are handing out “XXX Girls!” cards on the street? But if you’re road-tripping through Sin City with kids in tow, or if you’re attending a Vegas convention and want to bring the whole family along, here are some of the top activities and attractions in Las Vegas for school-age children:

Cirque du Soleil: If you have a child age eight and up who is involved in theatre, dance or gymnastics, I’d bite the bullet and spend the big bucks ($100 or more) to take him or her to a Cirque du Soleil performance. While I sat mesmerized during The Beatles LOVE (at the Mirage), I couldn’t help but think of my nine-year-old daughter, who would have absolutely appreciated all of the special effects, the music and especially the excellent hip-hop dancing and incredible acrobatics. Just make sure you book tickets for the earlier evening shows (around 7 or 7:30 p.m.) ; and avoid the R-rated, sexy Zumanity. (Mystere and O are other shows I can personally recommend. The music and sound effects can be loud; best to leave kids with sensitive ears at home.)

Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay: Compare the Shark Reef exhibit to, say, the New England Aquarium, and you’ll be disappointed. But, consider that this attraction is just one section of the (albeit massive) Mandalay Bay resort property, and it’s rather impressive. About 2,000 creatures in 1.6 million gallons of seawater make their home here, including piranahs, jellyfish, rays, sea turtles, Komodo Dragons, and, naturally, sharks. I like the audio tour (see photo) that’s included with admission; at each exhibit, touch a button to learn more about the animal — no reading required. Another plus: the aquarium emphasizes conservation of earth’s natural resources; signs (reading required) teach about environmental education. Admission is $16.95 for adults; ages 5 to 12, $10.95.

BODIES…The Exhibition at the Luxor: This human anatomy exhibit is fascinating. See real firsthand the inner workings of human bodies that have been polymer preserved — with exhibits detailing the respiratory, circulatory and muscular systems. Cool stuff! I saw several tween-age children here, and none were pointing and giggling at the, er, private parts on display. An option audio tour offers fascinating educational information in vocabulary that’s toned down and appropriate for kids (hubby and I actually liked listening to the kids’ less-technical version better). Choose whether or not you want to walk through the preserved fetuses; this section is totally optional (but, to me, one of the most interesting exhibits). Also see a set of smokers’ lungs; if that won’t encourage you to quit, I don’t know what will. Adult admission is $31; children ages 4 to 12 is $23. (Though, I likely wouldn’t recommend to kids under age seven.)

Titanic, The Artifact Exhibition at the Luxor: My seven-year-old son became fascinated by the ill-fated ship after reading Tonight on the Titanic from the Magic Tree House series of books. He was thoroughly bummed he missed out on this exhibit of actual items retrieved from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Staterooms and hallways are re-created at this Luxor attraction, and we entered a room kept at frigid temperatures so that we could touch a giant “iceberg.” We read of actual passengers’ stories on the Titanic — sad tales of families who were planning on making new lives in America, but never made it, and we looked at hundreds of artifacts, such as dishware, passengers’ clothing and luggage, and one 15-ton piece of the ship’s starboard hull. I think this is an excellent way for kids to learn about a tragic event in world history — seeing these artifacts up close is much more interactive than reading of the disaster in history books. Admission is $27 for adults; $20 for children.

My husband and I are huge fans of the Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas. Nearly 10 years ago on a trip to Sin City, we bought tickets for Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere (at Treasure Island), not really sure what we were dropping a couple hundred bucks on. We were blown away by the evocative music, the incredible acrobatics and the innovative storytelling. So much so, the next day we scooped up  tickets for another Cirque du Soleil show – “O” (at the Bellagio). It too, blew us out of the water (pun intended; the water-themed show takes place in an on-stage pool).

A subsequent weekend in Vegas brought Zumanity (at New York-New York), an “R-rated” show for grown-up eyes only. Somehow, in buying last-minute tickets, we ended up in the front row (red velvet love seats!) for this erotic-themed performance, and I wound up on stage! I forget (or I’ve blocked out) the exact reasoning for my being pulled up there, but I do remember wearing some sort of Puritan-style, colonial bonnet and an old-fashioned chastity belt. Needless to say, I got a free drink for being a good sport!

Last month, hubby and I caught our fourth Cirque du Soleil show: The Beatles’ LOVE at the Mirage. Like other Cirque shows, this one combined phenomenal acrobatics, upbeat dance, and entertaining characters — complemented by  lights, confetti and many, many other special effects. More than two dozen Beatles’ songs accompany all of the aerial performances and athleticism to create an incredibly fast-paced show.

You certainly don’t have to be a Beatles fan to appreciate LOVE, though if you were around during Beatlemania or know all the words to favorite songs, I think it’s an absolute must-see. During some of the hip-hop dancing scenes, I thought about my nine-year-old daughter who would have loved to have seen the show (it’s definitely appropriate for school-age kids; no R-rated scenes here). Really, the show is for all ages — for anyone who appreciates quality, multi-media entertainment.

My favorite scene was probably during the song, “Help!” where four rollerbladers took to 11-foot-high ramps in an amazing sequence of turns, jumps and twists. I also liked “Revolution/Back in the USSR,” where hippy-type characters evaded the cops by jumping and flipping to crazy heights on trampolines. During “Within You/Without You,” the entire theatre is enveloped in a humongous, billowing bed sheet. In the last scene, giant photos of each of the Beatles appear, and the audience can’t help but sing along to “All You Need is Love.”

Learn more about The Beatles LOVE at the official Cirque du Soleil website.