So another Vegas trip, another Vegas adventure. This time we headed off to the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

The Cosmopolitan is an ultra urban, ultra sleek, total hipster hang out kind of place. The Cosmopolitan sets between the Bellagio and the Aria/Vdara/City Center complex. And uniquely enough it’s not attached to any of those. This is due mainly to the fact that the Bellagio was not part of the M life organization. As the Vdara, which sits behind the Cosmopolitan, connects to Bellagio via an internal tunnel, you would think they would just build a tunnel from the Cosmopolitan connecting the three.

But either way, once you check in to the Cosmopolitan, you are immediately hit by the glossy, glitzy entryway. Once in the room, that theme continues. The Cosmopolitan is a great space with the rooms larger than most common rooms. It reminds me of the old days of the Hard Rock Hotel being the blinged out boudoir of choice. Now those older rich guys have moved closer to the strip where the action is.

The rooms, equipped with wet sinks, microwaves, two TVs, a sitting area. This makes the rooms incredibly cozy to stay in, more like your little apartment and less a hotel room. All the finishes are top notch and high quality. I love the microwave, I don’t need an oven, but to heat up some of those left overs the next morning, and then relax on the couch, awesome! Especially in the fall when football is on Sunday and you’re nursing a hangover.

I love the step-through-shower concept, and will actually put it to use in some of the homes I’m remodeling. The sit down Jacuzzi tubs are awesome. Sit back and relax after a long day at the pool or after winning a fortunate on the slot machines downstairs. It could happen! Plus whats better than sitting in your tub, and looking over to the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Britney Spears images on the giant screen across the street? Way cool!

I love the idea of a balcony on a room, and Cosmopolitan is fantastic where not only do you have a balcony, but it’s all over looking the Las Vegas strip. Our particular balcony allowed us to look down at the Boulevard Pool. We could also look across to Planet Hollywood, and down the strip to Paris Paris or up to Aria.

The hotel continues Hard Rock Hotel purple theme. Oh Prince, where art thou? The beds are extremely comfortable, good closet space, fantastic bathroom set up with the walk in shower, make that walk through shower, Where you walk through the shower to get to the tub. It’s a cool set up definitely unique definitely 4-star. But if it does have one nuance, it’s that it has no drawers. Which is OK, since 9 times out of 10 you’re clothes are either in your suitcase are hanging on the closet rack anyway.

I first came across Momofuku in New York. My wife and I were there for her birthday, and I want to find a top notch foodie restaurant for her. Unfortunately I waited until the last minute and the place was reserved for the next two months. That’s the popularity of such high end restaurants like Momofuku. But then why wouldn’t it be popular, the guy’s got 2 Michelin stars, and the restaurant is awarded “Best of…” in so many categories, including Bon Appetit and Gourmet Traveler.

We started with Crab Deviled Eggs. I love love love ’em! Deviled Eggs, but adding some salmon roe, and topping it off shredded crab meat and crispy Bonito, this sounded awesome! And it was. I know, in a Asian themed Michelin spot and I choose Deviled Eggs. Oh well, I’m not THAT adventurous, I just like good stuff regardless of the theme.

After zooming through our first glasses of wine, the entrees started coming out. She ordered the Rotisserie Chicken & Fried Bones. Tender juicy chicken thigh pieces and crispy fried wings that if you were adventurous enough, or hungry enough, you could bite right through to the bone. If only Buffalo Wild Wings were this tasty.

I got the Smoked Pork Chop. What I found interesting was that instead of a huge pork chop, it comes out sliced and tender as can be. A peach on top, and rye cognac broth underneath, it was BBQ heaven. Soft and tender, a delicate balance of flavors across a wide palette of textures. And huge servings!

To accompany the entrees, there was no way I could pass up on the Crispy Potatoes. Tender little fingerings, fried to perfection, light and airy, then topped with a truffle sour cream, shredded Parmesan cheese, chives. I didn’t even notice the truffle Tofu blended in. I may have been overwhelmed by the size. How are we going to eat all of this!?! We were so stuff at this point, we took almost half back to the room for breakfast the following day.

On a trip to Las Vegas, our return was met with an insane amount of traffic. By the time we got to Baker, Google Maps told us to take a detour and rerouted us around several accidents along interstate 15. We get off at Baker, took a left and headed down Kelbaker Road. An isolated stretch of highway, partially maintained over the years, that seem to just run on and on and on. I had no idea where we were, other than the satellite view of our map of course, nothing to see for miles, until we rounded a bend and there stood an oasis of palm trees and a tiled roof. Of course at this point, I had been on the road for the last four hours of traffic, so I had no intention whatsoever of stopping, but I did see a sign, Kelso Depot, so I made a mental note and kept driving.

A year later I’m driving from Palm Springs to Las Vegas for a weekend at the Cosmopolitan. Realizing the drive was going to be a long one, I take the more venturous route up Hwy 62 to Kelbaker Road, and suddenly my memory springs to life. Kelso Depot. I remember that spot and I anticipate revisiting this isolated location. I enter the Mojave National Preserve, and realize what our ancestors braved through to settle Southern California. This is isolated wilderness with no indication whatsoever of civilization to the north south east or west. Imagine coming across this in a buck wagon and an old pair of trousers. Not the BMW air conditioned comfort that I’m not used to now. A few hours later, we arrive at the Kelso Depot and it is beautifully maintained. A true oasis in the desert. There is absolutely nothing else here, other than this train stop.

The train station originally opened in 1905, then rebuilt in 1923, serving as a stop for steam locomotives moving people and mining materials to the Los Angeles area. Back in the day, mining was the lifeblood of Southern California, and the Mojave desert is littered with remnants of this. Boron, a small town 2 hours drive west of here, is home to 20 Mule Team Borax, a cleaner first mined and produced in 1891, and is still available on store shelves today. 45 minutes east is Nipton, a mining town long dead, that has been purchased and is planned as a marijuana Disneyland.

Kelso Depot is under the protection of the National Park Service, it is maintained immaculately as both museum and memory of a time long gone. The train tracks still exist, but I don’t think the train has come down these tracks in decades. The depot serves more as I stop over for people needing to use the restroom, and as a curiosity spot for tourists and hobbyist researching old Southern California and its mining past. I step inside and I’m met by park ranger, Mark, who has a dusty, cool smile on this 112 degree day. I look around, and there’s what’s left of the old Kelso restaurant, now a coffee counter with a small menu of burgers, fries, tacos and chips. But no one seems to be manning the grill, so I step over to the tourist rack and purchase a Kelso Depot poster for nostalgia sake.

Back outside under the palm trees I take a look around, and notice a sign identifying the old location of the Kelso jail. I love the idea that this jail is stated as built to “confine drunks and other unruly individuals,” namely me in a couple more hours,. The jail was built back in the mid-1940s but is long gone. I’m sure somebody will have a grand idea to use some reclaimed lumber to rebuild it to its original specifications. That will be cool to see. Maybe they can take the backside of the old post office across the street. This abandoned desolate little building is a reminder of how small we used to be. This stop had a post office, and I’m sure at some point a bustling a little town built around it. Now it’s just a leftover abandoned little shack as the trains have stopped rolling and mines have stopped producing and everyone just takes the 15 from LA to Vegas.

Thank you to the National Park Service for preserving this memory.