Reno Man Wins Nevada Magazine’s 2013 Photo Contest

Nevada residents sweep Grand Prize and 2nd through 4th Places.

"Light Glyphs," by Neil Lockhart

Neil Lockhart, owner of Neil Lockhart Photography based in Reno, is the Grand Prize winner of Nevada Magazine’s 36th annual Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest — the feature story in the publication’s September/October 2013 issue.

The winning image, titled “Light Glyphs," is an epic nighttime scene of Lagomarsino Canyon. One of the state’s most intriguing collections of petroglyphs, the site is located in the Lousetown area north of Virginia City. “The image was created by light-painting the rock formations with a large portable spotlight, as well as a small Mini Maglite for the glyphs themselves,” says Lockhart, who has a passion for night photography. He strategically included the Milky Way. “I can only imagine how bright the light of the stars must have been at the time the glyphs were created,” he adds.

In addition to the Grand Prize, there were 2nd Place, 3rd Place, and 4th Place winners in the magazine's 2013 photo contest. Carson City resident Jarrod Lopiccolo took 2nd with his stunning "Life Guard Off Duty" photo, taken at Sand Harbor on Lake Tahoe's northeastern shore. The 3rd Place photo, "Rhyolite Ghost Town" by Wayne Posner of Las Vegas, also landed on the cover of the current issue. Like Lockhart, Posner used a light-painting effect on the "Ghost Rider" sculpture at Rhyolite’s Goldwell Open Air Museum. Rhyolite is a ghost town in southwestern Nevada, not far from Beatty.

Reno resident Michael Lindberg took 4th Place with his photo of Sand Mountain Recreation Area, titled "Star Dust." The gigantic pile of sand, east of Fallon, is a popular ATV destination. “I went in February 2013 during a cold weekend in hopes of seeing zero motorized vehicles,” Lindberg says. “Unfortunately, there were still plenty of people, and I had to hike all over to find sand that had not been touched. Luckily my sweat and determination rewarded me with this scene.”

To view the winning images and Honorable Mentions, pick up the September/October 2013 issue at national bookstores and where magazines are sold in Nevada, or visit nevadamagazine.com. Look for information in a future 2014 issue covering submission rules for the 2014 photo contest, or check back regularly at nevadamagazine.com.

Also in the September/October 2013 issue

Photo by Wayne Posner

The current issue is also Nevada Magazine's first Sesquicentennial Special Edition. Nevada is celebrating its 150th birthday in 2014, so the magazine will honor the sesquicentennial over the next eight issues, through November/December 2014. Author and historian Ron Soodalter is writing a series of history stories that covers Nevada's past. Part I of Soodalter's two-part "Pre-Nevada" series covers the Indians, explorers, miners, and settlers who paved the way for Nevada's rise to statehood.

Also highlighted are a southwestern Nevada ghost-towns tour, spectacular fall images, more on the changing face of downtown Las Vegas, and a new tavern in Reno that pays homage to Nevada's birth year of 1864.

Nevada Magazine announces 2012 Best of Nevada winners

Nevada Magazine’s July/August 2012 edition, which reveals the winners of the publication’s 15th annual Best of Nevada readers’ survey, is on newsstands now. From Brewery to Wedding Venue, the annual listing includes 18 categories. In most cases, the categories are divided into North, South, and Rural Nevada, giving tourists plenty of statewide vacation ideas.

Peppermill Resort Spa Casino in Reno is a five-category winner, voted Best Casino, Hotel, Nightclub, Spa, and Wedding Venue in Northern Nevada. David Walley’s Resort Hot Springs & Spa won two categories: Best Spa and Wedding Venue in Rural Nevada. The Best of Nevada food-and-drink categories (Brewery, Buffet, and Restaurant) are covered extensively in the magazine’s “Cravings” department, highlighted by Reno’s Cactus Creek Prime Steakhouse, which won Best Restaurant in Northern Nevada for the third year in a row.

Red Rock Casino Resort Spa is the only two-category winner in the Southern Nevada discipline, earning Best Casino and Spa honors. Tropicana Laughlin won Best Restaurant and Wedding Venue in Rural Nevada. The recently opened Mob Museum won Southern Nevada’s Best Museum category in its first year of eligibility, and Tonopah’s Central Nevada Museum won the Rural Museum category for the third consecutive year.

A complete list of winners can be found at nevadamagazine.com. To see past Best of Nevada winners, click here.

July/August 2012 issue

Best of Nevada winners Nevada Northern Railway in Ely (Best Place to Take the Kids; Rural) and Valley of Fire State Park (Best State Park; South) also were honored with the distinction of being named one of the state’s six treasures in a recent Nevada Commission on Tourism campaign called Discover Your Nevada. Like Best of Nevada, the treasures—one from each of the state’s six “territories”—were determined by public vote.

Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park (Minden), Goldwell Open Air Museum (near Rhyolite), Nevada Northern Railway (Ely), Pyramid Lake (Indian Reservation), The Star Bar & Dining Room (Elko), and Valley of Fire State Park are the six treasures and the subjects of the July/August issue’s cover story, which also discusses how Governor Brian Sandoval and Lieutenant Governor Brian K. Krolicki have taken active roles in promoting intrastate travel.

Also in the July/August issue are stories about renovations at Las Vegas’ original resort—Golden Gate Hotel & Casino—sister bed and breakfasts in Alamo, a cozy B&B in Kingston, and a history story about the July 18, 1912 flood that wiped the northwestern Nevada mining town of Mazuma off the map.

Nevada ‘treasures’ unveiled

Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park, in Reno-Tahoe Territory, is one of Nevada's "six treasures," according to voting results in the Nevada Commission on Tourism's Discover Your Nevada campaign.

After several rounds of voting and months of friendly competition, six unique locations in Nevada have been identified as Nevada’s Treasures, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki announced today.

“The Discover Your Nevada campaign has been incredibly well received, and the Nevadans who have visited the TravelNevada.com website have served to unleash a renewed interest in the wonderful tourism opportunities available throughout Nevada — ranging from the well-established venues to some of our state’s truly unknown treasures,” Krolicki, chair of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, said. "The governor and I are delighted to participate in this marvelous campaign, and are gearing up to hit the road shortly to revisit some of our favorite places as well as to discover treasures that have somehow eluded us during our many years of traveling this great state."

The Nevada Treasures competition was part of NCOT’s Discover Your Nevada campaign, a three-month endeavor to encourage in-state travel and to educate Nevadans about some lesser-known corners of their state.

Goldwell Open Air Museum.
Photo: Shane Kruitbosch

The nomination period kicked off on March 1, and NCOT received 587 nominations in the state’s six tourism territories: Reno-Tahoe, Cowboy Country, Pony Express, Nevada Silver Trails, Las Vegas, and Indian Territory. Several rounds of voting narrowed the competition until the final two in each category were announced April 30.

“It was so interesting to see the variety of nominations, from natural wonders like Cathedral Gorge State Park to world-famous sights like the Las Vegas Strip,” Claudia Vecchio, director of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, said. “Even more interesting and thrilling was to see the local residents and business owners reach out to their communities to rally support. The volley of marketing on the local level grew with each round of voting, and residents jumped on board to support their favorite venue.”

The final round of voting closed at 5 p.m. on May 4. The winning treasures are:

• Cowboy Country: The Star Bar & Restaurant in Elko
• Indian Territory: Pyramid Lake (Indian Reservation)
• Las Vegas Territory: Valley of Fire State Park near Overton
• Nevada Silver Trails: Goldwell Open Air Museum in Rhyolite
• Pony Express Territory: Nevada Northern Railway in Ely
• Reno-Tahoe Territory: Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Minden

For more information about the Discover Your Nevada campaign, visit DiscoverYourNevada.com.