Jean, Nevada: a Jean-ial community

The splendor of Jean

Thirty miles west of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 is the blink-and-you'll-miss-it community of Jean, Nevada. Jean does boast one heck of a casino, though: the Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall. We were looking for a night's lodgings and were amazed to get a room at this high rise-in-the-middle-of-nowhere hotel for a scant $35 a night. Lovely room, too, with a fridge and a microwave and, eerily, almost the whole floor to ourselves. It seemed more like a movie set casino than a real one. I especially liked the large, folk art-ish Old West twin prospector statues that greet you as you enter the high-capacity parking lot. Unlike the Muffler Men and Uniroyal gals, these two behemoths are probably less than 10 years old, I'm guessing, but they have that same old, decaying roadside-attractions-of-the-past look. Their big, goony faces stare at you, menacing you to come on in and set a spell, pardner... or else. Apparently, Jean is a lovely place to visit but not so much to live in: according to Wikipedia, as of 2006, Jean's population consisted of only two permanent residents. Two? I guess when they vote on something there, it's either unanimous or a tie.