"It's no wonder people have no idea that this marker exists. You're more likely to get rear-ended trying to pull in here than find this marker on your own. This ridiculous location pretty personifies the horrid placement issues across the state. And what a shame. Rafael Rivera ... such an important historical figure in southern Nevada represented by a badly placed historical marker that almost nobody sees! What's even worse is that this location makes no sense in reference to Rivera or his doings. This one's easy. Place this one on the far outskirts of the city so we can "feel" the region that Rivera had crossed. Sloan would be an excellent location or a bit further down Las Vegas Boulevard near Jean. Anything has got to be better than this. ... Like a snow cone to calm my frustrations." -- March 2009

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Along S. Mountain Vista St, 1/4 mile south of E. Russell Road. -- Las Vegas Las Vegas & Clark County   36.083230, -115.073010

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Original Date Visited: 3/15/09
Signed: No

Notes: Other resources for Nevada historical markers will tell you the directions for this marker as: "off Mountain Vista Road at the entrance to Vo-Tech School." Boys and Girls, you won't find Mr. 214 anywhere near the entrance to that school. The entrance to the "Vo-Tech School" sits to the southeast off of Whitney Mesa Drive. This puts you approximately one-half mile southeast anywhere from this marker. In this case, the SHPO made the directions a lot more complicated than they really are.

This marker is an annoying and dangerous one suffering from a common condition among Nevada markers that I've named, "tough visibility syndrome." In fact, I've wondered why in the world Marker 214 was placed here despite all my research regarding Rafael Rivera. Apparently, the Old Spanish Trail isn't far from this exact location, but surely amidst this chaotic urban sprawl, the SHPO could've placed this at least at a street intersection rather than this tiny, insignificant dirt patch. So friends, take extra caution when trying to spot the darned thing. Motorists using Mountain Vista usually aren't expecting a marker hunter to be cruising by looking for it. With this syndrome in mind, here's what you need to do.

The first step is knowing what segment of Russell Road to access. Russell Road is an intermittent four-lane artery across the Las Vegas Valley, completely cut in half by Harry Reid Int'l Airport. Begin by finding "East Russell Road", which begins on Paradise Road east of the Strip and south of the airport. Once you know this, there are two ways to get here.

1. Take I-11/US 95 south from the Spaghetti Bowl and use Exit 65 to access East Russell Road on your right. Follow East Russell for 1.4 miles to Mountain Vista Blvd. on your left.
2. If you're coming from the Strip, it'll take awhile, but here it goes. Head east on Tropicana Ave. for signs to "Airport." (This will be about 1.5 miles from the Strip) You'll find signs for the "Airport Connector" with separate lanes specifically for shuttles, airport traffic, and thru traffic. Follow all the lanes for the Thru Traffic. This "connector" (as its often called by Las Vegans) will take you underneath the airport and spit you out right at the intersection of Paradise and E. Russell Rds. Follow E. Russell Road for another 4.1 miles (about fifteen minutes) to Mountain Vista Blvd. on your right.

- Head south on Mountain Vista where you'll find Marker 214 a quarter mile south of East Russell Road. Keep in mind, that you can only access the marker from the northbound lanes of Mountain Vista! And since most of you will be coming southbound on Mountain Vista, you'll need to make a solid U-turn to get to it. Fortunately, Clark County Roads installed a turn lane here that allows you to do this, but use extreme caution when turning across the lanes. Check out the Street View above for full visuals.

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Street View

Here's what you'll see!

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[214] Cheers to another puzzling placement by the SHPO [214] Marker 214 plaque [214] Marker 214 [214] At least the City of Las Vegas provided some ample parking for marker viewing. [214] The busy traffic of Mountain Vista Street in the b.g.

Exact Description:
This historical marker commemorates the valor and service of pioneer scout Rafael Rivera, the first Caucasian of record to view and traverse Las Vegas Valley. Scouting for Antonio Armijo's sixty- man trading party from Abiquiu, N.M. in January 1830, young Rivera ascended Vegas Wash twenty miles east of this marker and blazed a route to the Mojave River in California by way of the Amargosa River.

Rivera's pioneering route became a vital link in the Old Spanish Trail, with Las Vegas Springs a most essential stop on this popular route to Southern California. John C. Fremont mapped the trail in 1844. Three years later, following an extension of the course to Salt Lake Valley, the route became known in this area as the Mormon Trail. Today the Old Spanish Trail closely parallels Inter-State Route # 15.

This bronze statue commemorates the Mexican scout, Rafael Rivera. Honestly, this status is so well-done, I would recommend relocating Marker 214 here to the Rafael Rivera Community Center for a full tribute!

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 COVERED IN US 95 ROAD TRIP

Next Marker

LAHONTAN DAM

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Related Links & Markers:

 - 31 - Old Spanish Trail (1829-1850)   - 40 - Las Vegas (The Springs)   - 141 -- Old Spanish Trail (Armijo's Route)   Old Spanish Trail Association    Old Spanish Trail -- Wild Nevada -

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