Largely a product of the go-go growth years before the 2008 crash, Centennial Hills was so named after residents were allowed to choose — it beat out Arrow Canyon, Montecito, Vista Verde, and others. Here’s a little rundown:
Places to Eat: Open since 1955, Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House still serves up fine slabs of beef in its pleasantly clamorous, saddle-fortified dining room. If you were denied the joys of fanciful, sugary cereals growing up, heal your inner child at The Cereal Killerz Kitchen, a cafe that features over 130 flavors of cereal. (Only the bravest will attempt their Cereal Challenge.) Don’t let A’mano Pizza & Italian Cuisine’s unassuming storefront deceive you: There are some spectacularly cheesy, gooey menu items (check out the “fat babies,” cones of pizza dough stuffed with pasta). Don’t sleep on their pizzas, either — they make the dough for their crusts with an in-house starter. And if you consider coffee “a sensory experience that engages all of our senses,” the bean artists at Aware Coffee are there for you.
Places to Get Outside: Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs is a must-visit for picnicking, fishing, walking, and all-around nature-bathing. Got more energy than that? The Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument has a couple of hiking trails. Or you can laze beneath the oversize butterfly and flower shade structures at Centennial Hills Park and watch the day go by.
Birds to Watch: Owls and peacocks, that is. You may be familiar with the peacocks running loose around Floyd Lamb State Park — they’re descendants of peacocks brought here almost 80 years ago. And the owls? Burrowing owls, to be specific, living on a smallish parcel in a rural-residential area that was purchased and maintained by the local Audubon people and others. It’s called the Rainbow Owl Preserve. “I know where this is,” says one Centennial Hills resident, “but I was not aware what it is.” So you can park along the fence and just watch owls.
(Andrew Kiraly, publisher of TheList.Vegas, contributed to this segment.)
Centennial Hills covers a lot of ground. (Google Maps)
