Valley of Fire State Park, NV

Valley of Fire State Park is only a couple of miles from the north entrance of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  We took Brandon to this park when he was here at the end of October, but we return because it's such an amazingly beautiful place to explore and has since become one of our top favourite all-time southwest destinations.

	A candy cane dryfall. A little off the White Dome trail, we climbed some rocks and found this rainbow of rock! What the heck?
	Near the end of the White Dome trail, down in a canyon that ends in a very steep, long crevice. This photo should freak out my sisters!
	An area I'll call Painted Rock (or perhaps Rainbow Rock), but which has no specific trail or designation. Accessed from Parking Lot 3, hiking about 1/4 mile down towards Wash 5. This photo taken by climbing up the ridge adjacent to Painted Rock. Looks like someone spilled some paint!
	A different side view of Painted Rock.
	Brad on Painted Rock. It's not a huge area, but big enough to be breathtaking.
	More candy stripe rocks in Wash #3.
	A Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) who joined us for lunch.
	Erosion at work.
	Brad taking a photo along a strangely eroded "dragon's backbone".
	How does sand layer in such colours and become stone? Valley of Fire is filled with such scenes.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area - still, NV

Well, we obviously like Lake Mead, because we're still here.

Redstone is an area of very red rock in the middle of the park. Similar to the Bowl of Fire which is nearby, it is a beautiful place to spend a couple of hours hiking and picnicing.
	Marilyn on the hiking trail at Redstone, climbing among the nooks and crannies of this ultra-porous sandstone.
	Another view of the redstone with volcanic cliffs behind and the ever-present deep blue sky.
Rogers Spring is an oasis in the desert. It is a large, warm spring measuring 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28C) the day we are here (average is around 80F year-round). There are two different types of palm trees growing here - date palms and a type of fan palm. Many fish make this pool home, as well as several soft-shell turtles, which I've only ever seen in Florida! I guess they don't know they're living in a desert!
	Brad taking the "plunge". The spring exits the rocks from a hole under the water at this point.
	Brad enjoying the warm water. Of course, the air is only about 55F (12C). Guess you'll be in there a while, eh Brad?
	The soft-shelled turtle - we saw one large turtle and a couple of small ones, perhaps a family?
Our (free) campsite at Stewart's Point in the Lake Mead NRA is spectacular with super views of the lake. Fishermen come to the local beaches daily, although we see very few other RVers.
	Our campsite at Stewart's Point. Full moon rising at sunset and a crackling fire makes for a beautiful end to the day.
	Local open range cows enjoying a drink from "our beach" at sunset.
	An American icon we sited not far from our trailer. He (or one of his cousins) flew by our trailer on the following day.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area - still, NV

Still hanging out at Lake Mead, hiking and enjoying the mostly sunny, warm weather.  It's amazing how many things there are to do and see half an hour outside of Las Vegas, but don't tell all those gamblers because we don't want them to crowd these natural beauties!

The Northshore Summit trail takes us up 200 feet for a view of the Bowl of Fire, an area of red rock surrounded by the Muddy Mountains, Bitter Spring Valley and the Virgin Basin.
	Brad, Bowl of Fire and Muddy Mountains behind him.
A long hike down Callville Wash through red clay and sandstone brings us, finally, to Callville Bay. Total distance hiked today - 7.4 miles! MILES!
	Brad at a 3-foot dryfall in the wash.
	A view of the red clay mounds with very colourful mountains behind them. Notice the peaks of different colours.
	White gypsum that has been left on the red sand from evaporated water. Gypsum and selenite crystals are very common in this area.
	Brad's after-lunch nap on the beach at Callville Bay, where fishermen and water birds are trying their luck and skill.
We find some great free camping with views of Lake Mead. The NRA campgrounds ($10/night with no hookups) and privately-owned RV parks ($30-$45/night with full hookups) don't have these views.
	Grady gets to enjoy the view of Las Vegas Bay and the lake all day long.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, NV

Just west of Las Vegas, we spend a day at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  Even though it's the Monday after the US Thanksgiving weekend, this park is still super crowded making parking spots at the overlooks hard to find.  Another visitor tells us that the park had to be closed on the long weekend due to over-crowding!  But it is a beautiful location set in the foothills of the Spring Mountains above Las Vegas, with red sandstone formations very popular with rock climbers and the most distinguishable fault in North America, the Keystone Fault.  We use the day to circumnavigate the 13-mile loop scenic drive, thinking we'll scout areas of interest for a longer visit next year since the park's higher elevation makes it too cold to camp at now.

	The red sandstone cliffs called the Calico Hills. Turtlehead Peak, the limestone mountains in the background, seem to frame the red rock. These grey cliffs lie on the Keystone Fault - you'd have to look closely to see the uplift in the mountain on the left.
	Marilyn at the Calico Hills. Visitors can scamper around these rocks, down to the wash 100-200 feet below. (Hey! My hair's the same colour as the rock!)
	Climbers on the Calico Hills. The park boasts more than 2,000 climbing routes making it one of the top five climbing destinations in the US.
	View of the Calico Hills area from High Point Overlook. The fog in the background is dust particles suspended in the air and trapped in the bowl where Las Vegas sits. It is actually brown when not viewed through the camera lens making it look more like smog than dust.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area - again, NV

Cooler temperatures drive us back south and we return to Lake Mead outside of Las Vegas.  We will spend most of the next few weeks until Christmas here exploring the many trails and backcountry byways of this National Recreation Area.

The Bluffs Trail overlooks the Las Vegas Wash which is flowing like crazy right now, perhaps because they've just had three days of rain before we arrive. The views of Lake Mead and the surrounding mountains is magnificent. We also see a large group of ducks, but are too far away to photograph or identify them. They might be Redheads since they seem to have very rusty brown heads.
	Overlooking the river (which drains beautiful Lake Las Vegas, a lake and resort/condo community) from the Bluffs Trail.
Quite by accident, we find a trail from the closed boat ramp in Las Vegas Bay (Lake Mead water levels are too low and most boat ramps in the park are closed) along the estuary to the lake. There are hundreds of water birds - egrets, herons, gulls, coots, cormorants and grebes. Fishermen are also in abundance, stealing the birds prey.
	Egrets (one in flight) and herons in the flowing Las Vegas Wash.
	Birds and fishermen in Las Vegas Bay.
A three-mile hike takes us through White Rock Canyon down 800 feet to the Colorado River about four miles below the Hoover Dam. A short hike down-river and up a side canyon brings us to the Arizona (or Ringbolt) Hot Springs where there are several pools of varying temperatures. After a relaxing soak with a couple from Vegas, we hike back up this side canyon which is much more strenuous and technically challenging with several dryfalls to scale, one about 20 feet high. It is tricky, but we manage - barely!
	A Bighorn Sheep. They are fairly common around here, and this one is unfazed by our presence.
	View of the Colorado River, on our way up into the Arizona Hot Spring Canyon.
	Marilyn climbing the 20-foot ladder to get up to the springs (and yes, I got wet doing so). At the top is the coolest pool, around 90F; 20 feet further up the canyon is a warmer pool at about 104F; and another hotter pool lies above than.
	Brad and Marilyn sitting in the pool at the top of the ladder. The water is too cool for Brad, but is juuuuust right for Baby Bear!

Amargosa Opera House, NV

It's odd and amazing what we can find in the middle of this vast, lonely desert landscape.  Between Beatty and Pahrump, on Highway 160 in Nevada, in Death Valley Junction is the Amargosa Opera House, yes, Opera House.  The "town" was originally the home of a borax mining company, with housing for miners and big-wigs. The mine closed by the 1930s and became yet another southwestern ghost town; well, it still is technically.  Marta Becket is the artist and the dancer behind this story.  In 1967, she and her husband stopped in town to have a flat tire repaired when Marta found the old building originally used for social events for the miners.  She fell in love and arranged to rent it.  They sold their belongings in New York, and moved to the Amargosa Valley.  Marta was a ballerina then in her 40s, and planned to entertain the locals, but no one came, so she danced to empty chairs.  As a performer, you need an audience, so she painted one on the walls.  Then she painted beloved cherubs and vestal virgins on the ceiling.  The result is a labour of love for the woman who did finally draw the crowds until her retirement just a few years ago at the age of 85!  She is still alive, and performing but not dancing, today and one of the two last residents of this strange little ghost town!

	Looking out at the theatre from the stage, with the King and Queen of Spain sitting above the doors at the back center.
	Nuns sitting beside the ladies of the night who came for a night of culture once a month. Marta's sense of humour!
	Part of the ceiling - cherubs, doves and the sixteen vestal virgins.
	One of Marta's cats painted on the back wall, watching her performances for eternity.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, NV

At the southeastern edge of Death Valley National Park is the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.  Our visit to this strange oasis reminds us of our trip to Florida a couple of years ago.  Seven major warm springs adorn this alkali desert, giving us a sense of the tropical.  Are you sure we're in the Nevada desert?  The springs are around 85F to 90F (31C to 35C) and as clear as a cold, trout creek.  From the springs, the water flows into marshes and reservoirs, playing host to waterfowl and a rare, endangered pupfish found only here and nowhere else on earth!  Boardwalks have been built allowing visitors to walk around the springs and streams to help protect this sensitive landscape.

	Marilyn at the Crystal Spring creek.
	Crystal Spring is 15 feet deep and 87F (23C). 2300 gallons of water bubble out of this underwater fissure every minute!
	Brad at Crystal Reservoir. They're VERY hard to see on such a small photo, but the black dots on the water are American Coots, and there are thousands of them!
	This is King's Pond at Point of Rocks. That's me making a funny shadow across the pond.

Side note: the day after we visit the Refuge, it rains - all day! Very unusual for the desert, especially the Death Valley area which sees only about 2 inches of rainfall annually. The clerk in the office of the RV park where we stay tells us this is the first significant rain they've had here all YEAR - and it's almost the end of November! More rain and clouds are expected for the next several days. Of the four years we have been RVing, this is the wettest and cloudiest we have experienced.

Amargosa Dunes, NV

While our exit from Beatty is hampered by trailer troubles, our arrival at the sand dunes is reminiscent of our experience on Lone Rock Beach when Brandon visited.  We get stuck in soft sand!  There are a few other large trailers and vehicles out here, but the sand varies from hard-packed dirt/stone/sand to soft sand, and our trailer gets in a hole in some really soft stuff.  Out comes the shovel (we carry a fold-up shovel for just this purpose!) and flat pieces of wood to put under the tires.  The spinning of the truck's back tires buries the boards and after each two-foot progression, we have to dig the boards out and place them in front of the back tires again.  It takes about 10 repeats of doing this, but Brad finally manages to pull the trailer out and get up onto a level, hard surface.  By now it's dark and Grady's pretty freaked out!  One more day in the life of...

The Amargosa Dunes, Big Dune in particular, is an ATV mecca!  It's late Sunday afternoon when we arrive, and there are three groups of ATVers, two of whom leave later in the evening and the last leaves the next morning.  Good thing because I'm not keen on listening to the ATVs' whining hum of acceleration while they climb the dunes all day!  Hence the reason we avoid weekends at these places.  But the cat loves the sand, and so does my other child, Brad.

	Put down the damn camera Brad, and help me dig us out! It doesn't look that bad, but ain't nothin' going' nowhere!
	Man! Is this whole litter box just for me?.
	Marilyn hiking in the dunes.

A Day in Death Valley, NV & CA

One day is certainly not long enough to see - really see and experience - Death Valley National Park, which spans the Nevada/California border.  Our initial plan is not to go into this huge national park, but as we pass through Beatty, Nevada, we stop at the Chamber of Commerce and ask "What ELSE is there to see in Death Valley, where we've been twice before?"  Lots!

Death Valley is basically in a low-elevation bowl that is surrounded by mountains.  The lowest elevation in North America is here, at Badwater measuring 282 feet or 86 meters BELOW sea level.  Hot air gets trapped in Death Valley and makes it the hottest place on the continent.  And today, when we visit, it is about 20F warmer than the town of Beatty on the east side of the Amargosa Range.

	The ghost town of Leadfield on Titus Canyon Road - two buildings and some tailings. A national park sign reads "This was a mining boom town founded on wild and distorted advertising. 300 hopeful people swarmed here and a post office was established in August, 1926. In February 1927, the post office closed and the town died." The WILD west!
	Strange, twisted rock layers in Titus Canyon. This was an incredible drive on a 4x4 road that took us across the desert, down a steep switchback, up another steep switchback, past the ghost town, and through a narrow canyon - a "vehicle slot". Very picturesque, but also busy with traffic being a Saturday.
	A stop in Titus Canyon where fast flowing water undercuts the rock and there is a white rock, possibly quartz or dolomite, mixed with the darker rock.
	Brad at Ubehebe (pron. OO-bee-hee-bee)Crater. Half a mile across and over 500 feet deep, this was a volcano cone. The heat of the rising magma turned water inside the volcano into steam and the top exploded, sending rock flying in a six-mile radius.
	Marilyn at Scotty's Castle, standing in front of the empty swimming pool. Death Valley Scotty was a scammer, previously an entertainer. He convinced a few investors from the east to fund his gold mining scheme. One investor, Albert Johnson from Chicago, insisted on seeing the mine; but when he discovered the scam, he wasn't angry at Scotty, he befriended him! Al built the castle in Death Valley as a retreat from Chicago. He and his wife visited often. Scotty lived at the castle and he and Al remained friends throughout their lives. You can read the whole, strange story about Scotty and Al on the National Park Service's website.

Trailer troubles - when we pack up to leave Beatty on Sunday afternoon, the landing gear motor just stops mid-way through Brad extending them to allow us to hitch up to the truck.  The landing gear is at the front of the trailer, used not only to level us front-to-back, but to bring the trailer level with the hitch in the back of the truck.  There is a hardware store across the street from us, and I go buy a new fuse (it's a really tiny one and Brad doesn't have a spare), but this doesn't fix the problem.  So it's hand-cranking time, but we get it done!  However, it's now too much work to un-hitch using the hand-crank, so wherever we go next we'll have to stay hitched and not use our truck.  Next stop is the Amargosa Sand Dunes, then Red Rock Canyon outside of Vegas; but we'll have to skip Red Rock Canyon and head into Vegas after a day or two at the dunes (where we don't HAVE to un-hitch) to get the trailer fixed.

However, while at the dunes, Brad traces the problem to a second fuse at the battery.  Fortunately, he carries a supply of these ones and voila!  Fixed.  "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy!"