Lake Mead and Valley of Fire State Park

Just outside of Las Vegas is one of our favourite areas. The Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a beautiful spot to camp over the lake, and Valley of Fire State Park is a spectacular area of bright red/orange sandstone formations with great hiking.

Hanging out at Lake Mead with new friends

We meet a new friend, Jody, while hiking in Valley of Fire State Park, and she comes to join us camping at Lake Mead for a few nights. She and I quickly become best buddies, laughing and carrying on. Poor Brad. She also has the cutest little dog, BooBoo, whom Grady attacks. Poor BooBoo.

A night at the campfire with Jody and Grace, whom we first met last year outside of St. George. Strangley, we run into Grace and her hubby Greg camped here at Stewart's Point; in fact, they are in our favourite spot. Such a strange coincidence.

Grace takes Brad out kayaking on the lake on a very calm day.

Carroll Shelby Museum in Las Vegas

Brad is in heaven, surrounded by so many Shelbies and Mustangs made into Shelbies. From the old Cobras to the new Shelbies, including a Shelby 1000 pictured here (that's 1,000 horsepower and it's barely street legal!), there's a wide assortment of everything ever touched by Carroll Shelby.

Inside the shop. Shelby is not a car manufacturer. They only modify cars. The old style Cobra seen here is a brand new car, and neither of the two vehicles in the foreground have an engine in them - yet. This tour was very interesting and worthwhile, and best of all it's free. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves cars in general and Shelbies in particular, and tires of Las Vegas strip.

Hiking

On the Arches Trail in Valley of Fire State Park, a group of horsemen/women ride past us. Smart - the sand in the wash on this hike is deep and going is tough. Even the horses are sweating and it's only about 55F today.

A hike into the Bowl of Fire in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It's a stunning outcrop of very red/orange rock against the brown Muddy Mountains.

We hike from the main road in Valley of Fire State Park with Jody through Wash #3. This area makes us all think about Orange Cremesicles because the rocks are striped white and bright orange. Sadly, no ice cream can be found within 20 miles.

Brad and I have hiked this wash before and we know there is an area of rock with beautiful, colourful striping. We're very happy that we actually are able to find it, after a 3 year absence. This is a small section of rock wall about 3-4 feet across.

Another abstract section of rock wall about 1-2 feet wide. Reminds me of an alien spaceship looking for a landing site.

Last one - these are just so cool. This one is probably only about 1 foot wide.

Lake Mohave/Mojave, NV

Part of the Colorado River system and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lake Mohave (or Mojave) sits between Lake Mead and Lake Havasu near the towns of Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona in the bottom tip of Nevada.

Camping on the beach

The trailer's back window is barely three feet from the water's edge. From his perch, Grady likes to watch the ducks and coots. The water is incredibly clear, like the aqua blue-green of the Caribbean. Water temp is 58F (14C) so not ready for swimming, but there are a lot of boaters and fishermen out.

Brad laying on the beach enjoying the warm afternoon sun. Daytime highs hit near 80F (27C) - perfect! The campfire is ready to spark.

The sun is setting, the temperature is dropping and we're settling into our last night here before starting the 5-day drive home in the morning. By the way, this campsite at Telephone Cove (on the Nevada side) is free and shared by many RVers, including a guy living in his Corvette.

Grapevine Canyon

Near our campsite is Grapevine Canyon. It has hundreds of petroglyphs, easily visible after only a 1/4 mile walk from the parking area.

An well-preserved rock with petroglyphs of bighorn sheep, common in this area.

Me playing around with some macro photography. The plants in this canyon are interesting. Usually in the desert, spiky plants mean "DON'T TOUCH", but these thorns are very soft (I just HAD to touch them!) These little green spheres are tiny, a little bigger than a large marble.

A beavertail cactus almost ready to bloom. I wish we could be here in the spring to see the desert in bloom. There has been a lot of rain in many parts of the southwest this year, so the wildflowers and cactus will probably be spectacular. Note that beavertail cactus don't have the longer thorns of a prickly pear, but rather short bristles that are just as painful to the touch, so I didn't.

A type of yucca (sorry, not a botanist!). Note it's height! Brad is 6 feet tall.

Only two of the yuccas along the trail in Grapevine Canyon are blooming. They are gorgeous!

Probably the grapevines for which the canyon is named. They are tiny, about half the size of the tiny peas. If you squish one, the juice smells just like grapes and the seeds inside are the size of a pinhead.

A narrow section of the trail. The walls are not high enough to warrant it being a slot canyon, but the granite walls make for lovely sculpting. Granite mountains are less usual here in the west where sandstone dominates.  This entire area is formed from granite mountains, including the "sand" on our campsite beach which is what makes the water look so beautiful as the granite spheres reflect the light from under the water, like the shell sand beaches of the Caribbean.

The waterfall at the end of the hike. The granite walls are much more difficult to climb than sandstone (which is typically easy due to its sandpaper-like grip). These granite slopes are like tiny marbles glued together with an easily eroded clay, so it's not unusual for the spherical stones to chip off under your feet, rolling you downhill. Brad climbed to the top anyway. Yeah, I'll wait here.

Waiting for Brad gives me time to look around and enjoy my surroundings. The waterfall is at my back behind a big boulder. The canyon looks like this for the duration of the 1.7 mile hike.

And so ends another amazing journey. Our window of weather opportunity has arrived and it's time to go home before we overstay our 6-month welcome. Sad to leave, happy to go home.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV

Last year we spent an unbelievable month at Lake Mead NRA (home of the Hoover Dam just outside of Las Vegas) and decide this year to return as a stop-over before heading into southern Arizona. While we spent Christmas just a short distance northeast at Whitney Pockets, (30 miles as the crow flies, but about 90 on roads) we spend New Year's at Stewart's Point on Lake Mead, a favourite (free) camp spot of ours.

We are met with this strange scene as we are driving along Northshore Boulevard just inside the park boundary. Your guess is as good as mine, and I don't find anything in local online news sources about this event. Obviously an emergency landing; not your everyday sight. We've had some strange "in the right place at the right time" events on this trip.

New Year's Day. A "storm" sweeps through the southwest bringing strong winds, chilling temperatures (for here around 0C or 32F) and snow above 2,000 feet. Thankfully, the dry air here allows us to bear the cold easily, and we are rewarded the morning after with this spectacular view of the Virgin Mountains to the northeast.

Unlike last year when we were here, this year we don't go out to do any hiking, even in nearby favourite Valley of Fire State Park. We spend the days walking around Stewart's Point with Grady, collecting garbage, and a few evenings by the campfire enjoying the moon rising in the glow of the sunset across the lake.

Not all of our days here are cloudless, and that's a good thing. Here Brad captures one of several brilliant sunsets.

We do engage in some unusual activity for us during our week at Lake Mead. Outlet mall shopping! Brad's never been to one, and neither of us are shoppers, but we need new running shoes and hiking boots, so we head to the mall AFTER the holiday crowds disperse. It's a fun day and, being a one hour drive from our camp spot, we combine it with some grocery shopping, dinner and a movie (Interstellar - not so stellar!). As we leave early in the morning, we see a bighorn sheep beside the road and the next morning two loons are swimming near "our" beach. Their call reminds us of Ontario's northern lakes - the call of home and autumns spent with beloved friends.

Update on second week at Lake Mead

The bald eagle we spot one morning. The photo is blurry because it's such telephoto zoom without a tripod, but he's beautiful just the same.

Another journey to nearby Valley of Fire State Park, one of our favourite southwest destinations. These are "The Cabins" built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and used as shelters by campers in the park in the 1930s and 1940s. The CCC was formed by the government to create employment during the Great Depression and they are responsible for many structures including park buildings and dams during this period.

During a hike behind The Cabins, we scare up a herd of bighorn sheep. These two get separated from their buddies, but reunite after we pass.

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.

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!