March – April, 2019
So who comes to Las Vegas to minimally experience the glitter and glam…preferring to find hiking and biking trails? Who comes to find petroglyphs, lizards (shout out to Elyssa!), abandoned train tunnels, and a man-made lake; to walk in the Valley of Fire, and to perform a wedding ceremony?
Years ago we had flown into Las Vegas to begin a driving vacation that included soaking our weary bones in the soothing waters of Tecopa Hot Springs, being amazed by the beauty of Death Valley; curious about Rhyolite Ghost Town and who decided to put an Outdoor Statue Gallery just northeast of Death Valley (worth looking ’em up), and awed while hiking Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon Forests. We took a few days back in Vegas to “chill” after driving so many miles, and we discovered Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park some 50 or so miles north-northwest of the City. On the day we drove through the Park our rental car registered an outdoor temperature of 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Hardly agreeable to getting out of the car and hiking.
The temperature during March and April in Las Vegas can be warm, maybe even hot for a day or 2, but nothing like the mecury rising a month or so later when the oven is cranked up, and it doesn’t cool down until sometime in early to mid-October (yup – 6 months where the average daily temperature is in the mid-90s).
We were in Las Vegas to attend the wedding of our niece, Nichole Ayala, to Adrian Adame. They had honored Brian by asking him to officiate their ceremony. Barbara’s brother and 2 sisters attended the wedding, and a good time was had by all – an absolutely fabulous wedding and kick-ass reception.
Sisters Joy and The Meg stayed for a couple of days afterwards, and while we had already spent some time in the Valley of Fire State Park and roaming around Lake Mead National Recreation Area, we were happy to visit a second time – we just saw so much more the second time around.
The Valley of Fire State Park is Nevada’s first state park, dedicated in 1935. It is world-renowned for its 40,000 acres of bright red Aztec sandstone outcrops that were formed from great shifting sand dunes more than 150 million years ago. These brilliant sandstone formations can appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun’s rays. Keeping our eyes wide open we realized that the bright red sandstone is not the only color that stands out in the Park. We found that the greens, purples, yellows and shades of white along with red and white striated formations were visual treats easily seen as we drove through the park and along the paths we took during our hikes.
It was a bit overcast the first day in the park, but when we returned with The Meg and Joy there was brilliant sunshine.
We read that the amount of iron in the soil gives the sandstone its red coloring. So, greens, purples, yellows and shades of white along with red and white striated formations? The minerals in the soil color the sandstone; the rocks change color. Amazing! Check it out…
The Valley of Fire State Park contains an incredible concentration of ancient petroglyphs that are easily visible on the rock face as you hike the trail.
We stumbled across some cactus in spring bloom, an unusual flower, and some critters willing to pose for the camera! The beauty of the cactus flowers is astounding.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a 110-mile reservoir that was formed by “impounding” the Colorado River as the Hoover Dam was built. It is a year-round recreational area spread across 1.5 million acres of mountains, canyons, valleys and two vast lakes. Lake Mead is America’s most diverse national recreational area, offering boating, hiking, bicycling, camping, fishing and just wonderful sights and views. Hoover Dam is just around the corner and up the hill.
A short ride from the west entry is Redstone, which offers some fabulous formations competing in beauty with the Valley of Fire.
During the construction of the Hoover Dam, 5 tunnels were cut out of the rock to create a bed for the railroad needed to provide a constant flow of supplies over the last mile to the construction site. The railroad bed and the road passing through its 5 tunnels became a popular family=friendly bike and hike path between the Lake Mead Visitors Center and the Hoover Dam parking garage. Unfortunately tunnel 3 has fallen into disrepair and the road is blocked. We had a much shorter bike ride than planned, but it was fun to travel part way along this historic path.
Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the border between Nevada and Arizona. An arch-gravity dam is one that sweeps upstream in a narrowing curve that directs most of the water against the canyon rock walls, providing the force to compress the dam…and maintain the dam’s integrity. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression, and it was dedicated on September 30, 1935. Originally named Boulder Dam in 1933, it was officially renamed Hoover Dam, for President Herbert Hoover, by a joint resolution of Congress in 1947.
These were just “some” of our favorite activities while hanging out in Vegas – stay tuned for Part II!
Barbara and Brian
Aimless Wanderings 
You are definitely living the dream – well at least mine! As always great pictures – I ran a half marathon at Lake Mead / Hoover Dam where we ran through those very same train tunnels.
I know it’s kind of an off time to do it but please tell me you will be hitting Death Valley next. As an incentive the Visitor’s Center as Stovepipe Wells has very reasonably priced beer.
LikeLike
We thought that since Ash Meadows was close to Death Valley Stovepipe Wells would be in reach, and started to head in that direction afterwards. Had heard about the oasis, and figured we quench our thirst. Turned out much further than anticipated…no quenching until back to our campground. We drove the length of Death Valley a bunch of years ago–no stop for beer then either!
LikeLike