A feast for the eyes

It was a long ride to get here, an early start, five and a half hours in the air, and I was at Red Rock Canyon before 11 this morning. Time to hike!

As I drove to the north, I could see mountains topped with white. Snow! Later, I saw a light coatng of snow deep in a valley. Luckily that was all of the white stuff that I saw here; the temperature was quite reasonable for a February day. I suspect it was in the 60s, a nice change from winter in the northeast.

I stopped at the visitor center to talk about the trails, to talk about splitting my time between Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire State Park. I chatted with someone from California who said he's been coming here to hke for the past 23 years. And he also recommended spending a day at Valley of Fire.

There must be something in the air here. I was standing at a viewpoint, soaking in the beauty, when a couple hopped out of their car. I overheard the statement “I've fallen in love with this drop-dead beautiful place”. Funny, that's how I feel too.

Knowing that I was tired from today's travel, I headed out on one of the Calico Hills trails, thinking that I'd stick with an easy trail. The trail closest to the road was an easy trail, but those red rocks called to me to wander a bit closer. Closer, up, down, no trail, just wandering in the “right” direction. My outbound journey was a sometimes walk, sometimes scramble. Coming back? Yes, I did stick to the trail.

A beautiful day... here's hoping for more to come!