Jumping from white snow to red rocks

Introduction

2009-03-29T12:12:00.000-04:00

I've learned over the years that I can use quick trips to beautiful places as a way to recharge myself, to build memories that support me when I'm living my normal working life. And I've also learned that escaping to warmer and snow-free conditions during our New England winter is a good thing.

Just a few days of wandering in two beautiful Nevada parks in February made me quite happy...

2009-03-29T12:03:00.008-04:00

Introduction

Table of Contents

Counting the days

Falling into place
Dreaming, exploring in my mind
Flying high

Exploring, wandering

A feast for the eyes
Photos: first glimpses

Listen...
Photos: Calico Tanks
Photos: near Sandstone Quarry
Photos: to the left

Drop dead gorgeous
Photos: first red
Photos: heading to White Dome
Photos: Outward bound

One last circle
Photos: gray, still beautiful

Home again

A hint of things to come
Word play
A busy camera...

A busy camera...

2009-02-22T20:56:00.005-05:00

...makes for a happy Denise!

I'll be adding a sampling of photos to this journal, but most of the photos from my trip live in my photo galleries.

You can view the photos splashed across your whole screen if you'd like - just click the slideshow button in the upper right of the photo gallery window. (If you're in the gallery slideshow, you can get control of your computer back again by moving the mouse and clicking "return to gallery" or by just clicking the Esc key.)

You can enter the galleries at Jumping from white snow to red rocks to choose from the two photo galleries for this trip. Or you can jump right into a specific gallery:

Two absolutely beautiful parks...

Word play

2009-02-10T20:00:00.006-05:00

Thoughts spill into words, words into a journal, and then into patterns, a jumble...

Image created from the words of this journal by www.wordle.net

A hint of things to come...

2009-02-08T15:43:00.009-05:00

Home again, time-zone-challenged yet again...

You would think that switching time zones for just 3 days - ok, sort of 4 days - would not bother me, but it did. My flight home left late and arrived early, so it wasn't even a late night last night. But somehow, I didn't set my alarm and my body clock didn't wake me until 9 AM. Yikes!

It's been a quiet, "wander through my photos" kind of day. I'm not quite ready to load my photo galleries, but perhaps a taste of what's to come would be good.

You want to know where this is? This photo was taken on the road leading out of Valley of Fire State Park, after I had returned from rolling to flat land. There was still sun above my head, but the clouds ahead signaled some serious rain.

Photos: gray, still beautiful

2009-02-07T22:45:00.001-05:00

One last quick circle

2009-02-07T22:36:00.003-05:00

Pale colors painted the sky this morning. The sun was rising through the clouds, the ground dry from overnight rain. Given the forecast of rain today, a cloudy but dry start to the day was a real gift.

A good chunk of the morning was mine to play.

Knowing that I was time-limited, I chose to do an out-and-back hike starting from the second Calico Junction parking area. The light was so different that I had to make a photo stop before my walking stop. But that's not unexpected, is it? Red rocks, white rocks, against a shaded gray background, no blue today... Looking across the valley, I could see the clouds hidng the top of the peaks, floating, moving up, flowing down.

Walking, looking, absorbing the beauty of the rocks... I headed down the trail from Calico Junction toward the parking area for Sandstone Quarry. It was an all-trail day today, no climbing on the red rocks. Out, back, and then of course I had some more standing and looking time. By the time I returned to the car, water droplets started decorating the ground. The rain was very light to start with, quickly gaining in intensity. My timing today, though pure luck, was excellent!

I had hoped to take another short wander a little further down the road, but the soaking rain stopped my feet. I did pop out of the car several more times to try to capture some wet images, but that was the end of my walking for this trip.

I'm left with the very strong feeling that I will be visiting both Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire again. This trip was clearly a walking adventure. The next trip? I may be inclined to find a place to sit with camera and tripod, waiting to capture the changing light.

Photos: outward bound

2009-02-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

Photos: to White Dome

2009-02-06T23:20:00.011-05:00

Photos: first red

2009-02-06T23:10:00.000-05:00

Drop dead gorgeous

2009-02-06T23:08:00.008-05:00

It was a magic day, a day to absorb yet more beauty.

Valle of Fire State Park is 55 miles northeast of Las Vegas, an interstate ride, and then a switch to 2-lane roads. The wind was howling, pushing my car around as I sped down I-15, a road with a speed limit of 75 miles per hour. As I fought to keep the car heading straight, I watched the trucks snake their way down the road. Unlike at home where trucks have only a single cargo trailer, most of the trucks that I was today were triples. Triples, moving at or above the speed limit, waving, snaking in the strong winds.

I only shared the road with these very long trucks for a short while. As soon as I turned off on the two-lane road leading into the park and then on to Lake Mead, I was totally alone. Alone, driving down an arrow-straight two-lane road, a road that then started to twist, to climb, turning, scenery changing. The decorations went from low scrub on shallow hills to red rock outcroppings, turning, climbing, dropping. It wasn't until I was almost to the park boundary that I started to see other cars.

It was probably a good thing that the 5-mile long road leading from the visitor center to White Domes had a limited number of pull-outs and explicit warnings to stay on the road. There were no shoulders, and very soft ground along the edges of the pavement. It was a good thing because if I'd been able to stop at will, I might not have reached the end of the road before dark.

I stopped at every pull-out, sometimes just to stand and absorb the wonder, sometimes to wander closer to a formation, to the colors painted on the rocks, red, yellow, white, orange. And of course I spent time hiking too. My first hiking stop was Mouse's Tank, a natural basin where water collects after rainfalls. Where did the name come from? Mouse was apparently a Paiute who was hid out in this area in the 1890s, using the tank as a fresh water source.

The White Domes loop led me down a set of steps in the rock, down, around a loop wandering through sandstone formations in brilliant colors, along a wash, through a narrow slot canyon.

And then... I spent some time wandering at Rainbow Vista. There was a trail through red sand, with occasional trail markers. It was surprisingly hard walking through the soft sand, sand that held faint tracks. Even though I did an out-and-back jaunt, it seemed as though the footsteps I laid down had started to disappear as I returned, smoothed by the strong wind. This was truly a magic place, with cactus and low scrub decorating the red sand, between rock formations.

The petroglyphs at Atlatl Rock were high on the rock, accessed by climbing a tall metal staircase. As I climbed, I could see older very narrow stone steps, now closed to footsteps. I have to admit that I wonder how the artists placed the glyphs so high on the rock. Were there steps leading up to the picture palette of the rock. Or?

Ah, an end to a first visit to this beautiful place... I headed down the road, 18 miles back to I-15. I was still under a brilliant blue sky decorated with many clouds. Ahead, I saw an edge of deep blue, dark clouds clearly spreading water. Rain, heavy rain.

Valley of Fire is truly a magic place.

Photos: to the left

2009-02-05T23:45:00.004-05:00

Silly, isn't it... These photos are from places on the left side of the map of Red Rock Canyon, from the western part of the loop road and on to First Creek Canyon.

Photos: near Sandstone Quarry

2009-02-05T23:35:00.001-05:00

Photos: Calico Tanks

2009-02-05T23:30:00.003-05:00

And of course Rover was hiking with me! He was kind enough to pose for a photo on the hike back down the Calico Tanks trail.

Listen...

2009-02-05T23:26:00.008-05:00

What an amazing sunrise! I was greeted with a sky painted in shades of pink, orange, and yellow this morning, a wonderful start to my day.

When I closed my eyes last night I still hadn't chosen which varation of red rocks would be the target of today's wandering. This morning's decision? Another day in Red Rock Canyon, a day where the rocks would show different shades of color than yesterday.

The air was cooler today than yesterday. I started with more (thin) layers, but by the end of the day I was down to a single sleeveless layer (again). The sky this morning wore gray, patterned with clouds. And then... as I turned to the north, I saw a band of bright blue emerging from the gray. That blue expanded and chased the clouds away; my last hike of the day was under that beautiful blue sky.

Calico Tanks beckoned this morning. The begnning of the hike followed a wash, curving through hills of colored rock. Easy walking, and then... walking in the wash changed to walking up red rocks, finding a path up the gentlest grade, with the most sure footing. I walked, and I stopped to play with my camera. I walked some more, heading up the trail, climbing up rocks, not looking down...

Hey, Rover here... I tried to tell Denise that I would bouce up a bit further to take pictures and that she might want to stop climbing up. She really doesn't like coming back down steep places. you know that about Denise, don't you? She didn't listen to me though. I'll let her tell you the rest of the story...

Rover's right of course. I've never liked going down steep terrain. It was a bit of a scramble getting up, which meant that coming back down again made me a bit nervous. Actually, I sat and slid down a couple of the steep slick-lookng sections. It would have been quite safe to walk like a normal person, but sometimes...

I followed, walked with, and chatted with two women on (what I consiidered to be a) dfficult section of trail. One of them shared my need to know that my feet wouldn't slip out from under me, and the other did a great job of scouting out gentler descents for all of us. Both women were from Las Vegas. Our conversation opened my eyes to life in Las Vegas. I was wondering why I saw so many people hiking and biking during what I thought were normal work hours. Well, those Monday to Friday daytime hours are regular working hours for many of us, but that's really not true for those employed in the casino industry. I wonder why that never occurred to me before.

And then... I started following a trail heading to the south and east, pulled by the two-colored rocks, a strong red over or under a lighter color. As I walked, I kept wandering to look at low-lying cactus, to try to capture the wisps on the edges of the yucca. It was quiet, and then... I heard a sound, a very distinct sound. I looked up, looked out, and saw a stellar's jay, flying. The sound I heard? It was the jay's wings moving through the air. Next I heard chirping, and saw a low bush teeming with birds, small birs, gray in color with rosy highlights.

The sounds weren't finished. I heard the distinctive sound of a hummingbird's wings. I looked, and looked, and saw a hummingbird hovering, soon joined by a second hummingbird, flying, dancing.

My day continued with a wander on the beginning of the Ice Box Canyon trail, and then with a walk on the First Creek Canyon trail. By the time I started First Creek Canyon the sun was shining. The beginning of the trail was in the sun, and then I entered the shadow of the mountains. The air cooled, but walking kept me warm. And that shadow? It covered much more ground as I headed back out, as the sun dropped lower in the sky, hiding behind those mountains.

Earlier, the sounds that decorated the day were the sound of birds. Coming back out of First Creek Canyon, I heard the sound of the wind, howling.

Just after I turned back on my last out-and-back hike of the day, I saw a beautiful 4-legged creature standing on the trail, looking at me. After I asked him if he was alone (yes, of course I talk to animals), he looked at me a little longer, then he turned and started walking in the same direction that I was traveling. Then he cut off of the trail, off on his own. Oh, you want to know who I saw? He was a beautiful coyote.

Tomorrow? It's time to see the Valley of Fire.

Photos: first glimpses

2009-02-04T22:30:00.004-05:00

Fire a few years back left blackened stumps of cactus. In most places nature has been left to restore the park; in others, a little protection is intended to help the very slowly growing replacements.

A feast for the eyes

2009-02-04T22:15:00.000-05:00

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!

Flying high

2009-02-04T20:28:00.008-05:00

Shhh, quiet. Denise is sleeping. Wow – she usually has trouble falling asleep on airplanes, but today? I think she must be really, really tired. So I'm writing and bouncing around the plane while she sleeps.

Oh! You haven't read one of our journals before? My name is Rover. I'm a little red dog, and I wander with Denise. I like playing with words, so Denise lets me share the writing. For those of you who don't know me, here's a photo of me from our visit to Zion National Park last spring...

OK, back to today. The alarm startled us out of a sound sleep this morning. It was early since that big bird was scheduled to take off at 7 AM, and Denise didn't know if the roads were going to be covered with snow, so she figured it might be best to leave a little earlier than usual. The roads weren't too bad, although there were sections of highway where only the right lane was totally clear. It did take a little longer than usual to get to the airport.

And then, we flew through the sky. We flew fast enough to land 30 minutes early, and we only needed to wait for 5 minutes for the gate to be available for our big bird.

Ah, the ground is dry, the sun is shining, and the morning relative cool is slowly giving way to a warm day. Hiking time for Denise, bouncing time for me!

Dreaming, exploring in my mind

2009-02-02T19:56:00.014-05:00

This trip is going to be a very quick escape from a winter that seems to bring cold white snow to us every week. In fact, it is supposed to snow tomorrow. Ah, I'm ready for some red rocks!

I think I'm going to wander in two places. I whet my appetite with a quick morning visit to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area late last year, and I left there that knowing I would return, probably many times. There's another park I've been meaning to visit too. Valley of Fire State Park is about 50 miles east of Las Vegas, and it has been calling to me for a visit. The last two times I've visited Zion National Park I've though about stopping at Valley of Fire on my way to the airport, but somehow it never felt like I had enough time.

It's time for a little bit of warmth, and a change in color. I'm looking forward to leaving snow and cold behind for a few days, to filling my eyes with visions of red rocks.

Falling into place

2009-01-22T09:10:00.005-05:00

Once I decided on a date for this quick wander, my travel plans just seemed to fall into place.

Southwest has one non-stop flight a day between Manchester and Las Vegas, and they very nicely (and recently) moved the outbound flight from early afternoon to 7 AM. That means that I don't lose the entire first day as a travel day, assuming of course that the weather wizard cooperates and I don't run into snow problems. My flight has a scheduled arrival time of 10 AM. With waiting for baggage (I know, I know I used to use carry-ons!) and picking up the rental car, I'm hoping I can be on my way by 11. Late in the morning, but leaving me a good chunk of hours for wandering.

No more carry-ons? I switched to checked baggage once I started carrying a tripod with me. Somehow I don't think that would be looked upon too kindly in the cabin of a plane!

Let's see, there were two more pieces to the logistical plans - a rental car, and a place to stay. The car was easy - I checked the AAA rate, and my employer's rate (which we are allowed to use even when traveling outside of company business), and for the first time ever found that my employer's rate was much much cheaper. Awesome! Now, a place to stay. I've never attempted to find a B&B in Las Vegas, usually choosing to say in a Hampton Inn. Funny, Red Rock Canyon is sandwiched between two Hampton Inns. One is 10 miles away, and one six miles away. I've stayed at the 10-mile-away one before, and I was going to stay there again since I know there is a Whole Foods market just a short jaunt down the road from there. And then... I checked the prices. The per-night rate at that hotel was 50% greater than the per-night rate at the closer hotel. The Hampton Inn on the strip was even cheaper, but I'm not willing to stay in close proximity to all of that glitz! Yes, I did choose the less expensive hotel. I suspect (I hope) that the price difference is due to where the hotel is in the overall locale as opposed to a quality issue.

Airplane, car, hotel, all planned! Now all I need to do is have a conversation with the weather wizard to make sure there isn't too much white stuff in the air and on the runways on the day I am scheduled to fly.

Counting the days

2009-01-21T09:08:00.003-05:00

Last week I decided it must be time for a quick escape from our northeast winter. I didn't need to think too long about where I was going.

Can you guess where I'm headed? Yes, of course, with my camera, and my silly red traveling companion (Rover) too!

My glimpse of Red Rock Canyon on the last day of my trip west to Death Valley was just enough to whet my appetite. I need to wander there on two feet, and I know that Red Rock Canyon deserves some serious camera play. It will just be a quick trip, a several day escape to the southwest. I'm counting the days until I leave, two weeks from now...

If you're curious about where I'll be wandering, here's a sample photo from my visit there in November 2008.