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!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Flying high
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!
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!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Dreaming, exploring in my mind
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.
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.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Falling into place
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Counting the days
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.
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.
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