Viva Las Vegas

After a bit of a hiatus, which has encompassed a move, some seriously hectic work (I finally found a job which precipitated said move), a pandemic and other odds and ends, it seemed like a good time to get back to it.

Over the past several months, I’ve had the enormous pleasure of stretching my legs amongst some of the most striking scenery I’ve had the chance to hike through.

The views in Red Rock park, a mere half hour outside of Vegas, are world-class.

Moving to Las Vegas has been a delightful surprise. Pre-pandemic, it was a wonderland of food, bars, and off-Strip shows made all the more attractive by the +100 degree Fahrenheit (+38 degrees Celsius) heat. Through the winter months and into the era of shut down everything and social distancing, nature held a greater appeal than usual.

Palms and other desert plants take on a luminous glow in the late afternoon.

Walking though the scrub and cacti, taking in the beauty of wildflower season and the green haze that washed over the usually brown landscape was a delight. Streams and waterfalls running through washes and over cliffs added delicious moisture to the otherwise bone-dry landscape.

Nevada’s wildlife is a marvel as well. Minding my own business in a geo-thermal hot spring, a friend and I had a marvelous view of a cranky gathering of black burros as well as a herd of wild horses that came for a drink and roll in the mud. Long eared hares and sloping coyote are also abundant, as well as fickle antelope poised by the side of the road.

This guy was standing watch over his nearby herd about halfway between Goldfield and Tonopah.

As a lot of other travel is still quite limited as the COVID-19 pandemic rages, I hope this is the first of many posts about adventures in Nevada and the surrounding area.

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