Red Rocks and Grand Canyon West
October 9, 2021
Our first day trip out of Las Vegas wasn’t very far. We drove just over a half hour to the Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area.
The highlight of this park is the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive, a 13-mile loop past wonderful rock formations and several hikes. There are about ten major designated trailheads and viewpoints. There was a timed entry system in place from October 1, and we had to be there between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. The visitor center had not opened when we arrived, so we checked out the view from there (we were impressed by the Yucca plants) and then started the drive.
Our first stop was Calico Hills, where we took a walk down into a canyon and along the pink rock faces. We saw several rock climbers, which is something allowed in a Rec. Area vs. a Monument. The colors of the rocks here were spectacular, pinks, vermillion, reds and purple. Our next stop was White Rocks/Keystone, where the rocks had different colors.
We next visited the Willow Spring Petroglyphs, and started the Willow Spring Loop, but the trail was confusing and clouds were starting to look like rain, so we did not complete the hike. We stopped at a few more viewpoints, and then finally, back on NV 159, the Red Rocks Overlook. Then it started to rain.
It didn’t rain for long, so we then went to the Kraft Mountain/Ash Creek portion of the Rec Area, and walked a bit to a viewpoint to see into the mountains. We made one last stop at the Calico Basin trail which was the back side of the Calico Hills. We were unsure about the weather, so elected not to take the longer hike from there.
RRCNRA is not widely listed as something to do in Las Vegas, and it seems to us it should be more well-known, given its proximity to the city. But most people, unlike us, don’t come to Vegas for nature.
We returned to Las Vegas (actually Spring Valley) passing the signs to look out for wild burros (there were none that we saw) in time for a late lunch. We spent most of the afternoon running errands and the like, seeing a little of the Vegas Strip. Fear of COVID prevented us from going to this (😉) .
October 10, 2021
We left Las Vegas early and drove over the Colorado River into Arizona. We stopped at a highway viewpoint on I-11 to look at Lake Mead. The water level was very low. From Boulder City, where we saw lots of solar power farms, we took US-93 to a road heading north to a tribal park in the west Grand Canyon area. For the second time, we were surprised to find Joshua Trees outside California (the first was near Goldfield).
We got to Grand Canyon West where you park your car to take a shuttle to the canyon edge of the canyon. The park has two viewpoints connected by the shuttles, some ruins of an old mine and the Sky Walk. In order to protect the glass on the Sky Walk, you have to remove your shoes and wear protective booties. We could see beneath our feet into the canyon when on the walkway. No photos were allowed on the Sky Walk.
Guano Point is a bit higher in elevation and had better views (and ruins of an old mine) but no guard rails (the river is 4,000 feet straight down). We had lunch at Eagle Point and could see the Sky Walk clearly out the window.
The photo above is from near the Sky Walk and the one above that is from Guano Point. The Canyon is not as deep here as in the National Park, but you could see the river and it was still impressive. It was a worthwhile trip being about a bit over 2 hours from Las Vegas.
Then we headed back to Las Vegas and stopped for a brief visit to Hoover Dam. It was very crowded, so we did not try to take a tour. We had been here before (as children) but were impressed that those completing such a monumental engineering feat (regardless of what you think of dams) also put effort into its aesthetic appearance. Many nods to Art Deco. Again, the lake was very low.
Historically low lake level.
Then we drove about 40 minutes back to Las Vegas and spent our second night there.
