Post Archive by Year

Kayaking in the Black Canyon on the Colorado River, Nevada / Arizona.

Down stream from the Hoover Dam in the Black Canyon is one of the few places outside of the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River still sorta flows, albeit much slower then it would normally.  Saturday we went on a kayaking trip on this stretch of river and it was a blast!  We have done a lot of kayaking in the past, but never in sandals and shorts – thanks to the 80 degree weather, that was a real treat!

Next time we are in the area I think we will start from the Hoover Dam and make a two or three day trip out of it so that we can camp along the river at night – that would really be fun!

Janine kayaking in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River.

Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail leads to the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead Recreation Area, Nevada.

This is Janine riding the old railroad bed that now makes up the Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail.  This is a cool trail, great for biking or walking.  It travels through 5 tunnels as is traverses its way above Lake Mead from the Visitor Center Parking lot to the Hoover Dam parking lot – about 7 miles in length if you do the round trip.  This railroad was built to assist with the construction of Hoover Dam.

For this photo, I switched to manual mode and exposed for the sunny areas outside the tunnel.  Otherwise the camera metering system would have a tough time accounting for the large dark areas.

Wildflowers, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

I was surprised to find a few wildflower in Valley of Fire at the end of such a hot dry summer season.  I was thrilled to find a group of wildflowers next to one of the most colorful patches of rock I had seen!

Wave like hill in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

We spent more time yesterday hiking in the back-country of Valley of Fire.  As most of you already know, this is my favorite area in Nevada.  This cool hill kind of reminds me of The Wave in Northern Arizona – without the people and permit hassles.

Las Vegas may have fancy shows and great restaurants, and can be a lot of fun, but it still can’t compete with sweet light in a beautiful landscape like Valley of Fire.  Throw in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cool shooting star at the end of the day and you have something that Las Vegas could never top!

Visitors enjoying Shark Reef, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada.

A cool candid moment of some visitors at the Shark Reef exhibit at the Mandaley Bay.

I hadn’t planned on following up my post on Lake Mead hitting an all time low with a couple of Las Vegas water exhibits, just the way it worked out.

Aggregate rock hill, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

I found this interesting solid rock aggregate in the sea of red sandstone in the Valley of Fire.  It was like the rocks were cemented together – lots of interesting shapes and colors.  Too bad the brittlebush wasn’t blooming.

Valley of Fire State Park has been high on my list for exploring after finding this fascinating place a couple of years ago:  colorful hills – Valley of Fire.  I hope to spend more time out there in the upcoming week.

The fountain show at the Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada.

I have photos of the Belligo fountains, and I have views from high above like this, but until last night, I didn’t have the two together!