"What?" You ask, "Hiking in Vegas? I didn't know you could do that..."
Yes - hiking in/around Las Vegas is awesome! There is Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston, Valley of Fire, and a bit farther afield, Death Valley, just to name a few spots.
But I digress.
The Husband and I went on vacation this past week to Las Vegas, in part to enjoy some sun and in part to visit family. This was my third trip to Vegas, the last two in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Our itinerary:
Sunday - arrive in Vegas at 1145pm. Pick up rental car. Find resort. Sleep....
Monday: Meet with the Brother (and his lovely wife) and we get a tour of the Carpenters International Training Center where he works as a full time trainer. This is a 1 million sqft campus that trains carpenters, millwrights, welders and a couple I've missed. This training covers safety, protocol, business, and much more. An amazing facility. Dinner with the Brother's family.
Tuesday: Brother and wife take us past Nellis AFB and the Las Vegas Speedway on our way to Mt. Charleston. This was an area I was not aware of and the Husband and I would have gone back to later in the week if weather reports had been warmer than 30*, rain, and 20mph winds... Dinner with the Brother's family.
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| Speedway and Nellis AFB are off in the distance. Took this on the fly, so to speak. |
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| Mt. Charleston area at the village of Mt. Charelston |
Wednesday: walked part of the strip and loafed around the pool.
Thursday: Valley of Fire St. Park. This was so much fun! We spent about four hours out here just poking around a couple of trails and rock formations. This is definitely a place to visit first thing in the morning or in the non-hot season (Sept - April). Bring water! Pack a picnic lunch! Enjoy the sights. After finishing here, we drove back through the Lake Mead Recreation Area that seemed mostly closed. Lake Mead is about 28' or 30' low (yes, that is 30 feet), so beaches and marinas are well, high and dry and pointless. The scenic drive however, is great. There are numerous places to pull off, have a picnic, and do a bit of hiking. Again, plan accordingly...
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| The Enterprise... |
Friday: more loafing around the pool. Dinner at the Brother's place.
Saturday: original plan was to go back up to Mt. Charleston, but weather forecast was for 50*, rain and thunderstorms, and 20mph winds. That...didn't sound so good. In addition, I found out most of the Forest Service trails were closed still from a fire last summer. So! We headed out to Red Rock Canyon instead, where we bought jackets because it was windy and cold. Yes. COLD! Whatever front was moving through brought some very chilly wind with it. We did about three-four miles of hiking here, grabbed lunch on the way back through town, then hunkered down in the unit while it RAINED! I was bummed. I was hoping for a bit more pool time but nooo, it had to rain. Oh well, got some good reading in anyway.
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| In this picture, there are at least 4 people. Two of them are wearing orange... |
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| Nice jacket, eh? ;p |
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| What Vegas looks like in the rain - wet! High Roller Observation Wheel in the background. Strip is just beyond. |
Sunday: packed up, returned the rental car, and headed back to the airport. On the ground by 845p, back to the Folks place by 900p (puppies were very happy to see us - they spent the week at the kennel), I unpacked, repacked for the week and called it a great vacation.
1 comment:
I'm glad we were able to hang out while you were here, and I'm glad you got to see the lesser mentioned side of Vegas while you were in (and out) of town!
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