Thursday, April 19, 2012

TOWERING RED CLIFFS…RED ROCK CANYON

Tuesday, April 17 – After our visit to Hoover Dam, we then headed to the other side of Las Vegas to drive the beautiful Red Rock Canyon.

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The Canyon is located in the Mojave Desert. 

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The area is 195,819 acres and is visited by more than one million people each year. A National Conservation Area allows free admission with the Golden Age Pass otherwise it costs $7 per vehicle.

It is a 13-mile one way drive through the Canyon. The drive circles the canyon floor at the foot of the Rainbow and La Madre Mountains.

View of the drive.
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There is a beautiful visitors center with plenty of displays and learning opportunities about the living desert. There are indoor and outdoor displays. One could spend several hours here, but we came for the drive through the canyon, so only stayed briefly.

The area is full of hiking trails. Over 19 trails ranging from Easy to Strenuous. There are even mountain climbing opportunities for those looking for that type of excitement. Unfortunately, Marsha's back pain has moved to her hip and hiking was out of the question for this trip. Maybe, next week!

Tons of opportunity to do some serious rock climbing.close-up-of-rock

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If you are looking for awesome scenery and fabulous hiking trails, do not miss Red Rock Canyon. Beauty all around!

us

Not far from Red Rock is Nevada's Mt. Charleston, 11,916 feet. We were really surprised to see snow on the top. We were told that the week before we arrived there was a big rain storm in Vegas and the Mountain got about six inches of snow.

Mt.-Charleston

Marsha is flying home this evening on the "red eye" out of Las Vegas. She will be in Ohio visiting our daughter, Kelly, her dad, family and friends for 8 days. Since we won't be back in Ohio until probably early fall, she wants to see our daughter and her dad.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

15 comments:

  1. Marsha left you in Las Vegas without a chaperone?? Not many wives would do that! Behave yourself, Paul!!

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  2. Wasn't Red Rock a beautiful drive? We really liked it and there wasn't hardly anybody else there when we drove through it. Marsha - have a great time. Bella will take good care of Paul for you.

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  3. We loved Red Rock Canyon also. We didn't have time to hike there but hope to go back some day. Sorry to hear about Marsha's back. Have a good time in Vegas while she's gone....but not to good...lol

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  4. We loved Red Rock canyon when we were in Vegas a few years ago. Beautiful drive. Thanks for posting such nice pictures, brings back happy memories. Have a nice trip home Marsha.

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  5. Red rock scenery never fails to wow us. Safe travels to Marsha.

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  6. Beautiful scenery. Have a nice visit with your family Marsha!

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  7. Sorry you weren't able to do any hiking. There are definitely some great trails. We need to go back and do some more. There was snow on Mt. Charleston when we were there too. Apparently they were still skiing.

    Hope Marsha has a fun time at home visiting with family.

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  8. So many places, so little time! Last time we were in that area, Red Rock Canyon was on our list, but we ended up in the Liberace Museum (now defunct) and the Ethel M Chocolate Factory. You have convinced us that we still need to see Red Rock! Thanks for the tour through beautiful country. We sure understand about back problems!

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  9. Thanks for a great tour and pics of Red Rock Canyon.

    Safe travels to Marsha and what a trusting wife - 8 days in Vegas!!

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  10. gorgeous shots what a view...safe travels to Marsha....enjoy your time with the family

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  11. Yes, there are great hiking trails at Red Rock Canyon. Paul, guess you and Bella will have to check them out this week.
    Marsha, have fun visiting family and hope your hip feels better by the time you get back.

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  12. Red rocks of any kind have a special beauty and Red Rock Canyon was no exception. One of the creations God outdid himself on. Snow at 11,000+ feet? Good place for it!

    Safe travels and wonderful visits with family, Marsha! Bet everyone back home is excited!

    Don't know about you and Paul, but whenever I went away, the house was always immaculate when I returned...my Paul used to say, "Just come home early!"

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  13. Dang! For some reason I missed Red Rock Canyon when I was in the area. Maybe next time.

    Safe travels to Marsha.

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