We moved south a couple hundred miles from Boulder City (the forecast made us do it). I write this from a boondock in the hill-dale shadows of Vulture Peak, a summit we climbed (there is disagreement here so I'll just say) some time around Y2K.
It's lovely here, parked on the bank of a sandy wash, amid a stand of mesquite and palo verde trees. A nap of lush lawn, as green as any golf course I've seen, sprouts under their canopy of shade. Aromatic creosote bush abounds, as do saguaros and the rest of the flora and fauna of my youth.
Bobbie and I took a long walk after landing yesterday. We noticed something very strange. For the first time since leaving home, there was no wind. Zero, nada. Skies were mostly blue, with remnant puffy clouds hanging here and there to accommodate one of my many preferences for shooting landscape photos.
But here I go, waxing poetic about the here and now Sonoran Desert bliss, when the topic lies in the past, back in Nevada (sigh). If I hadn't already loaded all these photos, why I'd just skip it. Just a bunch of red rocks with nary a cloud for effect.
Anyway. I give you a six mile off-trail loop-hike through Bowl of Fire (not to be confused with Valley of Fire)... a little Hot Chile for Las Vegas, Nevadans in need of some "G" rated eye candy that doesn't involve a pole and a stripper, or a buffet...
Ahh. "Real" rocks. As in red. Sigh. Missing red
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful area and amazing pictures. Wish we could hike like that but our bodies just won't do it anymore.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a fun place! I recognize several of those arches/windows:)
ReplyDeleteWell I for one am glad you didn't skip these! Was it early morning or late afternoon for the rocks to be this red? Or are they just this red all the time? Amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt was morning, and the sun is still low in the winter sky, which helps. Definitely sensory overload for the eyes, though... "Blinded by the light..."
Deletethanks,
mark
Ahhh...those amazing red rocks! Joe brings me to San Diego for an ocean fix every January, but the desert is home! Thanks for not skipping these postcards Mark!
ReplyDeleteJust curious how you navigate off trail- compass, GPS, smart phone, dead reckoning?
ReplyDeleteHave yet to purchase a gps, tho we sure could have used one a couple times. So dead reckoning I guess... just paying attention to landmArks.
DeleteIt is always amazing to see those pictures of you guys "scampering" up those red rocks as if you're brother and sister with the mountain goats. Maybe we'll cross paths in the Arizonian desert somewhere!
ReplyDeleteWe're almost to Tucson :)
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