Red Rock Canyon NV

Not every thing that happens in Vegas should stay in Vegas. Some of it must be shared!

So, you know how people flock to Vegas, I mean in the thousands. They drive up that lonely highway that really isn't lonely because of the traffic congestion, it just seems so lonely and desolate, any way, so you know what I am talking about? People love that place. It is actually a destination that people travel to--on purpose--I never understood that. Really. Vegas was a stop on the way to Utah where you fill up with gas and get your last In N Out (until the last 10 years or so where we would hold out for St George in order to eat at Cafe Rio.) So Vegas was never a place that I had any desire to go to experience.
Emma, Lily and I before the hike

When I was a kid, Uncle Chuck, who was really not my uncle but a very good friend of the family, took me to Vegas with his family in his Winnebago. I remember pulling up to the Circus Circus parking lot (where else would he go with a Winnebago full of kids) and getting out to have the time of my life. He gave each of us kids a roll of quarters--Ten Bucks! that was a heck of a lot of money back in 1976--to spend on the games and shows that were a part of the "Circus Circus" experience. I got in there, with my roll of quarters in my hand, scanned the place, followed the other Fick kids around, watched them play some video games and in the end probably only spent a dollar of my money in order to watch the gorilla woman transform from woman to gorilla and back to woman again. A frighteningly, cheesy show. Anyway, nothing in Vegas was really worth me breaking into that roll of quarters. I still feel that way as an adult.

However, last year, my adventurous friend from Chicago, , Brenda K. moved to Las Vegas with her very talented and artistic husband Cameron and their two precocious and very imaginative children Jesse and Brianna. Brenda K. has been wanting me to come out there for a while. She has been coaxing me with tales of Lake Mead, Mount Charleston, and all other beautiful places that can be found in and around Vegas. Vegas beautiful? I know she wanted me to come but I was not foolish. If she thinks that I am going to go out there for the beauty, she has another think coming. I mean I would definitely go out for her, but not the beauty. Well Brenda K. proved me wrong, again. While there for the holiday, we went on a hike to Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful canyon of, you guessed it, red rocks that explode out of a hillside west of Las Vegas.

We decided to go on Sunday afternoon and we were surprised to experience tolerable temperatures with a comfortable breeze that continued to cool us off along the hike. The hike was easy and there were some great rocks and boulders to climb on as well as amazing rock formations to view.

Along the way we made a few pit stops to fuel up on water and fig newtons. We always stopped at the most scenic spots to enjoy the view the sky or the rocks. The kids loved the long shadows and were often caught watching them in the rocks in front of them. We wanted to take a picture of them but we had to be patient because the sun kept disappearing behind the clouds. Cameron wanted to move on but Brenda K. stood her ground and in the end we're glad because it was worth the shot

Right at about mid way through the hike, we spied a lone pine jetting out of the red rock. Just the contrast of the color was deserving of our attention. There it stood straight, at attention, bearing the burden of the wind. We marveled at how it choked it's way out of the stony ground and then flourished. We wanted to be near it, to see it up close and feel it. After taking pictures by it, we sat and enjoyed the time to reflect and to listen to the wind moan and wail as it rushed through the pines boughs. The tree would not bend to the wind. It stood straight.

After a time, we headed back down the canyon. We retraced our steps part of the way and then took another path home. On the way up we hiked up on the top of the rock, traversing the boulders. On the way back down we went to the bottom of the canyon and walked in the red sand. The kids were fascinated by it and wanted to take some home.

On the way back, Jesse kept running ahead to find places to sit and meditate until we caught up. It was fun playing "where's Jesse" as we would come around a bend and locate him in his meditative pose on or at the foot some rock formation. All the girls would then run as fast as they could to join him in his meditative poses.

Right at the end of the hike, when our cars was in sight, we saw a bevy of quail crossing the path. There were maybe thirty to forty of them running across the path in single file. Amazing. I love this picture of Cameron and Brenda K. They were spying the quail when I was photographing the kids and I took this shot, I wasn't able to capture the quail but I think I did a great job capturing the beauty of this couple. I sure love you guys

So Brenda K., you were right, the region surrounding Vegas can be beautiful. We had a great time and can't wait to come back.