Generally I ride the bus in Vegas, but I decided to rent a car for one day and spend the day at Red Rock. It was a good decision.
Only renting for one day meant that the Crash Waiver was worth the price. Rental, waiver, and taxes gave me a little Hundai for $50. The waiver relieved me of some of the anxiety I have about the loopholes in converage.
The route to Red Rock took care of the fears I have about being on Vegas roads with tourists who do erratic things and drunks and racing idiot kids or missing a sign on a fast moving expressway. Taking the Blue Diamond highway early in the morning from the new car rental facility (two rights and a left put me out on Las Vegas Blvd going South and the Blue Diamond was easy to find) took care of my total inability to go anywhere without getting lost..
I guess the Blue Diamond used to be an escape into undeveloped dessert, but that has changed now. Developments and malls are along much of this route. Still, it was easy driving and I loved the approach to Red Rock as one off the Blue Diamond road and on the Blue Diamond cut off, there were increased views of the colorful canyon rocks.
The ease of the driving also made it easy for me to stop along the way out. At Subway I got a tuna sub for my lunch in the Subway. At Target I got half a case of water for $2.50 and some juice and iced tea to keep in my room over these five days. At Bank of America I got some money to replace what I have lost without cashing my Traverler's checks.
On the way home I could have visited the old town at Bonnie Springs. I did take a drive through the town of Blue Diamond and was sorry that the tiny library was closed on Monday but delighted to see this little place that so far has resisted development. I could live there. Then an uncrowded McDonald's gave me an hour of free wifi for the price of a nice cold drink.
Finally, the highway goes right by the Silverton, so I went in to shop for fishing tackle and equipment at the Bass Pro where I think that I have actually seen the boat I want to buy. Called a Pond Prowler it offers me two high fishing seats to keep my wife's knees from cramping, a mount for the motor at both ends, the ability to rig the boat for rowing, a rear plug that can be pulled so rain can wash through, and a price of just $855 which includes electric motor and battery. I have been trying to figure out what to buy for three years now, so this was a great find. There too I shot the lazer rifles and watched the targets spin and spent some time admiring the large fish tank.
Well, this is a report Red Rock so I had better get to the Canyon itself.
April seems the perfect time to visit the canyon. Every other time I have gone to Red Rock it has been hot weather. The sun was warm, but there was a cold breeze that just cooled us down. There were plenty of folks who knew this already because the turn offs were full of hikers and rock climbers.
Calico Hills is my favorite stop. I always have to remind myself to linger there because it is one of the first stops and it just seems I should be moving on. Actually, the trip would be worth it just for the red colors and all the swirls of Calico Hills. I thought about doing the hike there, but I had my mind set on something a bit more challenging and had Ice Box Canyon in my mind. I was fairly sure that I could not do both.
The fine thing about the way Red Rock is constructed is that you can just drive around, drive around and stop at the marked turn offs. Walk in a bit at each turn off, or choose long hikes. To just drive through takes 30 minutes. I was to spend 5 hours poking around.
While the turn off parking areas were full of cars, I did not see or hear many people. It felt uncrowded. There were times when loud talking seemed to drown out the voices of the rocks, but for the most part I could find places and times when for sound there was just me and the breezes with a few bird calls.
Even eating lunch in a picnic area at Willow Springs was relatively quiet. I chose a picnic table set back from the others, and once I got rid of a group that just seemed to hand their waiting to get in their white van again, it was quiet.
It seemed this one fellow was chatting up a girl. He was European; she, American. I guess I understand the drives of love in the canyon, but I also feel a bit annoyed by people who come all this way, stand at the food of all this beauty, and ignore it to have conversation. Why come?
At another stop there was an arrogant biker girl who had to tell her entire party every bit of wherever she had biked before, and of course make all the other trips seems superior to this one. Her biking companions must have wanted to see her wobble and slip over a cliff.
I remember at an Indian reservation in New Mexico the guide pointed out some large rocks far in the distance and told us that they could speak to one another and that while the White man might not hear them, his ancestors and perhaps some contemporary shaman could hear them talking. Well, Nature does not speak to me quite so intensely, but even if it did, some of those who come and look and walk around me would never hear them. Some cannot hear much more than the sound of their own voice.
I liked thinking that here would be a canyon of beauty on which no cell towers would be erected.
In most cases I could escape the noise of the other tourists simply by walking in a bit. Unlike Vegas, Red Rock Canyon offers the visitor plenty of places to sit down comfortably. I used them.
The day before I had been totally exhausted but determined to see the fountains at Bellagio. I can't sit up on those stone fences. So that left the sidewalk, and I took a spot directly behind a fellow huckstering;
"Watta, watta, watta, one doughlar
ice cold watta."
My mind drifted a bit.....well, okay, I fell asleep"
And then when the time finally came I listened to the water dance to the opera.
At Red Rock, when I tired, I simply sat down and let the breezes cool me. And even short walks produced new perspectives.
At Turtlehead I found an easy section of rock to climb and quite a variety of multicolored views. Above and to my right was the huge grey Turtlehead itself, then an off white section, and to my left the jagged, sharp looking mountains with that red stripe. All this while I sat on swirls of the eroded and sculpted red rock near a bit of green moss that managed to find some life.
??Here too is the Excelsior Stone Quarry where the Big Devil engine promised profit from quarried stone. It reminded me of places I had seen in Italy where they cut out marble. The Big Devil worked, but there was still no profit in this stone and all of the efforts to retrieve it ended in failure. No attempts after 1912.
The Canyon was more full of life than I had remembered in the hotter times although there were not as many wildflowers as I had hoped. Death Valley was having a record 20 year bloom and I had thought about going, but I have been very tired this trip and did not want such a long drive.
My favorites were ??? small trumpet shaped red flowers which appeared in many locations. Also there was a small purple flower that was very common. Some of the greenery seemed fresh and alive, but the flat cactus in many spots seemed somewhat parched.
At the highest points, like on top of the rocks that formed Ice Box Canyon, were some pines. I wonder how they seeded up so high. What a struggle to maintain life.
I saw plenty of small warbler like birds?? one two foot orange and black snake, and dozens of little lizards scooting in and around the rocks int he trail. At Willow Springs there was were some chipmonk like fellow who probably do get a bite of food from the tourists who eat there.
At Willow springs I ate my tuna fish sandwich.
My major achievement was my hike into Icebox Canyon which is labeled as difficult. I skipped the last small and most difficult bit of it, but I did reach the mountain springs. The hike is like walking a dry and rocky stream bed and going in it is all uphill. I only had to negotiate on tough climb down, but then I skipped the tougher climbs.
For me this is more arduous hiking than I have done in years and I was quite pleased to feel in good enough shape to make the walk. It was thrilling. Also, going into the Ice Box Canyon was a slow change of perspective. In the beginning it is flat and open. Gradually the canyon walls tighten in on the view so that coming back at first just offered the view of one section of red rock (Calico Hills I think) and then gradually expanded until the view was wide and of much of the canyon. Before completely descending I sat a long while on one inviting rock and sipped my water, felt the breeze. Some dark cloud cover reduced the intensity of the sunshine. I enjoyed the feel of all of it and enjoyed the sense that I had managed a good long walk, two hours of stepping on and about rocks. It still feels very good.
In one sense a day in this Canyon is like being in an art gallery. I had forgotten my camera, and probably could not catch the exact bits of aesthetically pleasing shape and color and delightful contrasts.
At one point I looked up into rock, surrounded with deep blue sky peppered with wonderfully white clouds. In another spot were ancient hand prints, art in the rocks that might be as old as some of the oldest inhabitants.
In another spot the rock looked like a gigantic tongue.
Lost Pine Creek offered what is called a remnant biotic community where what is growing reflects what has been there for a million years, in part maintained by fire.
In another spot ancients roasted agave for food.
All in all, a delightful adventure and a fine contrast to the sound of machines and music and the cacaphony of voices along the strip.
