Nevada: Boulder City, Summer 2018

Boulder city is a very small little town outside of Las Vegas, where gambling is illegal within the city limits, and there's only a handful of traffic lights (if that). It's a quiet place, where families that tire of the excitement (and crime) rampant in Vegas proper can go to escape the city, while still benefitting from the predictably arid, sunny climate and close proximity to all the entertainments of the city. I actually spent a few years living in Boulder City when I was younger, and was exceptionally bored by the quaint, quiet little town as an energetic teen. Now that I'm older, and presumably wiser, I suppose I can see the allure to moving out of Vegas for Boulder City, if you're 60. It's a great place to retire, and if you can afford one of the homes on the slope towards Lake Mead you'll have an excellent view of the dwindling resources at the bottom of the hill. Of course, the ongoing drought has impacted some of the landscape choices in the area, but there are still plenty of open, green areas where the Big Horn sheep of the area will congregate to graze and get their fill of grasses. In a town as small, and quiet, as Boulder City, it should come as no surprise that the cops get stuck playing sheep-herder when the stubborn sheep begin to wonder perhaps a bit too close to the nearby residences. 

If you like outdoorsy or water-bound activities, having Lake Mead in your backyard is certainly a boon, despite it's drying out. As bored as I was throughout much of my angsty youth, I have to admit certain gratitude for the friends I made in that little town, the experiences and mischief we shared in that safe little burb, and the opportunity to explore. I'm certainly not going to be moving back any time soon, but for old time's sake it was fun to breeze through. We didn't stop for lunch, like we normally would, as we'd had plenty of snacks out at the Lake and had been driving for a while by this point. We were more eager to get home and grab a shower than to get down on some grub. Given as much, the photos are going to be a bit scattered. Still, I hope you enjoy!

Nevada: Moonrise, plus Sunrise at Lake Mead Marina

When I was a youngin growing up not terribly far from Lake Mead, you could camp out right at the water's edge overnight, but the water levels weren't so dangerously low and the city's lifeline so perilously threatened back then. These days, you can find camping near the water in one of the designating camping areas, or stay overnight nearby in the city of Boulder City, where there's several different hotels, motels, and inns to choose from. We found a spot to camp out not far at all from the lake and nestled into our van for the night. There's only so much you can see in the dark of night, anyhow, so we went to bed fairly early after having enjoyed the moonrise and set our sights on exploring the lake come the next day's light. I've already covered some of our later escapades on the road trip here, but for the evening and sunrise adventures, you're in the right place. It was a stunning full moon rise as we prepared for bed, and when the gentle rays of morning jostled us from slumber we made our way to the marina and watched the sun come up over the water. Not a bad way to start the day. 

There are, of course, plenty of options for entertainment if you're looking to spend more money and time out here than we were. You can rent a kayak, jet skis, or go out for a cruise on one of the local charters, depending on how much time and money you have to spend. There are even a restaurant and small convenience store right at the marina, so if you run out of ice, snacks, bait or booze you do have a lifeline within the Lake Mead recreational area, at least during their hours of operation. We'd come prepared and simply had to find a pleasant place to park the van before strolling out for our adventures. It was summertime when we visited, so the heat rapidly increased as the sun rose, which was a major factor in why I spent so much time splashing around in the lake later on. There's a lot of wildlife to be found out here by the water, surprisingly, from coyotes to rabbits, vultures to lizards, and so many different kinds of birds. It's always nice to get out of the city and experience some degree of nature, even at a man-made reservoir like Lake Mead!

Plenty of photos ahead!

Vegas: Buzzed bands and blurry nights

If there's one aspect to Vegas to be applauded, it would certainly be the robust options for entertainment and debauchery that spawn up throughout the city like dandelions on a well-watered field. Any day of the week, any time of year, you can spend a short time ambling along Las Vegas Boulevard, weaving your way through any number of casinos, and find some form of entertainment that tickles your fancy, whatever your fancy may be. Perhaps you enjoy a nice piano medley over a cocktail, or grungy guitars dueling it out over a draft beer, there's something for everyone. As a long time local to the city, I generally made a point of it to try to avoid the Strip proper because the sheer variety of options leads to a densely packed crowd of tourists churning through the city on the regular. Some weeks you might find the crowd to be composed primarily of glitter and neon bedazzled dancers and ravers flooding the city for the Electric Daisy Carnival, other times it'll be hoards of billiard players and their teams in the matching uniforms, carting their cues through the casino. The endlessly changing nature of the crowds means that the entertainment options, too, will evolve to try to keep pace and entice each new crowd into spending their cash.

Constant sensory overload is the name of the game, so if you find yourself overwhelmed by the happenings outside on the street you will find no sanctuary in stepping indoors. The casino floors are often the loudest, flashiest, and most chaotic of areas throughout the entire Strip, despite how crazed the streets may seem at times. This may be explained away by the cheap slots and ample free booze that are available inside, along with the air condition's respite from the absurd heat baking the streets beyond. Cool off, or heat up if you're digging the cocktail waitresses' uniforms. There's always the strip clubs just off the strip on industrial if you're getting a little too hot and bothered and want a place to really delve in without the shame of a prominent hard-on in Bally's. You do you, boo boo. 

Vegas: Walls for the wolves

 Las Vegas, Nevada, at night time is a place with its own atmosphere, a pulsating energy rippling through the streets that's almost tangible, a palpable presence. Sometimes, this chaos and kinetic intensity can cause people to crack, the battered pieces and shrapnel found some days later in some distant gutter, like the confetti that lingers around the edges after a blow-out New Year's Eve celebration. Alcohol and other substances course through the hungry arteries of many faces wandering our boulevards, leading to all sorts of antics and encounters- some good, some bad, but all of them definitely a story worthy of a retelling with the friend's once any insult to pride and ego subside. After all, that old saying about "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" is a heaping load of bollocks in this, the modern era of social media and everpresent cellphones with full video and photographic capabilities. Angles collide, devils and angels bump elbows in this mortal playground.   

There's something for everyone, whatever your flavor. Personally, as someone who was born and raised in this city, I tend to avoid the Strip proper unless duty calls me to it, as it's the bastion of tourists and ravenous businessmen. There's certainly nothing wrong with being a tourist, and thanks to all of you who happily visit the city and pump much needed financial blood into the dusty old alleys of this desert oasis...and, well, as for the businessmen... They do pretty well. Las Vegas is a city with no shortage of money to be made if you're clever and fiendish enough, or at least motivated by the paper-chase. I've seen many wolves grow quite fat and contented in the halls of the casinos, lapping up the proceeds like blood from a lamb. For those who enjoy the hunt, this is an absolutely excellent arena to satiate the bloodlust and whet your chops. The problem with keeping the company of wolves is that inevitably, whether due to lack of food or shifts in time, the pack will need to find a hierarchy, and one never wants to find themselves at the wrong end of those vicious fangs.

All photos in this post were provided by Antho Jay~

Vegas: Van-Camping at Valley of Fire Arch Rock part two

Hello again! Welcome back to my little corner of the internet. Your visit today finds you rewarded with pictures of pretty rocks and fluffy things! It's only appropriate for Valentine's day, isn't it? I'm at a point in my life where, while I appreciate the sentiment behind it, I don't want or need any more stuffed animals. They're cute and I have two from my childhood that I've kept along with a couple others for sentimental value, but I'm satisfied with the collection I've got and feel no need to continue adding to it. What I could always add to? My collection of cute animal photos! Heck to the yeah! 

During this camping trip we were really quite popular among the local rodent population, as well as several birds, and an unexpected little dog that came scampering around the corner followed by his human after I whistled at a bird. The fellow above was the first of the ground squirrels to stop over for a visit, and while we were watching he jumped off the rocks sheltering our campsite and ran to our fire pit to steal a bean. That's right, folks, what you see here is an example of the wild Mojave bean thief! Despite his adorably unassuming face, these little critters will gladly clean up your campsite of any foods you happen to leave out and about so please be aware of your supplies. We were enjoying some coffee and snacks at the picnic table when he approached, and we realised we'd forgotten about the can of baked beans we'd attempted to heat but ultimately gave up on the night prior. Between the generously sized steaks, vegetable skewers and s'mores we were too full to really want the beans after dinner and left them to cool in the fire pit when we went to sleep... for all we know the ground squirrels had been pinching beans the whole time, so I'm glad we didn't try to re-heat the already open beans for breakfast. We were grateful for his visit and the photos I was able to take due to his hanging around, but in the future we'll make sure not to leave anything out like that. Some of his buddies popped round later that afternoon, probably lured by the beans their friend had admitted to eating after farting up the burrow. They dropped in after we finished our tie-dye photoshoot, photos of that will be up tomorrow so check back for that if you're interested. For now, the rest of the photos will be from our campsite and morning at Arch Rock campground in Valley of Fire state park! 

More photos below!

Vegas: Valley of Fire part 3

The stones jutting from the earth like skeletal fragments from some long forgotten titan range in color from deep purple to fiery red along with the expected ivory of sun-bleached bones depending where you look. These color variations can occur in the very same stone in intermittent layers or will dominate the entire form depending on the composition of the stone. Eons have gone into the formation of these beauties and their stacked layers tell tales of our planet's history for those with the eyes and ears to listen. Personally, my understanding of mineralogy and geology are pretty limited, but growing up I would hear how oceans once dominated the desert and marvel at images of trilobites that had through a confluence of fortuitous factors found their way through the weathers of time to leave their shape for us to find. It's not hard to imagine this as some alien world with the bizarre and preposterous shapes and shades some of the stones have found themselves in...that is, of course, until you find some trash some jackass left behind or some other detritus of human activity. We found several examples, from a discarded silk glove (ponderous) to oodles of trash...all of it shameful. A sacred rule for any outdoor activity is LEAVE NO TRACE!  We always carry a bag with us, whether it be my purse or a backpack, and take our trash with us so as not to sully the landscape for others.  This isn't just practical environmental stewardship- there are hefty fines if you're caught littering or otherwise defacing the environment. Valley of Fire is a state park, after all, and these grounds are under protection. As I've said, there's a lot of history throughout the 40,000 plus acres here and please be respectful of that when visiting. Enjoy your stay and take lots of photos, but take your trash with you when you leave. Let's keep these places photogenic for the future generations who may someday visit and witness the vestiges of our civilisation. 

More photos after the cut!

Vegas: Valley of Fire part 1

Valley of fire, a relatively short drive of about an hour from the Las Vegas valley on the interstate, is a state park with over 40,000 acres of beautiful desert landscape full of a variety of lushly coloured stone formations, petroglyphs dating to over 2,000 years ago and all sorts of other wonders. There's a small fee of $10 to enter the park but it allows you access to all of the hiking trails- of which there are definitely too many of to try to conquer them all in one day. You can also opt to camp for up to 2 weeks in any 30-day period, which is handy for those people living out of their vans or RVs or even just locals looking for an extended staycation. The ancient artifacts and glyphs are protected by state and federal law, so please be respectful when visiting and don't deface anything! It's happened before and caused an outcry as the perpetrators were sought out to be charged.  There's some serious history among these stones, so with that in mind enjoy your stay and have fun! 

This post is mostly about our trek to get there as it was one of our first real journeys stretching Vanticore's legs. The van is an older model but new to us, so we're still breaking her in and trying to get a feel for how she handles. There's been some hiccups and a few trips to the mechanic along the way, but such things are to be expected with any vehicle, especially one that's been on the roads for more than 140,000 miles. On this venture she held up well and Antho drove her for hours - from leaving Vegas to get to Valley of Fire to later taking the scenic route around to Lake Mead and then all the way back home. We spent the majority of our day in the van, so of course we had to stop and grab some snacks along the way! There's a market along the two-laned road to the park where you'll see a lot of semitruck drivers refueling for the next stint of their journey as well. Inside you'll find a plethora of tempting snacks and diversions from dangerously hot jerky and sauces to a vast stockpile of fireworks. People the world over love their fireworks and Americans are no different, though the laws vary from place to place and the actual use of some of the fireworks for sale in their warehouse may be frowned upon when you get home. We didn't make any explosive purchases this time and stuck with dried fruits, jerky and beverages to power us through. 

More photos after the cut!

Calico Basin Hike

Just outside of Las Vegas lies countless, nearly endless expanses of desert, rock formations and mountain ranges. Some mountains are capped with forest and get snow during the colder months, others get a sparse coating of desert shrubbery allowing the mineral filled rock below to shine. There's no mystery as to why our Red Rock National Recreation Area has earned it's name- the rocks are resplendent and come in shades of red, purple, beige and more. Wild burros, mountain lions, big horn sheep and rattle snakes proliferate the area, though they generally tend to be too shy to be spotted with any frequency. 

Given our proximity to great swaths of nature, hiking (and skiing!) are popular activities. I've been a fan of hiking for quite some time, having even been in a public hiking club during my junior year of high school. As such, whenever I get the opportunity to venture out into the great outdoors, I'm generally pretty quick to take it. On this particular day, my friend Julie and I had made plans to go for an adventure together. 

We met up early and after psyching ourselves up for the journey at her apartment, we packed up the car and headed out! It was a beautiful day for the excursion, early enough in the year that the sweltering summer heat had yet to fully settle in but warm enough to be comfortable. 

Have you ever ventured beyond the city limits of Las Vegas? One of the best parts of living in the city is how much nature is actually available and accessible just beyond it's limits. Lake mead is about 45 minutes one way, with aquatic recreation available, while Mount Charleston offers snow sports during the winter months and camping among the trees. Today, we went to Calico Basin!

More photos after the cut!

Vegas: Red Rock hike 2014/11/01

Las Vegas, for the uninitiated, is a city seemingly adrift among the vistas of the harsh Mojave desert. While there are several small towns and cities within an hour's drive of the ever-expanding edges of the Vegas cityscape, once you pass those you're pretty much in the wastelands. We're talking the land of infamous Area 51, the Nevada Nuclear test site, Graboids, and Fallout New Vegas. The benefit to all this expanse of unrepentantly rough terrain is that much of it is exquisitely beautiful if you dare brave getting to it. Red Rock Canyon is among these prettiest of places while conveniently close to the city limits and relatively low on the difficulty. You can certainly opt to scramble up challenging rocks and scurry through caves and cracks, but you do so at your own discretion. 

Boulder City: the Coffee Cup & Hemenway Park 2015-10-01

Just hanging with some of the locals, you know? Chilling.

These were taken in Hemenway park, in Boulder City. 

The park has long been known for it's popularity for grazing among the local Big Horn sheep population. When we initially drove past we didn't see any of the rams, but after stopping for breakfast at the Coffee Cup diner we were willing to give it another shot. Good thing we did!

First thing first, a girl has got to eat!

Boulder Beach campout 2015-10-01

Back in Nevada, we set up base on Boulder Beach!

We were able to park reasonably close to the water, which was lovely.

While we stayed up for a few hours after leaving Willow Beach it was simply too dark for photos...

 Sunrise, however, was a whole different story.

A shame, too, because we witnessed a coyote prowling the beach a stone's throw away!

Louie had played his guitar for us, which seemed to incite the coyotes into yipping. 

I thought that was pretty neat, but our neighbors down the beach packed up and were gone within moments! Scaredy cats. :P Coyotes shouldn't be brazen enough to attack humans unless extremely desperate. There should be plenty of bunnies for them to enjoy by the lake!

More photos after the cut~

Arizona: Willow Beach night 2015-09-30

Long exposure photos and glowsticks were a match made in heaven.

Throw in a quartet of silly 20-somethings sitting on a dock in the middle of the desert and here we are.

Photos after the cut!