To celebrate Spring and the Easter holiday, we had a family picnic at Spring Mountain Ranch yesterday. A really great place for picnicing, hiking and FUN! Toured Howard Hughes’ ranch house and then traveled down the road a mile or two to Old Nevada.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area ~ History and Archaeology
photography by stacie 2008
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Boating at Lake Mead in the 90’s
Lake Mead National Recreation Area offers a wealth of things to do and places to go year-round. Its huge lakes cater to boaters, swimmers, sunbathers, and fishermen while its desert rewards hikers, wildlife photographers, and roadside sightseers. It is also home to thousands of desert plants and animals, adapted to survive in an extreme place where rain is scarce and temperatures soar. With more than 700 miles of shoreline, Lake Mead offers countless opportunities for exploration.
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Before the existence of Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and Hoover Dam, the area encompassing the one and half million acres of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area was occupied by early desert Indian cultures, adventurous explorers, and ambitious pioneers looking for cheap land and religious freedom, and prospectors seeking riches.
Various prehistoric culture groups made the Colorado River region theirs. Archaeological investigations have provided evidence that some were hunter/gatherers and lived in caves; other groups lived in pit houses and Puebloan-type structures, and practiced early farming. Ranging from present day Davis Dam north to the Virgin and Muddy Rivers, these early farming groups grew corn, beans, squash and cotton.
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Their technology included pottery of the reddish-brown and gray-brown buff ware with simple black and red decoration. They ground corn and seeds with manos and metate and hunted game with spears, bows and arrows made from local or traded materials.
Amargosa Projectile Point
Archaelogy Link – Lake Mead http://www.eculturalresources.com/news/564.html
Mountain Biking, Hiking, Skiiing… Beautiful Brian Head, Utah
A fantastic place for skiing in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer. Brian Head, Utah – a cool getaway from the Vegas desert heat with an elevation of 9,600 feet. A beautiful and quiet alpine setting with a wonderfully cool breeze. The weather now at Brian Head offers sunny days and sweater nights. Mountain biking with single track rides and enough downhill to get your adrenaline pumping! There are hiking trails for every member of the family that wander through fields of Aspen groves and wildflowers.
The last time I skied there was back in the 90’s (below) – and I’m long overdue for another trip there!
Red Rock Canyon – Hiking in Southern Nevada and Utah
The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is located just a few miles west of Las Vegas and encompasses 197,000 acres within the Mojave Desert. Red Rock is an area of world-wide geologic interest and beauty.
Link – http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/
Other travel destinations that are in close proximity - Zion National Park (Utah) and Great Basin National Park. Links to these parks –
http://www.zionmountainresort.com/zion_national_park.html
http://greatbasin.areaparks.com/
Hiking Trail – Old Railroad Tunnels
There IS light at the end of the tunnel…!
Austin
Location – Southern Nevada
photo by stacie
For more historical Railroad Tunnels and hiking info, photos, and more, link to http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/LAME/Railroad/Railroad.htm
A nice Sunday hike. We had a great time – and the views are really nice overlooking Lake Mead.
Thanks Stacie for a fun (and close-by) weekend getaway!
