My wife and I flew into Vegas for a couple days of casino hiking on the strip (our first time). I found the eye candy fascinating and had fun taking pictures.
In the end though the place/people are rather sad and fake.
We needed a nature hit so we spent a day at Red Rocks hiking up to Juniper Canyon.
The drive to Zion is incredibly easy after you get out of the construction around Vegas. We stayed in Springdale, about 5 minutes drive from the park. I got up the first morning to catch sunrise at The Court of the Patriarchs.
We did Angel's landing as our first hike and it was fantastic. This was my wife's first visit and she was amazed by the incredible trail blasted to the top. It was fun for me to get a thrill looking over the edge at the side of Moonlight Buttress, which I climbed back in the early 80s.
A mix of easy hikes the next day finished off the good weather. The next day was a mix of rain, snow up high, and chilly winds. We spent most of the day car hiking - stopping at pull-outs for me to take telephoto shots through the window. Not much actual hiking, but perhaps the best pictures of the trip.
I grabbed a few last shots of snow dusted on the peaks our last morning, then drove back to Vegas for one last casino viewing before we flew home.
This was one of our best trips, a nice contrast of extreme urban and beautiful nature.
Joined: 19 Oct 2007 Posts: 939 | TRs | Pics Location: The Best Place on Earth
Wed Apr 08, 2009 12:05 pm
Fantastic stuff Jim! I love the perspective shot from Angel's Landing. I'd love to do that hike again one day, all we had when we did it many years ago was an underwater disposable camera...its a long story.
You can't go wrong with anywhere in Zion, there is so much to see and photograph. Feel free to post more eye candy.
I love the palm trees and sunrise reflected in the window, you have such a great eye. I'm at work and can't access flickr (I only see thumbnails), so I can't wait to get home and look at these full size.
Joined: 16 Dec 2001 Posts: 5059 | TRs | Pics Location: Making Chuck Norris cry
Wed Apr 08, 2009 12:13 pm
Never thought I'd say something like this, especially when the subject of Zion was present, but out of all those shots, fountain one is by far the coolest.
For day hikes near Vegas drive W. out Charleston Ave about 20 min. which takes you to Red Rocks. There is a visitor center with good info on hikes. We wished we had time to wander around the many paths through the Calico Hills, but it was very crowded when we drove by so we choose to continue over to Juniper Canyon for more peace and quiet (needed after a couple days downtown). Have fun.
Here is another fountain shot since people seemed to like em. I wonder how much water they waste in this place during the summer?
We will be in Vegas next week with a relative so were planning to do a scenic drive one day. From what I've read Valley of Fire is more scenic than Red Rocks. Not sure about hiking ops but something else to consider when in Vegas. BTW, great shots Jim.
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