Beauty vs. Glitz: A Break from Las Vegas at Red Rock Canyon… On the Road

March 8, 2013January 24, 2015 / Curt Mekemson / 11 Comments

Red Rock Canyon with its beauty and silence is just a few minutes a away from Las Vegas.

Red Rock Canyon with its beauty and silence is just a few minutes away from Las Vegas.

I was going to blog about glitzy Las Vegas today but we took a detour. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a few miles to the west of the Strip and it’s billion dollar pleasure palaces. Nothing could provide a greater contrast. Glitz and noise are replaced by beauty and silence. And, unlike Las Vegas, the park is not dedicated to separating you from your money. I could make the $7 dollar per vehicle entrance fee disappear into a video poker machine faster than it took the park ranger to collect it.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Park features one of the most impressive visitor centers I have seen in my decades of visiting State and National Parks across the United States.

I took this desert tortoise photo at the Visitor Center for the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

This human size silver lizard was one of several sculptures at the Red Canyon Visitors’ Center.

Peggy is standing next to a sculpture resenting air.

Peggy is standing next to a sculpture representing air. Note the rabbit ears in the background.

Ken Lake, dressed up in his SF Giants memorabilia, demonstrates the proper se of the rabbit ears.

Ken Lake, dressed up in his SF Giants memorabilia, demonstrates the proper use of the rabbit ears.

We spent an hour with our friends Ken and Leslie Lake checking out the Visitor Center and then another three hours on a leisurely tour of the 13-mile drive through the park. We could have easily spent all day had we taken advantage of the numerous trails along the way.

A view of the mountains and their distinctive ribbon of red from the Red Rock Canyon Visitors's Center.

A view of the mountains and their distinctive ribbon of red from the Red Rock Canyon Visitor’s Center. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)

Another view of the mountains in Red Rock Canyon taken by Peggy.

I liked the contrasting rock colors provided by this photo on our 13 mile drive through Red Rock Canyon.

The erosive forces of wind and water were at work here. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)

Peggy captured this jumble of rocks which reminded me of Bryce Canyon.

Peggy captured this jumble of highly eroded rocks, which reminded me of Bryce Canyon.

Numerous trails and canyons along the way invited further exploration. Both springs and Indian Rock Art are found hidden away in the canyons. Next time…

NEXT BLOG: I will do the blog on Las Vegas glitz that I was going to do today.

UFOs, Savage Bears and Cat Houses… On the Road in Nevada

March 6, 2013January 24, 2015 / Curt Mekemson / 6 Comments

Guests are greeted by a grizzly when they enter Tonopah Station on Highway 95 in Nevada.

We rolled the dice at Tonopah Station to see if we would win a free room. It’s been a tradition at the old motel for as long as Peggy and I have been travelling up and down Highway 95 through western Nevada. Neither of us came up with the required three matches so we forked over 60 bucks.

We rolled the dice at Tonopah Station. Three matches meant a free room. Lady Luck looked the other way.

The motel is filled with memorabilia of the Wild West including the grizzly bear above. It is also filled with the characters that live in the old mining town and stop by to gamble, have a drink or eat at the Café… where Missy waited on us.

Betty Boop, the Mona Lisa, and this wooden Indian were all part of the decorations at the Tonopah Station.

As was the old ad for a radiator shop.

But towns are an exception for Nevada. Most of the land is made up of the Big Empty. There is raw beauty hiding out in the deserts. It’s available to anyone who is willing to wander. Most people zip through the state on freeways at 70 MPH plus on their way somewhere else (anywhere else) or spend their time in Las Vegas or Reno investing hard-earned cash in Nevada’s economy.

A common view in Nevada of empty roads and distant vistas, which are often quite scenic. But where’s the UFO?

This photo includes a view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Highway 95.

Over the years I have travelled over most of Nevada’s (paved) back roads. I’ve even ridden across the state on a bicycle. It’s wide-open country filled with mountains, valleys and distant vistas. Much of the state is made up of government-owned lands with a substantial share dedicated to military purposes like bombing jackrabbits.

Once upon a time, Nevada was even used for atom bomb tests. I can still remember getting up at 4 am in the 1950s at our home in the Sierra Nevada foothills and watching as the whole eastern sky was lit up by an atomic bomb blast. Those days are long gone, however. Today Nevada is fighting against becoming the nation’s nuclear waste dumpsite.

Driving down Highway 95 provides other views besides old mining towns, military installations and wild beauty. An occasional cat house makes an appearance… usually consisting of a beat up trailer under a fancy sign. Prostitution is legal in Nevada. The ultimate prize for sightseers however, is an illusive UFO. This is the land of Area 51 and the Extraterrestrial Highway. Peggy and I keep our eyes peeled.

Prostitution is still legal in Nevada and several “cat houses” are located along Highway 95.

An early day gift certificate? Tokens were commonly offered for services at early day Nevada whore houses. I found this sample at the Clark County Museum.

A word of warning about driving down 95; watch your speed when driving through small towns. Our friend Ken Lake, who is traveling with us along with his wife Leslie, made the mistake of speeding up just before the sign that said he could. It cost him BIG. He was grumpy for hours. Ken claims he was following me, which is true, but I drive a pickup truck from Oregon, not a yuppie car from California. (Grin)

Outside of Reno and Las Vegas, trucks rule in Nevada. (I found this one in the ghost town of Ryolite.)

Outside of Reno and Las Vegas, old trucks rule in Nevada. (I found this one in the ghost town of Ryolite.)

NEXT BLOG: Glitzy Las Vegas

Burning Man’s Black Rock City: A Remote Desert Becomes a Community of 50,000 for One Week

June 19, 2011January 24, 2015 / Curt Mekemson / Leave a comment

As we were waiting in a mile long line of vehicles to enter Burning Man, a rainstorm hit. The vehicles were stopped to protect the desert floor and people got out to dance. And then we saw this incredible rainbow. It was a magical moment.

Black Rock Desert is located in the remote northwestern corner of Nevada just a few miles east of the small town of Gerlach. Normally it’s as quiet as a tomcat on a mouse hunt.

But not on the Monday before Labor Day Weekend.

Thousands of cars, trucks, vans and RV’s clog the local roads and create a traffic jam that would make Los Angeles proud. Vehicles are packed to the brim with people, tents, food, water, bikes, costumes, mutant vehicles, cameras, building material, camping gear and things that glow in the dark… everything that is necessary to create a city of 50,000 and survive for a week in the desert.

Burning Man is underway.

For a brief week, Black Rock City becomes the third largest urban area in Nevada. Only Las Vegas and Reno can claim more people. Then it’s over. People break camp, pack their vehicles, and head back to wherever they came from.

The Black Rock Desert returns to the peace and quiet.

The following photos are designed to capture a sense of what Black Rock City and the remote Black Rock Desert look like.

The evening sun bathes the surrounding mountains at Burning Man in soft light...

...And lights up the clouds.

The flat playa that serves as the home to Black Rock City is in stark contrast to the surrounding mountains. This photo features our friends Ken and Leslie Lake along with their shadows. Ken, or Scotty as he is known on the playa, is wearing his kilt.

By Friday, Nevada's third largest city is three days away from disappearing.

Mega dust storms are a common occurrence and can create close to zero visibility. The mutant ship and giant slide seem like a mirage. Photo by Don Green

In 2010, the Man included a high viewing platform. This view is looking out across the playa toward the distant mountains. The temple, built to look like a sand dune, and the 'urban' structures beyond are destined to be burned during the week.

This photo is taken from the platform looking back toward Black Rock City. The dark line on the left is porta potties. They are found throughout Black Rock City in the hundreds.