Death Valley National Park (California)

And, I thought it was HOT in Las Vegas because it got up to 78 degrees!  It was over 100 degrees in Death Valley National Park yesterday!  This park is vast and harsh, but it is also beautiful - it is truly a land of extremes.  There is a lot to see:  magnificent sand dunes, colorful rock formations (particularly on the Artists Drive), and beautiful salt flats, to name a few.  There are 3 million acres of wilderness here and it is home to plants and animals unique to the harshest desert.  Unfortunately, I only had one day to spend here so I could not possibly see all of it.  Tho I whined about the heat, I really enjoyed visiting this national park!

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 A beautiful, scenic drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley!

"The road is long, with a many of winding turns . . ."

Yeah, right, who's going to sit on that bench in this 100-degree heat?

SALT FLATS

 

SAND DUNES

These are gorgeous!

Dashboard oven - My pizza cooked quick in this desert heat

California Price Gouging!

"Take the picture quick - I'm melting!"

Viva Las Vegas

This is the city of bright lights and excessive spending!  There's a junk store, ah, I mean gift shop, on every corner with stuff that costs about a nickel to make.  The shows are $200.00, and the food is expensive and not even good!   BUT, the weather is beautiful, so I shouldn't be whining!

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I did spring for this fantastic Cirque show.

It was AMAZING!  I highly recommend it,

especially if you love Beatles music

My brother and sister-in-law got married at this

little chapel many years ago

 

 

Excalibur 

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the border between Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. The dam was named in honor of President Herbert Hoover.

While I certainly appreciate the engineering marvel that is Hoover Dam, I really just didn't see the need to stand around and stare at it for hours!  I didn't even spring for the $8 to go inside the museum.  If you come to Las Vegas, you're almost obligated to go see it.

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There's a very nice Visitors' Center

This is a beautiful statue

Supposedly, if you rub the toes, it brings you good luck

Upper Pic:  From the Dam, you look out at this bridge

Lower Pic:  Hoover Dam while standing on the bridge



Red Rock Canyon (Las Vegas, Nevada)

After becoming bored with all the bright lights and glitz of  the Las Vegas Strip, I took a short drive out to Red Rock Canyon.  The beauty of this canyon speaks for itself!  And, the best part - more wild burros.  These were truly wild!

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Some pretty little desert flowers

This entire area is filled with beautiful Joshua Trees.  According to legend, Mormon pioneers considered the limbs of the Joshua trees to resemble the upstretched arms of Joshua leading them to the Promised Land. Early explorer John Fremont described them as “…the most repulsive tree in the vegetable Kingdom.”  I disagree with that statement, but, whatever the case, they are very interesting trees.

Look closely at this - there are  several handprint pictographs.  They are a little difficult to see in the red rock.

ROCKCLIMBERS

The tiny speck is a rockclimber

Closer views

Wild burros and horses are very common in Nevada.  I saw this cute little family of burros.  They were rather shy, but this one came up to me -- because a woman next to me had a bag of carrots!  (They discourage feeding wild animals.)



This was his little family hiding in the background

The mother was very protective of her offspring

He was so cute!

Life doesn't get much better than this!