Red Rock Canyon

Jamie and I are back from vacation at Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our vacation started on Sunday November 23 and we have done and seen a lot. We chose Red Rock as our destination based on an LA Times article about the new resort and the nearby Red Rock Canyon from where the resort gets its name. The resort is about 10 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. The draw of the resort for us was to go to Vegas but have a completely different experience then we normally do. I think we did. We of course played on the casino floor and enjoyed the jacuzzi of the resort but we also spent two days exploring the Red Rock Canyon and the various hiking trails within the canyon. We have taken hundreds of photos of the amazing geological features of the canyon as well as the plant and animal life.

 

There are two distinguishing features of the Red Rock Canyon. The first is the rich red coloration of many of the mountainsides. This is caused by iron oxide in the rocks. The other distinguishing feature is scale. The place is best described as massive. There is a scenic drive consisting of a one-way loop which is 13 miles but this drive only takes you by a portion of the entire canyon. Then within this canyon are smaller ravines and canyons all over the place, all of which deserve to be explored. Along the scenic drive are various stops where tourists can park, take pictures, walk the trails and even climb up the rocks.

 

The first trail Jamie and I went on was called Keystone Thrust. This trail gave us a great view of this tall and rounded peak on one of the tallest mountains in the canyon. The next day Jamie and I spent some time in the Sandstone Quarry where I climbed up on some large rock formations. Actually I would not call it climbing as much as scurrying. Then Jamie and I went to Lost Creek and saw some petroglyphs on the canyon walls. Lastly we went down to Oak Creek Canyon. We got to the mouth of the canyon at least and that took a good amount of hiking to get there. With all of this hiking we still left most of the canyon unexplored. We hope to go back sometime and experience the rest of the trails and I personally hope to bike the scenic drive as it looks fun and challenging. Exploring the canyon was definitely the highlight of the whole trip.

 

Once Jamie and I got completely exhausted of hiking and exploring we headed back to the hotel. On the way back we stopped at a grocery store and I discovered one of my favorite places. That’s right; I found a Dunkin’ Donuts! In case you don’t know there are no stores operating within California right now but they are in Nevada. Therefore finding a store was an exciting thing for me. I had a cinnamon iced coffee and a vanilla creme donut along with a ham and Swiss flat-bread I shared with Jamie. 

 

Jamie and I also ate at Hachi which is the sushi restaurant at the resort, played two games of bowling and we saw Transporter 3 at the midnight showing in the movie theatre located in the resort. Overall it was a fun trip and a great opportunity to photograph.