2013-03-15 Cedar City, Kolob Canyon, & Mesquite NV

Yesterday, Saturday, we moved from Pahrump NV to St George UT.   A beautiful drive up through the Virgin River Gorge – unfortunately they had it down to 2 lanes through the tightest part (for vehicles up to 10’ wide).  We were at the limit and sweating it.

Today, the plan was to head to Cedar City and Kolob Reservoir but the road to the reservoir was closed due to snow.  It was in the high 60s but the snow still had not melted entirely.

Instead we drove through Kolob Canyon – we hiked here a few years back but I tore something in my calf and we had to cut the hike short.  The drive was beautiful.

Lots of beautiful birds –

Then for a quick trip to Mesquite NV (40 minutes away) back through the Virgin River Gorge to check out the casinos (up another $45). 

We decided to avoid the traffic through the gorge and drove a back road through the Paiute Indian Reservation. Found a great place for rock hounding and a nice little mine. This went deep into the mountain but we did not venture in for obvious reasons – fear of dying!

Below is Kayenta Canyon on the north side of St George.  This is one of the areas we are looking at homes - in case we decide to move here.  Very tempting scenery.

Who knows where we will end up!!

2015-03-13 Wheeler Pass & Las Vegas Mint 400

Yesterday we took the Jeep out to Wheeler Pass near Pahrump.  We had hoped to see some Wild Mustangs but only saw wild Mustang poop.  We had to settle for jack rabbits, lizards, and blooming cactus instead.

We did see the old charcoal kilns along the way.

Today is Friday the 13th!  My dad always said it was a lucky day for him.  I must agree.  We started this trip on Friday, February 13th and now, today, another great day.

We headed to Vegas' Fremont Street in order to see the festivities for the Mint 400 - an annual desert off-road race. Vaughan's friend Jim Ryan of Dual Sports Utah in Moab, UT is a driver in tomorrow's race.  Vaughan rode dirt bikes with Jim a few years ago during one of our Moab visits.  Unfortunately, Jim had gone for beers when we caught up to his crew and waiting in the hot Vegas sun is no picnic.  Maybe we'll see him in Moab in a few weeks.

At least we got a picture of Vaughan with Jim's truck- which by to way is sponsored by DiscountStripper.com. Seriously???

Here is the truck and tow truck in front of one of the coolest buildings.

They closed down Freemont street for displays and the truck parade.

Monster sponsored a really cool motorcycle jump over their semi truck - flips, kicks, and all.

Here is a short video of just one of the runs these guys made.

http://youtu.be/azxfcyKPX6g

Here are a few more pictures of the building art in the Fremont area - I was really impressed.

We also stopped in to Gold & Silver Pawn to see where Pawn Stars is filmed.  The place is considerably smaller than it looks on TV and their biggest business is selling lots of Pawn Star T-shirts.

So to top the day off, back in Pahrump - we stopped at Pahrump Speedway and got to see this Ferrari (like Vaughan's) racing around the track with lots of Porsche & Lotus cars.

Plus I won $35 in the casino while we were in Vegas & another $80 in Pahrump - Hurray for Friday the 13th!!.  

Tomorrow we pack up and head to Utah for the next 6 weeks - 2 in St George and 3 in Moab and 1 in Monticello.

2015-03-10 Pahrump Chili Fest, Tujunga Canyon (LA), Ash Meadows, & Devil's Hole

Saturday we went to the Pahrump Chili Festival - lots of chili contenders, an old car show, a gold panning exhibition/class, and a nice band.

Sunday morning we drove out to LA (Tujunga Canyon to be exact) to visit our friends, Chick & Leslie.  Thanks for a great time - we love you and wish we could have stayed longer.

Monday - driving home to Pahrump through Death Valley.  The plant below is a Dodder plant - it is a parasitic plant that can't survive without a host plant.  It looks like orange spaghetti.

Below - a beautiful mountain view.

Today we drove out to Ash Meadows where we met this little guy.

Ash Meadows is a wildlife refuge with a number of natural springs and reservoirs.  It was so nice to see all this water with small fish in the middle of the desert.

Below is a picture of Devil's Hole - is a geothermal aquifer-fed pool within a limestone cavern. Its waters temperature remains about 92 °F. It branches into deep caverns at least 300 feet deep from an opening at the surface that is approximately 6 by 18 feet. According to geologists, the caves were formed over 500,000 years ago. The pool has been known to have waves due to far away earthquakes. It is the only natural habitat of the Devils Hole pupfish, which thrives despite the hot, oxygen-poor water.

Below is a diagram of what it looks like below the surface.

Here is one of the reservoirs - lots of different types of waterfowl and minnows.

2015-03-06 Talc Mines, Lovell Canyon, Titus Canyon, Ubehebe Crater, Scotty's Castle, & Mosaic Canyon

Wednesday upon returning from Vegas we drove out to Tecopa to see some talc mines.  The raw material is crystals that will later be crushed.

 On Thursday we drove towards Vegas to hike Lovell Canyon but the snow was melting fast and the trail was half mud and snow making for a slippery climb - time to turn back to Pahrump.

So instead we went to one of the casinos where we met this "interesting" woman and her husband.  They had a beautiful Prevost RV and the highest teased hair I have ever seen. "Character" is the only word I can find.

Today, Friday, they finally opened Titus Canyon again - snow & rain does not mix with slot canyons, washes, and cliffs.  If you check out the mountain in front you can see the switchbacks up the face that we drove.

Here is a video of our climb to the top Red Pass - http://youtu.be/64wVlt9JI5c
This time I wasn't crying - only breathing heavy.


The picture below is taken from the top of Red Pass. We are about to make a sharp left turn to head down - why is the cliff always on my side of the Jeep?  At least this drive is one-way so we don't have to worry about trying to pass any on-coming traffic.

Inside Titus Canyon is an old mining ghost town - Leadfield.

This is the entrance to Titus Canyon Narrows,

For a video of our drive thru The Narrows - http://youtu.be/r2anXuKKUAE

After Titus we drove to Ubehebe Crater - around 300 years ago there was a massive volcanic explosion caused by the violent release of underground steam pressure. The crater is 600 feet deep and half a mile across. 

Continuing on - Scotty's Castle - Prospector “Death Valley Scotty” claimed this elaborate Spanish-style mansion was built by gold from his fictitious mine. In reality, it was the 1920s vacation home of his wealthy friends.

From there we decided to hike in Mosaic Canyon, a slot canyon with polished marble walls and odd mosaic patterns of breccia. 

Some rock scrambling was required.

On our way out we drove past the sand dunes down by Stovepipe Mills.