When we have visitors like Z’s Grandma Mitzi, we like to take them out to Red Rock to show them that Vegas isn’t just a bunch of casinos and clubs. That there are actually awesome things to do outdoors. When your in Red Rock you forget your in Vegas even though it’s literally just a few minutes outside of town.
We invited our good friend Fred to meet up with us and we were super glad we did. He has been on every trail on the map and led us to a trail we had never heard of and would probably never would have without him bringing it to our attention. It was called Pine Creek Canyon and it was AWESOME. We were going to hit the kids discovery trail but Fred said it was flat and boring and that this other trail was his absolute favorite because it had lots of different things to experience. Mountains, river, pine trees, big boulders, you name it.
Walking into the canyon I yelled out something that I forget now but wow, the echo was amazing. Like six repeats/echos. Entering the canyon and looking up Fred saw some rock climbers hanging on the sheer cliff near the top of the mountain. I yelled up “Hello” wondering if the light blue specs on the mountainside were actually people to which they replied with a “Hello” back, so cool.
Juniper trees where everywhere.
This rock has a face.
This balancing boulder was the final destination, the last leg of our journey. We entailed a little bit of actual rock climbing to get to it where it sits on a ledge overlooking the the whole trail from about 100 feet up. The spot is very peaceful and serene but there was no time to hangout long as it was getting colder, darker and we had to hike all the way back right. On that way back I found a rock that looked like an owls head so I stacked it on another rock along the trail giving her a body. I have to say Z did an amazing job making this 3 mile hike with an easy-moderate rating. Here’s how the Red Rock web site describes Pine Creek Canyon. “Pine Creek Canyon offers some of the best of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area–beautiful and diverse plant communities nestled at the bottom of monolithic canyon walls. The ponderosa pine forest at the mouth of the canyon is a remnant from the last Ice Age, but it survives here thanks to the cool air and water flowing down Pine Creek Canyon..”