Travel Recap #12: Vegas Lights & Desert Nights

 

If you’ve never made the drive from St. George, Utah toward Las Vegas, Nevada, you’re missing out. That tiny northwest corner of Arizona clipped by I-15 is amazingly gorgeous and totally unexpected. It’s several miles of winding freeway through jutting, rocky hills that are enormous and cool. I can’t put it into words. Just go see for yourself!

Our first stop in Nevada was on BLM land near some ATV trails outside of Logandale. We arrived late after a long drive and it was already dark, but there were a couple other campers that helped us find a mostly level spot. We became quick friends with the fun couple and friendly family that were there and had many laughs around the campfire that weekend. We climbed and explored the nearby rocky hills, enjoyed way too many s’mores, and even discovered our first tarantula near the bathrooms. A man setting up a tent came over and picked him up- yikes!! 

It was just a short drive to Valley of Fire State Park, so we decided to check it out that Saturday afternoon. Our new friends let us know that they were putting on a moonlight hike early that evening since it was a Full Hunter’s Moon, so we planned to stay for that as well (what a neat surprise!) The kids enjoyed hiking around Mouse’s Tank trail and finding the various petroglyphs on the rock faces, then we drove around admiring the striped red and white sandstone/limestone rock formations and ended at Atlatl Rock with more ancient drawings high up in the cleft of a rock. We watched the full moon rise, then made our way back to the Rainbow Vista trail to start our moonlight hike. The trail was a mile long through mostly soft sand and dimly lit by red tea lights, ending in a wide, rugged, rocky opening with the moon in full view. It was a really fun and unique experience for the whole family!!

Our next stay on the itinerary was at a shooting complex just north of Las Vegas. It was our “home base” from which to tour the city. We drove up and down the strip and admired the lights and famous buildings, although some of them were partially obscured (like the Bellagio fountain!) by the setup for the upcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix. I bet that was a cool race to see, but we were there a couple weeks early and if you know us- we don’t stick around anywhere for a couple weeks ;) 

It was Halloween, so we joined a trunk-or-treat for funsies, although matching costume sunglasses were our only accessory this year (we usually go all-out with homemade, themed family costumes, but decided to take the year off). On actual Halloween day, we took in the sights of well-known Hoover Dam and imagined ourselves in one of the many movies filmed there. The sheer size of it, along with the nearby Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, just boggles the mind. 

We made our way into California next, into Sawtooth Canyon Campground (BLM Land) south of Barstow. It was another super-cool spot surrounded by - you guessed it - large, craggy rocks and rocky hills. It was a rock-climber’s paradise, and we met an apparently “famous” climber during our stay. I remember looking out the window one day and seeing all 4 kids totally rapt by the climber and his partner, who were teaching them climbing safety skills while demonstrating various climbs. Yet another unplanned lesson that made for a very successful day in the life of a homeschooler, thank you! We, too, eventually climbed the rocks (in a more roundabout way) and reached the top with the kids. They also played a bunch on the dinosaur-themed play area, where a 6-year old boy named Jaden joined in. He looked a lot like my oldest son, and hilariously, Taren came up to me later saying “I thought I was looking at myself!” The kids were instant friends and nearly inseparable for the next few days we were there. 

Before we left, I took the kids on a hike around the scrub-lined trails. While we were up on a hill, we noticed we were being followed. As we made our way back down, the "spy" continued to move away at the same pace. He was a wild-haired little boy wearing nothing but a pair of cutoff jean shorts; our very own Mowgli. We never did catch up to him or learn his real name. What a funny adventure that turned out to be! 

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Dear God, thank you for the many adventures and experiences we get to have on tour of this beautiful country. Thank you that we get to spend so much time together as a family. Thank you that we get to meet interesting people and see amazing sites along the way. Thank you for the countless shared memories, and for watching over us every day. We are so amazed by You!