Nevada Photoblog

No pictures of the strip or even the sad rows of slots and video poker machines you can find in just about any convenience store, but I do have some nice shots of the most pleasant surprise of the trip--the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area west of the city.

The Keystone Thrust, which resulted in the older gray igneous rocks of the La Madre Mountains being flung up on top of younger red and white sandstone deposits of the Calico Hills

Turtlehead Peak, above the Calico Hills, from the Calico Tanks trail

The red coloring in the sandstone comes from trace amounts of iron oxide--one part per million is all it takes. This is one of the top rock-climbing locations in the US, with dozens of routes and plenty of bouldering opportunities (and the requisite signs warning of frequent deaths suffered by people who go scrambling without the right gear).

I must confess a thing for quarries, originally sparked by visits to the limestone quarries of southern Indiana. The old sandstone quarry here (1905-1906) was almost as good, in a tiny bite-sized way. Just like in the limestone quarries at the turn of the century, the sandstone was first cut into long slices by a large, self-propelled steam-powered saw. Then spikes were driven closely spaced along crosswise lines into the stone, popping it apart into blocks. This was done in layers, the saw working down in steps.

Layers of cut sandstone

Remnant saw groove on bottom layer of cut stone

Leftover sandstone blocks with spike scars

Come to think of it, other parts of the preserve hit me like old home week as well. My favorite trail is a half-mile stub heading into a white sandstone canyon with a seasonal waterfall coming over the edge of a precipice into a round, roofless cavern. This is apparently the season of only a drip, but the drips thoughtfully froze into pretty icicles on a small tree at the bottom of the fall.


If you gotta go to Vegas, go to Red Rock Canyon.