Discovering Red Rock Canyon (redrockcanyonlv.org) was a welcome relief. We had never heard of it before, but we're glad we found this little jewel in the Mojave Desert. It is a National Conservation Area run by the Bureau of Land Management and if you're a hiker or rock climber, this would be paradise. We, on the other hand, just took the 13 mile scenic drive with short walks at multiple stops along the way.
The centerpiece of the park is called Calico Hills.
The hills were originally sand dunes that were calcified as minerals leached into the core. The iron elements "rusted" the rock.
This was the extent of our rock climbing!
Other formations created a cone effect.
The foliage in the park was almost non-existent. Was hoping to catch some wild flowers, but everything was very scraggly. But as we were exiting, we came across some really neat things.
Wild burros literally stopped traffic. It wasn't exactly like a "buffalo jam" but it was cool. And they do make that abrassive braying sound you here in old cowboy movies.
Joshua trees were flourishing and we finally got to see them in bloom. They start out looking like an artichoke.
Then blossom into a waxy hyacinth-like flower.
Habitat for Humanity
The press conference to introduce Habitat's first LEED house in Nevada went off very well. Local dignitaries and media in attendance. Rick had worked on the finishing touches to the house and gave explanations of the solar heating system to people who toured the house. I manned the sign-in table and kept the doughnuts stocked.
Finally got around to using a mole spice mix I bought in Tucson. Last night made a Chicken Mole that was fantastic...topped with spiced pumpkin seeds, over rice with "fajita seasoned" squash. Really good.
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