Monday, April 13, 2009

Mt. Charleston, Nevada







Mt. Charleston is approximately 25 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The drive up is breath taking. The mountain has an inn and a ski resort at the top. We dined at the Mt. Charleston Inn for breakfast. We watched hummingbirds feed against the back drop of snow covered mountains from our window seat view along side a toasty fireplace inside the inn. The scenic drives of Nevada are well organized and easy to follow. Here are a few scenes from the mountain. I have a gallery of all our Nevada images at this link: http://www.pbase.com/g_muth/nevada_rocks

Spring Mountain Ranch State Park







Spring Mountain Ranch is about 15 miles out of Las Vegas. A great place for pictures and a picnic. The oasis in the desert was first owned by the Wilson Family and later purchased by a German movie star, Vera Krupp. The property was then bought by Howard Hughes and then made into a state park. The park features 6 natural springs and two lakes. Guides at the park take you on a detailed history of the ranch. Here are a couple of my favorite images from the ranch and surrounding area. Click images to enlarge.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Red Rock Canyon









Red Rock Canyon is approximately 13 miles west of Las Vegas. It is one of my favorite places to go for pictures. This trip we got an extra surprise as the weather was 63 and sunny when we got there. Shortly after entering the park the temperature dropped 25 degrees and the winds gusted up to 50 mph. and it then started snowing. We found ourselves in the middle of a desert snow storm. A bit odd for April in this area. As you can see above there was snow on our rental car. I got plenty of interesting images. The stormy skies provided lots of drama to some colorful images. These are some of my favorites from the trip. You can also click on this link http://www.pbase.com/g_muth/nevada to view our entire trip gallery which will also include images from Spring Mountain Ranch, Mt. Charleston, and the Valley of Fire. Click on images to enlarge.



Thursday, April 9, 2009

Las Vegas









We just returned from a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. What a spectacular time we had. There is something to interest everyone in Vegas. We walked through 22 casinos and probably have 22 more to view. We went to four National Parks, one nature preserve, and one community park. We saw free shows at downtown Las Vegas, Sam's town, Belagio's, Mirage, Venetian, Flamingo, MGM, and Paris Paris. I have posted a few images above of the volcano erupting in front of the Mirage, the Fremont Street Experience light show in the sky, the balloon in front of Paris Paris, and the dancing waters of Belagio's. I will be posting more pictures soon from Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston and the Valley of Fire. Click on images to enlarge.








Sunday, March 29, 2009