Photo Essay from Las Vegas, Part Two

In Part One of this post I told about the early part of our trip to Las Vegas and highlighted Red Rocks Canyon and some of the golf we played.  In Part Two I continue the photo essay in the Valley of Fire and some golf at the end of our trip.  Part One left off with us in Mouse's Tank Canyon (or Petroglyph Canyon, as it is known); Part Two takes up the story from the middle of that hike:

Anne hiking along the Mouse's Tank trail. It's toward the end of the trail and the canyon walls are getting tighter.

Rock formations on Mouse's Tank trail are interesting even without petroglyphs.

Petroglyphs range from animal and human figures to symbolic representation of Native American life.  Most of these petroglyphs are attributed to the Anasazi (Navajo for "ancient people") of 500-1350 AD.

This picture and the next show the diversity of rock formation found in the Mouse's Tank area.

After Mouse's Tank Trail we continued through the park on the scenic highway that travels through an area called Fire Canyon.

Anne as we head onto the trail at the White Domes. 

There is sparse vegetation throughout the Valley;  these Yucca (I think) were a notable exception.

The White domes are spectacular sandstone formations that rise above the trail.

The area around Fire Canyon and White Domes has been featured in several movies, including 1966's The Professionals. In fact, as we were driving toward White Domes we were stopped by Nevada state police who were restricting several miles of  the road to one-way traffic because of a movie or TV shoot--we couldn't recognize anybody famous as we drove by.

After White Domes we came back to the park visitor center--a small museum and gift shop.

Balance Rock is only a couple hundred yards from the park HQ.

This local didn't have much to say, but it was cute.

One of the most impressive areas of the park is Atlatl Rock, an area filled with petroglyphs. 

As I climbed the stairs up to the highest viewing platform a man was coming down visibly shaken. As he paused on a landing he said, "I just hate heights!"

The upper human figure is using an atlatl, a device used for launching a spear. The figure gives the rock its name.

The richness of the rock are its areas of petroglyphs, some of the best to be found in the region.

This series of glyphs prove that Native American invented basketball.

As I hiked around the rock, I got a good view of this nice example of Native newspaper.

All the way around Atlatl Rock there were examples of a nice variety of petroglyphs.

When I finished my tour around the rock, Anne was waiting for me in the picnic area.

Our last two golf rounds were at Wildhorse GC in Henderson and Boulder City GC in -- yes, Mr. Obvious.

Casinos restrict photography, but it was fairly easy to get this shot as we waited in the airport for our flight home.

Finally, our approach into Portland.

The trip to Las Vegas had been a fun (if not profitable) trip.  We played some nice golf courses, and they were dry. We didn't eat at any fancy places, but our dinners out were always good, and our dinners in were fairly good as well, the two of us together can cook up decent meals. Our excursions to the desert areas were exactly what we expected and the photos will show well. As we landed back in Portland we both agreed that a trip to Las Vegas is worth an annual place on our itinerary.

CRASS COMMERCIAL NOTE: My newest book of travel stories, Sixteen Years of Travel in Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales, is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.uk. And my first two books of travel stories will soon no longer be available.

NEXT: Another visit to dry country--Phoenix and Tucson, for more desert photography, more petroglyphs, and a visit to the Kitt Peak Observatories (including a night class in astronomy).