Day 4: Pahrump to Henderson, AZ - 278 miles
Blasted south down Hwy 160 (newly paved, smooth as a baby's butt, straight as an arrow), heading for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. This is a marvelously colorful striated mountain range - very popular with the hikers and cyclists from nearby Las Vegas.
Wandered around the western part of Las Vegas (nice place, gobs of people and houses) and then headed to old downtown.
The Stratosphere is 1,149 feet tall. There is a restaurant and rides at the top. Been to Vegas many times, just haven't gotten up there yet. Next time.
Headed over to the Strip. Very crowded on a Saturday at noon. Insane traffic. Never got out of the car. Didn't take any pictures. How I yearned to be far away from there.
Next up is Valley of Fire State Park. I had never heard of it until I saw it featured on a celebrity car show ride along - maybe Jay Leno's Garage. I had to go. It's only about 50 miles NE of Las Vegas and we drove thru the grounds of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway enroute. Lots of gasoline and testosterone running around there today. Maybe some drag racing. Tons of Corvettes and other muscle cars.
The park is striking, in that everything surrounding it is brownish, then all of a sudden all the rocks are orange/red for thousands of acres. Very colorful.
The Beehive viewpoint
A nice 7 mile out and back drive off the main road at the visitor center gets you through most of the park and sites. Well worth it.
A short hike will take you to some petroglyphs. Some are thought to be up to 3,000 years old.
Really pretty landscapes - good color
The end of the road brings you to the White Dome
The road back
The road out
Heading east out of the park toward Lake Mead
The road joins Hwy 167 south and its about 50 spectacular miles of a flawless 2 lane through the desert and mountains. A couple of limos and a wedding party were out here taking their pictures at the Redstone Dune Trailhead. Not a bad spot.
Thought we'd hit up one last stop today - the Tillman Memorial Bridge overlooking Hoover Dam. The timing is right. The sun is perfect.
After parking, you hike up a couple long flights of stairs and then out on to a walkway that spans the length of the bridge overlooking the dam. You are now 886 feet above the Colorado River. Just spectacular. But noisy - the cars and trucks are whizzing by at 80 mph right behind you.
Checked in to the hotel in Henderson and then ran out to the Westin on Lake Las Vegas for dinner. Another awesome day.
