Arizona (Northern) 2010
I thought Las Vegas would be a good place to try out my new starlight filter. It gave the car lights an interesting effect!
Chuckwalla's Delight; Bebbia juncea
Boulder City,NV August 21, 2010 I found this plant growing at the Lake Mead visitor center. A Chuckwalla is a large western lizard. I'm not sure if they eat this plant or just how it got its name!
Hoover Dam hats There was quite a collection of hats that had been blown from the heads of visitors to the dam out on the observation deck!
Rattlesnake Weed; Euphorbia albomarginata
Boulder City, NV August 21, 2010 This plant has very tiny flowers.
Another scene of southeastern Nevada mountains
Thick-leaved Ground Cherry Physalis crassifolia Valley Of Fire State Park, Nevada August 21, 2010
I was surprised to see this cap cloud over the mountains as we drove through southeast California on our way to Death Valley.
The road to Dante's Peak in Death Valley had a very stark landscape, but lots of interesting rocks.
Zabriski Point is a very colorful part of Death Valley although it was devoid of plants.
Death Valley is famous for the 20 Mule Teams that pulled the Borax wagons. It must have been brutal working in those mines!
I liked the multiple colors of this alluvial fan at Death Valley. This geological feature happens when rare rains and snowmelt wash rocks from the mountains above.
Route 66 is very popular with motorcycle riders from all over the world. These flags were signed by riders from Poland. We also met riders from Germany, France and Italy. Most people fly into Chicago, rent a bike and ride what is left of Route 66 all the way to San Diego. Until the interstate system was built, Rt. 66 was the main highway across the country. There are just short sections of the original highway left, such as this one in Seligman.
You can't miss seeing Elvis when you are in Las Vegas! Here his "twin" gives a kiss to a bride for whom he had just performed a marriage.
Map of the inner workings of Hoover Dam.
Kenny and Gordon out on the observation deck at Hoover Dam
Flat-topped Buckwheat; Eriogonum fasciculatum
Boulder City, NV August 21, 2010
An unknown flower from Valley of Fire State Park. I have looked in all of my wildflower books and can't find this one.
Cell phone towers in the west are often disguised as trees.
The Death Valley sign was the first of several that we photographed as we traveled.
This was our first taste of the colorful mountains in Deather Valley.
More Zabriski Point colors
is a bone dry plain of jumbled blocks of salt. I'm not sure even the Devil could play a round of golf there.
As we drove out of Death Valley we encountered some wild Hairpin curves like this one.
As we drove along I-40 we stopped along Route 66 in Seligman, AZ. The Roadkill Cafe was a good little restaurant.
Kenny and Kris flew into Las Vegas on Aug. 20, 2010 to begin a 2-week vacation. We met his brother, Gordon there. After a quick visit to the Strip the first night, we made a "mandatory" stop at the famous Las Vegas sign. Photo by Gordon Light
Hoover Dam generators seen on the tour
The new bridge was just 2 months shy of being finished. It will allow drivers to bypass Hoover Dam.
Lake Mead is a beautiful oaisis in the desert.
has interesting formations in the sandstone, this one iss called Elephant Rock.
There was lots of Yucca growing near Las Vegas.
A lava boulder with salt deposits near the entrance of Death Valley.
Desert Milkweed; Asclepias erosa
Death Valley NP, California Aug. 22, 2010
This sign announces that you are at Sea Level in Death Valley. From this point everything is downhill!
Hoover Dam is on the Arizona / Nevada border, Lake Mead has beautiful, clear blue water.
Flagstaff, AZ August 26, 2010 This is a very small-flowered Lupine with sparse flowers.
Beavertail cactus
On Saturday we went to Hoover Dam to do the tour.
We teased that it was "dam hot" at Hoover Dam where the temperature was 110 degrees F on the observation deck.
Southern Nevada's landscape is ruggedly beautiful, but the lack of plants and so much brown was a bit depressing to me.
is very common in the west. It is actually Russian Thistle, it breaks off from the stem when it dries and then blows in the wind.
Another shot of the Nevada landscape as we drove to Death Valley.
There were lots of signs in Death Valley warning of the serious heat. It would be easy to die there if exposed to the high temperatures and low humidity without protection from a vehicle or shade of a building.
Dantes View is one mile above Death Valley on the east side of the park.
The visitor center at Death Valley is at 190 feet below sea level. The thermometer shows the brutal temperature of 112 degrees. It was very windy here. We stopped to eat lunch and a gust blew away the lid to our styrofoam cooler. Believe me, it is NOT fun to have to run and chase something in those temperatures!
is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. This observation point is a popular place for tourists to record their visit! The area gets its name from the salt and mineral-laden water that oozes up from a spring below the deck. The water is pretty and clear, but would be very distasteful, if not lethal, if drunk.
Shosone,CA August 22, 2010 This flower was seen near Death Valley.
Desert Tobacco1