As
I was out hiking Sunday morning, 2019-04-28, gathering information on another hike some
movement caught my eye. I wondered over and it was a lizard. Not just
any lizard mind you, this sucker was at least 18 inches long,
head-to-tail. I've seen plenty of lizards in my time, but I have never
seen one this large.
As you can see it's not a Gila Monster. This is a bona-fide giant lizard. It would be interesting to know if the rings on the tail could indicate its age.
Happy Hiking
If
you haven't gone, Gold Strike Hot Springs is one of the great ones here
in Southern Nevada. Go and check it out. There are five to six rope
descents and ascents and should not be done by young children who are
not capable.
The
pic above shows the wash outlet to the Colorado River. There are many
natural hot spring and pools on the way down the trail.
Be
very careful on this trail. This hike should be noted as a Class 3+
because there are some large boulder maneuvers and necessary rope
climbs.
I
would recommend bringing a good pair of gloves. You will need to make
some strong hand-grabs on the rocks, but they really help when you're
using the ropes.
There are several very dangerous spots on the way down, care should be taken.
This is not a hike to take your pets.
Leave early in the morning as parking fills fast.
Currently
the spring water has a large outflow because of all the rain. I've
hiked these and other areas around here for over thirty years and have
never seen this much water from the springs.
Use discretion if bringing young children, there are often nude bathers in the pools.
The pic above shows one of many seeps coming from the rock walls.
Most of the water is a very pleasant approximate 99 to 100 degrees F.
It's not very clear in this photo, but there's a large amount of water falling to the ground from the rock-face.
Have a great time on your hike.
Watch
out soon for our Hiking Guides at all the major book sellers. We are
publishing many of the hikes we've done in Nevada, California, Arizona,
Utah, and Wyoming over the last thirty years. The hikes include pictures
and complete GPS way-points and trails.
It's
taking some time because we're once again retracing many of our
previously best hikes with our new GPS trail equipment and cameras.
Look for "Petersons Hiking Guides" available within the next couple months. They will be available as eGuides.
Don't confuse this title with the current Peterson books for sale, they're not us.
Thanks for looking.
At the Spring Mountain Ranch in Las Vegas yesterday. It's always a great place to visit when the clouds are working their way over the mountains, the combination of light, clouds, and the mountains themselves always leave a great look.
When I'm blogging about the spots I visit, all the photos are from my cell phone, so they're not as dramatic as the ones from my DSLR. However, it's enjoyable to provide a little more detail about the places I visit here rather than on my Instagram @TheEyeSeesWhatTheMindBelieves.
If you have the opportunity to visit these parts, be sure you make the drive to the Visitor Center as well, the mountains along the way are very scenic, the hiking trails are not what you'd think, and the rocks at Red Rock are stunning.
Thanks for visiting.
Bryce Canyon National Park, in Utah, is an incredible spectacle. If you've never visited I highly recommend it. Walking through the trails at the bottom of the canyon is even better. Going to each stop of the Rim is great when overlooking, but there's a completely new perspective when you're at the bottom looking up.
Here are a number of pictures from a recent visit to Bryce Canyon, enjoy.
When the clouds are low in the sky they often look more unique because of their intersecting and overlapping shapes. Some think of cloud pictures as every-day not-so-interesting features, but when you think about the fact they're water vapor, and the vapor is visible and floating above us providing unique and interesting visuals, we should post them.
Like them or not, here are a few snapped from my phone the other day. Nature certainly has a unique way of dancing visuals for us.
In the vastness of space, of which we are one of the smallest parts, there exists more 'other' worlds, planets, stars, and stuff of which we can't even begin to comprehend or understand. Note the following couple of pictures, which are actual photos staring into space, which show so many stars and planets it's difficult to truly comprehend. And these photos are of our solar system, not of any of the infinite number of others out there.
This first photo may look familiar, it peers to the center of the Milky Way.
This next photo looks to approximately 30 degrees above the horizon at a large cluster of stars in the Milky Way, not the center. It's rather unbelievable how many stars are visible when you leave the shutter open for many minutes at a time.
The term "monkeying around" desn't seem to apply to this fellow. Great shot of an ape who seems to be happy hanging back relaxing, in fact it would appear he's taking an afternoon siesta. It's a shame we still keep these great animals in captivity.
