Hiking the Red Rocks Canyon, NV

Its not about Vegas, its about the Canyons

Woke up on day 2 of our trip, early, in order to go rent a car. I did the big dreaded dad faux pas, and left the kids under their own charge, as I went to Fox rent a car via cab, which was 5 miles down the strip. I did, however, instruct them on the use of the hotel phone, and they had already figured out the TV remote, so, I felt we were covered.

We got the car, and went to the buffet at the Excalibur. For the sake of convenience, and childhood harmony, I decided it would be beneficial to purchase the all day meal plan. I did instruct the happy kids that they were not allowed to have soft serve ice cream for breakfast, so they looked forward to lunch from that point on.

After breakfast, we loaded up the rental car, which was a mini Jeep SUV, and let my iPhone navigate to a wonderful little destination outside of Las Veags called Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area.

Our first stop was the visitor center, and we learned about the wonderful rock formations, and the wildlife of this diverse natural area. It was so wonderful to have discovered such a beautiful, natural area, just miles after slipping the glitzy bonds of the city of Sin.

The area has a 14 mile car loop with multiple stops to disembark and go exploring. Our first stop was at Calico I, and we made our way into the rock formations for some rock scrambling. I was very impressed with all of the kids willingness, and ability to tackle this hike, and we all enjoyed ourselves amongst giant boulders and rock climbs. At one point, we had to assist another group, whose member had fallen, twisted her ankle, and gotten herself into a jam. It was a lesson to our family to not get into a mountain situation that is beyond your ability level. We spent about an hour at Calico I, and saw lots of lizards, hummingbirds, and a large lizard called a Chuckwalla.

Next, we went to the long hike to the Calico Tanks, which was simply a spring fed pond, which round trip consisted of about 3.3 miles of easy to moderate terrain. It started out mostly flat, but in a short time, we were climbing, and despite, the beautiful views of the desert in bloom, the youngest of our excursion was beginning to tucker out. We did some rest stops, and she finally made it to Calico Tanks, and back to the car.

Our last stop in Red Rocks was at Lost Creek, and we found the seasonal waterfall, but were unable to find the petroglyphs from the ancient Indian civilizations. I was a bit disappointed, however, these kids had had enough hiking for a day.

Back at the Excalibur, Rachel continued to demonstrate her prowess operating the Claw machine, and ended up snatching a whole set of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

I got a quick workout in at the gym, which overlooks the pool. The kids were at the pool, and loving a late afternoon swim, however, taking frequent breaks to check on the disappointing Orlando Magic game 6 of the Eastern finals.