I wasnt able to go and do Icebox Canyon like I anticipated due to a late night Friday. I did not want to do this hike alone however I did want to go hiking so I went back to the Red Rock Recreation area and did First Creek again. This is an easy hike over the open desert and into a canyon oasis with a seasonal waterfall. This being my second time going and I still have not seen the waterfall. Which I do always seem to take alternate trails in hopes of finding more wildlife.

Click here for more details on First Creek

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I would have to agree with my fellow blogger The Everyday Adventurer that seeing wildlife in the wild is how I get my adrenaline rushing, that is one reason why I picked this trail. The first time I was on this trail I got to see an abundance of wildlife, not so much this time around. The burro was interested in me coming closer as I was walking toward him. After a certain distance though I broke away and continued my journey into the desert.

Again I saw rabbits and seeing them play and hop around between the sage brush was thrilling, trying to take a picture was frustrating. I was never able to get a snapshot of the rabbits but was able to pull out one picture of the ground squirrels that was roaming around. They are fast little critters that do not sit still long, so I am proud of the one picture I did get of him.

The temperature has been really nice this past week, with temperatures under 100 and a constant breeze, I don’t realize that I am getting sunburned. I wear sun protection but with my light complexion the sun  has no mercy in this arid climate.

The desert is alive, what you see is the living desert, plants grow by the inch and die by the foot. (sign I saw at Indian Gardens along the Bright Angel Trail) And living in this environment makes me respect the plants that thrive here that much more. Which brings me to remind everyone to remember the Leave No Trace principles. I saddens me every time I see trash along a trail. When you leave trash behind it hurts more than my eyes, so please leave only footsteps and take only memories.

I am still on the lookout for rattlesnakes and scorpions, maybe I will get to see one in the Valley of Fire tonight.

Tags: arid climate, blogger, bright angel trail, canyon oasis, desert plants, easy hike, foot sign, ground squirrels, indian gardens, journey into the desert, light complexion, little critters, living desert, no mercy, open desert, recreation area, rock recreation, sage brush, sun protection, trace principles

Hikers and Bikers…..Please turn around and go back to where you came!

This was a picture taken in Florida….I never saw this sign while I spent my 4 years there, however I never did any hiking in Florida. I guess this would be a good reason on why. The photographer is unknown, I got it in an email from a good friend in Yellowstone.

Looking at the picture made me think of being stuck in awkward moments. We all seem to get there at some point or another, some get there more often than others. Everyone deals with situations differently, me I would turn around…would you continue? ignore the sign and walk the center of road? or would you be a total blonde and continue walking but you do what the sign says?

I guess it would depend on the situation as well. I can think of a few different situtations to where I would chance walking through.  I would hate to walk away with a new pair of boots and a belt so I would stay on the other side of the road.

Adrenaline is something that some of us crave. How far will you go to get that adrenaline rush? I like the natural adrenaline rushes that are caused by unplanned events. The planned adrenaline rush just isnt the same, however still very enjoyable. In my teen-age years I would go cliff diving, 45 feet was the highest I would ever dive from. A bigger adrenaline rush came from scuba diving, in the Tennessee River, with only a foot of vision on a good day. Sitting on the rim of the Grand Canyon looking thousands of feet straight down was more of a death feeling than adrenaline. Wake boarding on Fox Lake in Illinois was excilerating….Seeing bears in Yellowstone gets the butterflies fluttering.

I guess I have always been an adventerous one, I still have to go out and explore, seeing wildlife in the wild, climbing steep cliffs, jumping from rock to rock is some of the ways I get my adrenaline pumping. My question I guess is what gets your adrenaline going? Do you entise the adrenaline? Or would you rather not have adrenaline rushing through your veins?

Today is Friday and I don’t get to do much hiking during the week, but the weekend is upon us and the plans are to hike Icebox Canyon again Saturday morning, volleyball Saturday night, hike in Valley of Fire Sunday. Hopefully we get all that in this weekend. Going out in the city tonight, so how that turns out will determine on Icebox will happen or not.

Tags: adrenaline rush, awkward moments, bears, bikers, boots, butterflies, fox lake, good friend, good reason, grand canyon, hikers, photographer, rim, steep cliffs, teen age, tennessee river, unplanned events, wake boarding, yellowstone

About four and a half hours west by northwest of Las Vegas we drive to go camping just north of Independence, California. We leave at about 3:00 in the morning, watching the sunrise just before entering Death Valley National Park. Wow at what a beautiful place Death Valley is, I never realized….always thought of Death Valley as dead I guess. Now I was driving, and just passing through so I was unable to get any pictures of this beautiful landscape. I will be sure to come back to take photos of this gorgeous place.

Twenty miles north of Independence we arrive at the campsite, and I am floored by the landscape before me. Sitting on a plain with a creek running from the snow melt of the mountain range west of me. While setting up the tent I forget that we are in the desert, this is truly an oasis.

The first thing I think of before leaving for a camping trip is food, maybe its Taurus in me. I made sure we had plenty of food because I was not wanting to get hungry. I am a fruit junky so I brought oranges, bananas, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Not to mention the stuff to make sandwiches with (turkey and PB&J)  and the trail mix with M&M’s to snack on. While in the desert I didn’t want to dehydrate so a few gallons of water and apple juice along with the fruits not only keeps my stomach full, it helps keep me hydrated!

As the sun sets the blue sky slowly turns dark and the moon rises. The moon is full shining bright, bursting through clouds with an illuminating glow. Looking down the valley seeing the stretch of mountains to both my left and right, the clouds stretching from end of the horizon to the next. The moon shows the landscape in a whole new light, the only way I can describe the feeling of this phenomenal view is … Its like sitting on top of the world earth, space, and time doesn’t even exist, I feel like I have crossed into a different realm, seeing the earth being born. In my opinion this is an experience everyone should experience.

The next morning as the sun rises, the sun shines is red rays below the clouds into the mountain chain to my west. This creates a glow that brings landscape alive, as if red glowing eyes looking from some distant universe.

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As the day progresses the sun reminds us that we are in a desert. The temptation of jumping in the creek is intising. I walk in, and only can stay for a few seconds before my feet feel like they are going to freeze off. However I want an adrenaline rush so I fully submerse myself briefly, this cooled me off.

Tags: bananas, beautiful place, blue sky, campsite, cantaloupe, death valley national park, earth space, half hours, independence california, mountain, mountaineering, next morning, oranges, phenomenal view, sitting onapple juice, space and time, time doesn, top of the world, twenty miles, watermelon, world earth

I have been living in Las Vegas for 5 months now and I would have to say Las Vegas is definitely what you make of it.

I visited Las Vegas 10 years ago and said this was a place I would never visit again. Anyone who has been to Las Vegas on cloudy nights know that the sky glows over the city. I was 23 and was riding with a friend, we was approaching the city at night, and could see the sky glowing from afar. The closer we got the more of an evil ora I was feeling. We only was visiting Las Vegas for a couple of days. Spent a few hundred dollars gambling, which that was the fun part.

The purpose for the trip - My roommate that I was living with at the Grand Canyon lived in Las Vegas before and was making the trip to pick up some belongings. As soon as we get to his old residence there is 3 kids in the house, only kids, his old roommate was not home. The kids was acting like huge dope feins and was hassling us as soon as we walked in the door and the whole time we was there for some type of drug. Marijuana was the main thing they was asking for. The first thing I did was ask how old these kids where. The oldest was 13 then there was one that was 11 and the youngest was 8 and all boys. We made our stay brief!

After leaving the residence I discover that those kids was not his ex-roommates kids. in fact the guy that was living there was sleeping with those kids. And this man was about 40 years old. This disgusted me, feeling full of anger was wanting to go back and wait for this man to come home, give him a piece of my mind, or a fist and boot to the face, whichever felt more appropriate. However I was not the driver and our departure from the city is already in progress.

As we get past Hoover Dam darkness approaches and looking back as we drive further away the sky was still cloudy, and the same glow with the evil ora feeling. I said I would never come back here because it is truly “sin city.”

Well here I am 10 years later and the most logical course for me to take was to live here (under the circumstances I am in). Well I got here on New Years Eve 2008, my first day here, seeing 2009 roll in! I have been attacking this city with a positive attitude, every time I see the night skyline of Las Vegas I say to myself “Happy New Years Carl!” I am looking to reinvent myself and experience Las Vegas in an enthusiastic manner. It only took me a month before I was able to find work. Ironically after a month I was able to find a serious relationship. I talk to people that has lived here their whole lives and they tell me I have done more in the short time that I have been here than what they have done their whole life.

But I have discovered Las Vegas is definitely what you make of it. This is a city that really has something to offer to everyone! The common thought of Las Vegas is the casino’s along the strip, I am here to show the world there is so much more than that. The outdoor life with breathtaking views, in any direction from the city there are miles and miles of mountains. So many different athletic clubs, parks, and recreational areas that will please the outdoor enthusiast.

With my reinvention, I am not calling Las Vegas “sin city” but I feel like this is “the city of opportunity!” Everything does come at a price though, whatever your dream may be whether its dancing - there’s dancing school, or if its photography your interested in there’s classes for that as well. There is the gambling, there is nightlife, there is the evil side, but its all in how you perceive the city, and the city will reflect in a different light.

So tonight I give you the sunset before I go camping this weekend.

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Tags: 10 years, 5 months, anger, belongings, city at night, cloudy nights, couple of days, darkness, feins, fist, grand canyon, hoover dam, logical course, marijuana, peice, roommate, sin city, sky glows, those kids, whole time