Black Velvet Canyon Entrance Black Velvet Canyon and Epinephrine climbing wall on Left  Mike's Rock Starting into Cottonwood Valley from Late Night TH I enjoy the months of March and April every year for a lot of reasons. One of those is that there are so many spring break rock climbers on the walls that it is almost constant entertainment! Some of the best walls for observation are in Black Velvet Canyon. World class stuff, people! Five of us parked at Late Night Trailhead and started out to the east around the hill behind the parking lot. Continuin ..read more

Pink Goblins? About 180 degree view at the Point Turtlehead Peak from Pink Goblin Pass Road Runner We heard a cry, kind of like a small puppy, as we walked along the Calico Basin Trail. Coyote pups? Lost puppy? Nope. We think it was a road runner! Are we wrong? A hiker looked over to the right down from the Calico Hills base and saw the magnificent but ferocious bird sitting on a rock. When we stopped to look, the cry ceased. We took the photo and continued around Cannibal's Crag to the slabby part of the sandstone. There were only a handful of rock climb ..read more

Calico Hills and La Madre Mountains from Moenkopi bike Trails Moenkopi Arch Wash below Moenkopi Arch Heading over to Moenkopi Arch The Moenkopi Formation is a geological formation that is spread across the southwestern United States including Nevada. It consists of thinly bedded sandstone, mudstone, and shale, with some limestone in the Capitol Reef area. It has a deep red color and tends to form slopes and benches. Generally, the layer was deposited by sluggish rivers traversing a flat, featureless coastal plain to the sea. Its low relief mean ..read more

View up to the Keystone Thrust Fault Area White Rock Wash Keystone Canyon Wash to Cactus Hill to La Madre Mountain Range Will someone get this girl some clippers! There were eleven club members who arrived at the lower White Mountain Road Trailhead near mile marker 6 of the Red Rock Canyon NCA Scenic Loop Drive. It was an experienced and fun group but most had never climbed up through Keystone Canyon as the "normal" way is to descend. We started down the Grand Loop Trail across the scenic loop and dropped down to the junction with the Keystone Canyon Wash ..read more

Lava Butte from Rainbow Gardens Crest Trail Rainbow Gardens Canyon Old Buffet Boys Cairn Just us girls in the Wide Wash There were three of us on a slightly breezy morning at mile marker 2 of Northshore Road, the Rainbow Gardens Trailhead for hiking. This is yet another beautifully colorful area that is easily reached with a small hike. The pink elephant in the room, of course, is the 2871' Lava Butte. That doesn't sound like much, however, the cone shaped butte's surrounding elevation at the base is only 1400'. This difference of 1469' is remarkably daun ..read more

Inside the Redstone Slot View from Jean's Saddle Jean's Canyon Redstone Newly engaged John and Deborah Nestled between the Bitter Spring Valley (named for the bitter taste of springs in this area) and the Hamblin Bay Fault just north of Lake Mead and the Black Mountains, is a place called Redstone. Redstone lies on the south side of Northshore Road between MM 25.5 and MM27.5. It is an area that is filled with Aztec Sandstone and, subsequently, many petroglyphs from ancient native occupants ... if you can find them. There is a picnic area and res ..read more

Charleston Peak South Ridge of Charleston Peak Twilight Ridge Burro in Kyle Canyon As Rita and I started out from the Twilight Trailhead on Kyle Canyon Road, this beautiful burro brayed at us from across the canyon. Obviously, he was greeting us from loneliness as there was no other sole around. Why? Idk. The scene from the trailhead was absolutely gorgeous! The snow layered down to around 8000'. We were at the 5000' vicinity. Most remarkable was the deep snow covering the Wilson Ridge. This is the ridge reaching from the La Madre Range over to Harris Pe ..read more

Spring Mountains and Northshore Road from Jean's Peak Redstone from Jean's Peak Jean's Canyon near its Saddle Mother and Baby Bighorns (look close!) Four club hikers drove out to Northshore Road MM 25 (Call Box TH) for a short but challenging hike up to Jean's Peak and its high point. As we were climbing up the bottom of the approach canyon, we saw a mother bighorn and her kid coming down from the ridge on the right, cross over the canyon we were climbing and climb up the ridge on the left. They posed a couple of times on the cliffs above. We had to look ..read more

Moenkopi Arch from Trail Red Rock Canyon  Las Vegas Strip on Super Bowl #58 morning 2024 (Dueling Pyramids) Joshua Tree For the high-energy, high-anxiety, high anticipation Super Bowl 58 day, Mike and I went out to the quiet unassuming Moenkopi Trailhead in Red Rock Canyon NCA. It was the perfectly planned calm before the storm. Yes, Super Bowl 58 was being held at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada! The Las Vegas Strip was teeming with helicopters and celebrities. The Strip, itself, was filling with onlookers. Yet, Mike and I had a nice rela ..read more

Group of thirteen in front of the Elephant Arch of the South Bowl of Fire Tafoni rock (aka lace rock) in the South Bowl Approach to South Bowl of Fire Trail to South Bowl of Fire The weather gave us a break and thirteen hikers came out for a relaxing hike in the South Bowl of Fire. This version of the hike has some scrambling that is optional. We parked at Northshore Road MM 18 and found the trail that leads out to the right end of a nearby rocky ridge. The trail leads around the ridge and across the wide wash that includes Callville Wash Road. The marked ..read more