Seven Magic Mountains, Jean/Sloan, Nevada

When I first saw the "Seven Magic Mountains" signs along I-15, with their (what I call) "recreational brown" background, I thought that perhaps a new hiking area had been developed. Only later, I discovered that the neon-colored rocks were the mountains, and the "hike" would be a few hundred yards off the freeway. It's east of I-15, about five miles north of the Jean exit, and seven miles south of the Sloan exit.

This bit of "public art" has been standing since May 2016. Originally intended to be displayed for two years, its stay has been extended through the end of 2018, and may stay longer.

I'm actually not a fan of rock standing, in general. In fact, I think it absolutely detracts from the sense of place when people feel compelled to leave evidence of their passing, in the form of a pile of rocks. I kind of hate what has happened at Burbank Peak, for example.

But I suppose if you're going to do a bright, random pile of rocks, sure, why not? It's a big desert, and if I want to ignore them, I can drive on by, looking the other way.

However, as I drive I-15 on the way to or through Las Vegas quite frequently, and occasionally do use the casino in Jean as a bathroom break, I suppose it was inevitable that I would eventually actually stop here.

On this Friday, I had gotten a reasonably early start, so traffic wasn't an issue. Also, the winds were whipping, so folks weren't staying too long. Well, sure, you still have plenty of people trying to get selfie and expressive poses in front of the rocks, but it wasn't obnoxiously crowded, as I had seen, in the past.

I have to admit, once I was standing there, yeah, the colorful rocks were kind of cool. And if I was so inclined, maybe a skyscape shot from there might look interesting (although the website says no tripods are allowed onsite, so that wouldn't be possible, anyway). As it was, I just snapped some cell phone shots, stretched my lets for about fifteen minutes, then continued on my way.

Anyway, I'm several hiking events behind in my posts, so I figured I'd get this one up, today. More to follow soon, hopefully!