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Friday, April 14, 2023

Redstone, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV, March 26, 2023

This was a nice walkabout, from March 26, 2023. I've been here before, at least twice in daylight, and twice after dark.

It's adjacent to Northshore Road, NV-167, and there's a fairly large parking area and vault toilet nearby.

In this case, I parked about 1/2 mile west of the parking area. I wanted to explore a slightly different part of Redstone from on previous visits. Lots of photogenic sandstone here, too. I also continued south, heading up a ravine and out of Redstone, eventually achieving the edge of the watershed.

Took some video from the edge, but it didn't loaded right. May try uploading again, later.

Slightly disappointed to discover achieving the ridge did not give me a clear view of the Lake, to my south. Still many intervening rises. But the Lake to my northeast was blue and beautiful.

Meanwhile, from Redstone, staying low and heading further to the southwest were more red sandstone protrusions, so more places to explore on future visits. This is all the same "Aztec sandstone" that you have at nearby "Bowl of Fire" and "Valley of Fire," as well as Red Rock Canyon NCA and "Little Finland." No shortage of places to explore this formation. Still haven't been to Little Finland, and, with the weather suddenly turning to summer-like in southern Nevada, probably not heading there until at least the fall.

The nice thing about visiting less-visited areas is that the sandstone is less worn. Fewer feet to tromp down on the fine ridges that protrude from the surface. Of course, I try to minimnize my impact, and there are a lot of places I don't even try climbing. But I did detour and scramble for a lot of the arches I found.

I can't remember if I noted a website I found with geo-referenced arches, all over the area. The problem (not really a problem) is that there are so many arches that, at some point (in my case, a while ago!) you get more enjoyment out of just wandering and finding the arches yourself.

As the weather warms, my hiking may need to rise to higher altitudes. But, of course, there may still be some cooler weekends when I'm able to hike. If so, might yet do some more daytime hikes in the area. I also want to do some more night time hikes in the area, to aim for some nice skyscapes.

On a semi-related note, my America the Beautiful pass expired at the end of March. I'm likely heading to Joshua Tree this Saturday. Not sure if I'll buy a new pass this weekend, or wait until next month. If the latter, I'd have to do my daylight hiking outside of the park (maybe Whitewate Preserve, which I haven't been to in a while). Because this next trip is mainly for some night sky viewing, I don't necessarily have to do that inside the park. If Sky's the Limit were open, I'd probably do my viewing there. But pretty sure they won't be officially open on Saturday night. I mean, you can set up there, but without the vault toilets, it's much less convenient for night time use.

Since I know I'm going to be buying an annual pass soon anyway, waiting a month doesn't have much effect. I'll have to buy one some time this year, then one the year after that, then the year after that. Then (assuming they still exist and I'm still able to travel, of course) I'll be eligible for a lifetime Golden Age Passport.

Obviously, in the big scheme of things, spending $80 a year for unlimited federal land entry fees is still a bargain, and not that big a deal. But paying $80 (or what ever the price is when I get there) for life is even better, assuming I live long enough to be able to enjoy it.

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