Vegas Wildlife

When people think of LasVegas they think of casinos, neon lights, showgirls and wedding chapels.

These are my least favorite things about the area. 

I prefer the animals and beautiful plants that I don't get to see in Pennsylvania. 

We recently returned home from a trip out west to visit my 81 year old grandmother. It was Zoe's first time in a plane and we had quite an adventure... Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, Mount Charleston and more!

We saw wild burros around Red Rock Canyon,

and mustangs around Cold Creek.

A desert rabbit in Valley of Fire (and a quail family too but they were too quick for me). 

Hummingbirds in my grandmother's back yard. The purple one is a black chinned hummingbird.

A spiny lizard with a beautiful blue belly. 

Red dragonfly in Bonnie Springs. 

In Boulder City they have a flock of desert bighorn sheep in Hemenway Park.

I was waiting for the young ones to jump on the playground equipment. 

Nothing like sharing adventures with your child!

(even if the desert was 100 degrees!)

Leaving Las Vegas

The true beauty of the Vegas area lies outside the Strip. We took several day trips, the first one was to Red Rock Canyon. I had never been there this time of year and there was a lot of green. Beautiful!

I see a lot of faces in these rocks, do you?

This rock climber was far away. I would never do this, not in a million years.

I did make my mom climb up into a hole in the red rock.

Close by Bonnie Springs Ranch has an old timey town to explore and a small zoo.

Looks like it was built in the 1870's but was really built in the 1970's for tourists. Probably more fun for kids than adults. They had a staged 'neck tie party' as my grandfather used to call it.

Found a tree full of chickens and roosters.

Who wouldn't want one of these?

Cowboy alarm clock?

Beautiful lynx. I believe they are native to the area.



This strange critter is a Patagonian Mara. Looks like an alien to me!



A trip to Mount Charleston was next.

So beautiful and still a lot of snow on the ground.

Cars were pulling over to let their kids get out and roll in it. Very funny!

The houses and cabins nestled in the mountains were really neat.

Our third outing was to Lake Mead. We were lucky enough to get to go out on a houseboat.

 A great view of the Hoover Dam that most people don't see.

 After 9/11 you can't get up close.

 Loads of carp around the marina. People come to feed them popcorn.

Ducks on top of the fish even.

Pretty redhead duck I've never seen this type before.

View from a top Hoover Dam.

Back to Las Vegas, my Grandmother's husband had to show us the new Lou Ruvo Brain Institute.

It's not every day that one gets to see a Frank Gehry building! It looks like something from Dr. Suess.

The sunset from my grandmother's back yard.

On a separate note, I have finally reached 500 blog followers!

To celebrate I will be having a giveaway soon. More details to come.