Twenty Mule Team Canyon | Death Valley National Park, California
Twenty Mule Team Canyon is the original late 19th century bad lands route for the famous Twenty Mule Team wagons that hauled borax ore from the Harmony Borax Works in Furnace Creek out of Death Valley, 165 miles away to Mojave, California. Today you can drive through Twenty Mule Team Canyon on a good unpaved road to see the same surroundings the original Twenty Mule Team Canyon wagon drivers viewed. You will also see signs of historic borax prospecting in the canyon. Approx. 4 Miles Loop; 500ft Elevation Gain **Unpaved and Paved Roads** Click image or title above for more…
McCullough Hills | North Sloan Canyon, Nevada
The 14,763 acre North McCullough Wilderness in The Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area contains a network of hiking and biking trails weaving through lava flows, glassy zones and ash falls. The main trail is 8 miles long and begins at the McCullough Hills Trailhead. There are a number of off-shoot trails. If you can see a high point, there is probably a trail leading to it. After a high point at 3,125ft the Las Vegas Valley appears with a backdrop of Mt. Potosi, the Rainbow Mountains on the far side of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, the Mt. Charleston Wilderness and the Las Vegas Strip as you descend the last 3 miles to the city of Anthem. Route details: 25 miles **Paved and Unpaved Roads on Loop** Click image or title above for more…
Petroglyph Canyon | Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
With over 300 rock art panels containing 1,700 design elements, Petroglyph Canyon is the showcase of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. The main area of the Petroglyph Gallery begins after ascending 3 dry waterfalls on the Petroglyph Trail just beyond the lower connection with the Cowboy Trail. Curiously, there is a petroglyph that seems to show the figure of a person who fell. It is a pretty huge dry waterfall there and you could easily fall! 6 mi RT; **Canyon Wash Trail** Click image or title above for more…
Las Vegas Northern Growth Edge 2021
Las Vegas is one of the most rapidly growing population areas in the U.S. as of January, 2021. Clark county was rated as the 2nd of the top 10 U.S. counties in numeric growth (2017-2018) according to Census.gov and our rate of growth has only increased. View this video snapshot in time of the Northern growth edge of Las Vegas in 2021.
Smart Car Bike Rack Test | Sheep Range, Nevada
There’s no way that the tiny Smart Car can handle the 170-mile unpaved 4WD road system of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Nevada. However, a mountain bike can. Fortunately there’s a cool compact bike rack system made especially for a Smart Car. The entire bike rack fits in a small one-gallon size nylon bag to store easily in the cargo section of the Smart Car. And it only takes about 5-7 minutes to assemble and dis-assemble the bike rack system including the time taken to mount the bike on the system. Click image or title above for more…
Fossil Ridge North | Sheep Range, Nevada
The Northern side of Fossil Ridge is a pretty amazing place. There are fossils embedded in the rocks all along the base of the ridge. These can be seen even without climbing the ridge, especially in the darker rocks beginning in Yucca Gap which skirts the North side of Fossil Ridge. The fossils only get more varied and abundant as you select a spot along Fossil Ridge, ascend and wander around. The scene expands into an upper valley with the largest Joshua Tree forest I’ve ever seen (officially the “Yucca Forest”), extending beyond the Southern tip of the Sheep Range on one side and along the Northern side of Fossil Ridge on the other. Route Details: 12 Miles RT from DNWR HQ **4WD Road** Click image or title above for more…
Fossil Ridge End to End | Sheep Range | Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada
The summit of Fossil Ridge is like a scene from The Land That Time Forgot. I don’t think many humans walk the summit of Fossil Ridge…I saw absolutely no sign of human passage…no rock cairns, no camp fires, no foot prints…nothing. Yet, the summit is around a half mile in length and at least 200ft wide. It’s a total, unique world up there with its own Joshua Trees and other vegetation along with some sparse but obvious fossils embedded in the darker rocks. Either the ancient seas here were 2000-4000ft deep or the seas were more shallow and the land has risen. Probably a little of both. I felt like the only human to have ever stood on that place. Route details: Approx. 15 Miles (RT from DNWR HQ); Some Road, Some Wilderness, Cl 3 Climb Click image or title above for more…
Cow Camp Road | Sheep Range | Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada
Cow Camp Road is a branch off of Alamo Road (at the 12-mile point) in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Nevada. On the Northern tip of the Sheep Range the 5.7-mile long Cow Camp Road provides a great approach to the Sheep Peak trailhead, Sheep Peak being the 2nd highest point in the Sheep Range at 9750ft. The trailhead elevation is about 5,750ft. In addition there are camping areas in and beyond the canyon pass on Cow Camp Road and beautiful views of the Northern area of the Sheep Range. I took the trip up Alamo Road on a mountain bike, then ascended Cow Camp Road on foot so there are ample 360-degree video views along the way. Route details: 28 Miles RT from DNWR HQ – 4WD Roads Click image or title above for more…
Lower Mormon Well Road, Sheep Range, Nevada
Travel the lower 15-mile stretch of Mormon Well Road from the Desert National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Corn Creek Road to the intersection of Mormon Well Road and Pine Nut Road by mountain bike. Points of interest are the intersection of Gass Peak Road at the 4-mile point; Yucca Gap between the Southern tip of the Sheep Range and Fossil Ridge at the 5-mile point; and the incredibly massive Yucca Tree Forest spanning the entire Sheep Range valley beyond Yucca Gap. Route details: 30 Miles RT; **4WD Road** Click image or title above for more…
Lower Alamo Road | Sheep Range | Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada
Travel from the Desert National Wildlife Refuge headquarters to the intersection of Alamo Road and Cow Camp Road. This 12-mile stretch skirts the entire West side of the Sheep Range from South to North, and then begins to circle around the Northern tip of the Sheep Range to access trailheads to Sheep Peak and Hayford Peak. The stretch along lower Alamo Road offers awesome views of the entire West and Northwest side of the Sheep Range, Gass Peak, the La Madre Mountains Wilderness and the Mt. Charleston Wilderness including especially Mummy Mountain, Fletcher Peak and Griffith Peak. Otherwise, it’s a pretty barren, windswept stretch of desert. The unpaved 4WD road is pretty firm for a mountain bike but does have a few stretches of deeper gravel and many washboard sections which can scramble the brain on the downhill return! Route details: 24 Miles RT – **4WD Road**. Click image or title above for more…