Southern Nevada Majesty

My editors at Wilderness Press have asked me for additional hikes for the soon-to-be updated version of Afoot & Afield Las Vegas (due out in spring 2010. I'm grateful for the excuse to explore additional country in southern Nevada. February was a glorious month for beautiful weather and magical light.

It can be hard to drag a body from bed in time to watch the sunrise, but I find it to be one of the most peaceful and magical times of the day. For about 10 minutes, the sun peaked between the horizon and clouds, painting Red Rocks with glory. Even though this picture isn't a prize-winner, it was so nice to stand there in the early morning silence, the air pregnant with humidity and fat raindrops falling lazily. A true blessing!

Adversity can bring blessings in disquise. I feel for people who can't hike, because vehicle access to Brownstone Canyon, a quiet corner of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area outside of Las Vegas, has been blocked by ever-sprawling Summerlin. However, fit hikers up to the challenge can take the long way--from Gateway Canyon (just east of the Calico Hills and accessible from Calico Basin). The hike is difficult, with waterfalls and labrynthian washes to navigate. But the rewards are amazing, like this cross-bedded sandstone, created when the wind danced across sand dunes in the time of the dinosaurs.

The day was perfect. Dark clouds and raindrops dueled with golden sun to bring out mesmerizing colors and light. The rain pushed away all other sounds and kept the day cool.

Half the beauty is the story behind the scenery, or in this case, the mystery of it all. This is a shot of the Keystone Thrust--600 million-year-old limestone sitting on top of 65 million-year old sandstone. What the heck? How did that happen? Plate tectonics are amazing. And I love the native bunch grasses. Like fireworks, they're such great explosions, brushstrokes of beauty and grace.

Here's my tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Not that anything can improve on nature's beauty, but it was fun to see what Photoshop can do to these sandstone patterns.

There's something Oriental--elegant yet simple--in this manzanita laying against sandstone.

Goblin Knobs, Nye County

Photographers yearn for the Golden Hour, when the oblique sunlight paints rich colors across the land at an angle. Most of the year, the Golden Hour waits within an hour of sunrise and sunset. But in the depths of winter, Golden Hour lasts all day.


Ever on the quest for quality photographs for the Wild Nevada calendar, at least as an excuse to get out and explore Nevada's most beautiful places, Friends of Nevada Wilderness board member, Kurt Kuznicki, and I head out for a few days camping between Christmas and New Years.

Our goal: the glory behind a name I have seen on maps for years, Goblin Knobs in the northern Reveille Range in Nye County. Let's just hope we have enough gear to keep us warm in the Arctic temperatures.

Buddists regard mountains as sacred, because they are home to the gods. In Japan, shrines adorned every mountain peak. Looking at this scene, I can see why they believe so.

Here's Kurt, happy just thinking about the water heating up for coffee.

We don't know how cold it got overnight, but the low in Tonopah, an hour to the west, was -1 F. Here's Beau, my night-time heating pad, enjoying the benefits of a Patagonia puffy vest and some Ruff Wear booties.

No, this isn't sunrise or a nuclear holocaust on the horizon. It's the glow from Las Vegas, 150 miles south. USA Today once called Tonopah the stargazing capital of the country. But here, an hour east of Tonopah's dazzling skyline, where the glow of Vegas was enough to affect this 30-second exposure and challenge Tonopah's reputation.

Turn the camera the other way, however, and the sky

darkens considerably. One amazing thing about this45-second exposure: it picks up stars I couldn't see with the naked eye. Give them some time to soak into the camera's sensor, and they come through.

Welcome to Nevada's Wild Light.

If you can't bring people to the wilderness, then bring the wilderness to the people. One of the best ways to do this is through compelling photography. Part of my job with Friends of Nevada Wilderness is to pursue beautiful images from across Nevada's scattered wildlands. I can't think of a better day in the office.

Sometimes the muses of magic light dance across the land; sometimes they don't. But no matter where I explore, I find adventure and insight.

Find out what Friends of Nevada Wilderness and our volunteers are doing to Keep Nevada Wild! Check out our stewardship blog at wildnevada.blogspot.com