Nevada, Baby

On Sunday I did the famous drive between L.A. and Vegas to meet my dad who was there for a seminar. It took about 4 1/2 hours and I drove through the Mojave Desert, which I found absolutely beautiful. I can understand why the drive and the desert has been used a metaphor in movies. Apparently, I'm in the minority to find the beauty in the drive because when I mentioned it to some co-workers the reaction I received ranged from "There's so much traffic" (not when I was driving, in the direction I was driving ) to "It's so boring. Nothing but desert and it's hot." It could be a regional thing because I grew up thinking cornfields and soybean fields were boring to look at. Perhaps native Californians would find beauty in the cornfields if they ever bothered to stop in flyover country?...nah.

I met my dad for a Father's Day dinner and then the next day we drove to Hoover Dam. Since time was limited, we opted to skip the dam tour and drive through the Lake Mead National Recreational Area, on the Nevada side. Now, that drive was gorgeous. I wish I were a poet to describe the vistas and the beauty of the desert. Alas, I am not and took pictures instead.

A picture of the hydro-electrical engineering marvel from the Arizona side.

It's desolate, quiet, rugged, stark but beautiful. Because of the way the mountains were formed, the higher the layer, the newer (in geographical terms) it is. The red is from iron deposits.

Ansel Adams I am not. I was all proud of myself for thinking of this angle to try to capture the vistas and to incorporate the surrounding beauty...until I got home and realized this exact same angle is being used in a car commercial. Guess I am not as creative I thought. I hope that you still get a sense of the area, though.

It was too hot to see any wildlife but I did capture this hawk trying to escape the sun. The themometer on my car said it was 108 but it was still bearable since it was a dry heat (A cliche, but it's true!) and no humidity with which to contend. Imagine the warmth you receive when you put your hand under a lamp, it's the same sort of feeling but with more intensity. My grandma would always tell us that when the winter cold would become too much for her all she needed to do was bake her bones and she would feel better. I kept thinking that I was baking my bones.

Other things to note about the drive. There's an exit for a Zzyzx Road. I thought it was an interesting name. (More information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zzyzx%2C_California). I also had to pass through an agricultural inspection point upon my return to California. Nothing special happened, just thought it was interesting.

Oh, and one more thing: The thing about the traffic is true, I just happened to go against traffic both ways.

(And, yes, I did take this picture while going 80!)