Driving Through Red Rock Canyon

I live about 10 minutes from Red Rock Canyon and have been kind of curious to look at it closer. See, I’m a city guy. I don’t like nature. I don’t like bugs. I don’t like snakes (literally or figuratively). You get the picture. Going hiking on a bunch of big pretty rocks is not my thing. Red Rock Canyon may be pretty, but I can drive to one of the three Dunkin Donuts in Vegas and look at the pretty Red Rock from afar.

Because I live so close to Red Rock Canyon, I’ve been curious to see what goes on there. I knew it was there before moving, but truthfully I didn’t care. I was a strip guy on vacations. On my first trip into Red Rock Canyon, I got two miles into the nothingness and turned around. It was almost dusk and I didn’t know what was ahead of me. This time I prepared. Some, including me, would say I over-prepared. I’m neurotic, that’s how it goes down.

I filled my gas tank yesterday. Ya know, don’t want to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. I decided that I should go in the morning since temps were expected to hit 100 today. I selected my only white shirt in case I got stuck. I didn’t want to have a dark colored shirt on if I ended up sitting in the sun. I packed a banana and 2 liters of water for the same reason.

I was just going on a drive, it should not have been this big of a deal. Seriously, nature is not my thing. I could have been taken by aliens and nobody would know any better. I had no idea what the drive held for me.

I drove about 20 minutes into Red Rock Canyon until I reached Bonnie Springs Ranch. That’s where I turned around and headed back to civilization. The views were, indeed, beautiful as you can see above and in the flickr gallery. There are a couple of national park areas and scenic overlooks if you’re into staring at rocks.

All in all, it was a nice calm drive and one I will take again. I was able to listen to a podcast during my time in the car, which was nice. Next time I head back it will be to check out Bonnie Springs Ranch and see some of the scenic stuff. To be honest, the scenic overlooks would be a heck of a lot more fun with a 6 pack of beer. Maybe I’ll grab a friend and take that route next time.