A Breath of Fresh Air
Did you know that just 45 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip there is a wonderful place where you’d never know the desert even exists? My Alli and I took a drive up to Mount Charleston this morning. The map below shows you how to get there from the Strip.
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You can see the road to get there is a tad windy but it’s a pleasant avenue that takes you from the desert into the forest, or if you prefer, the “boondocks.”
During our drive up, we saw some courageous campers cooking morning meals (courageous for sleeping in thin tents during a night which certainly saw temperatures near freezing) and a few hikers preparing to tread down a trail covered in the light dusting of snow that dropped overnight. The leaves are turning for many species, peppering the sky-reaching evergreens with stunning stretches of gold & red leaved trees. The area is breathtaking while at the same time allowing you to take a true breath of fresh air.
The mountain road dead ends at an adorable restaurant with some amazing views of the mountains & colorful trees. We didn’t eat today but we’re already planning a trip back to try the food & enjoy the view. There’s also a bunch of cabins available for rental there — from what we’ve heard, they’re a fantastic escape when you’re just looking to get away from the house for a night.
After driving back down the hill a little ways, (and nearly running over a hiker and his two dogs while rounding a corner) we took a new road (new for us) toward Lee Canyon where the skiiers & snowboarders hit the slopes. We saw more stunning views on that part of our drive, as we stopped a couple times to drink in the crisp cold air. At one chilly stop, we ran into a couple of courageous easy riders who had only leather to protect them from the joy of the open road and at least one wasn’t happy about it. After trading a few laughs, we followed a small manmade trail to a viewpoint where we could see a span of faraway mountains and desert floor that covered almost a hundred miles! (Visibility itself must have been 60 miles at least) But, it was windy, cold and time to jump back in the car to warm up and get back on the road.
We made it all the way up to the Lee Canyon Ski & Snowboard Resort where they’re eagerly awaiting more of the white stuff. In a month, thousands will be fighting for parking spaces and ski lifts; Today, we could have hogged three spaces and the few souls up there with us couldn’t have cared less. We didn’t need to stop though — My Alli was tuckering out and it was time to head back to reality.
Our little trip wrapped up with a swing through the In & Out Drive-Thru. It was pretty good day – and we were home before noon.
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