Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
wood attached to the concrete window cut-outs. Wells were caged over with rebar,
presumably to keep divers out. Dark waters remain deep down in the holes.
It's an easy walk down and around the ruins. The 2
1
⁄
2
-mile loop leads you on a
sandy trail marked by seashells and other lake refuse—broken bottles, rusting
cans, unidentified metallic parts—through the tall tamarisk weeds that sway in
the wind, like cornfields.
For more archaeology-themed stops, continue on Lakeshore Drive to the town
of Overton and stop at the
Lost City Museum
(721 S. Moapa Valley Blvd.;
%
702/397-2193; http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/museums/lost/lostcity.htm;
$
3 adults,
$
2 seniors, free for kids under 18; daily 8:30am-4:30pm),
which is a
quaint but informative pueblo made from sun-dried adobe brick. Here, the Park
Service maintains exhibits of excavated items from the “Lost City” of Pueblo
Grande de Nevada, where the Anasazi Indians once lived in subterranean pits
sometime after the 1st century
A
.
D
. The area was later occupied by the Puebloans,
who, as their name implies, lived in pueblos from
A
.
D
. 700 to 1150. As the waters
of Lake Mead began to rise, the sites were excavated, ironically, by the Civilian
Conservation Corp—the very same people who helped build the dam.
To get there:
If you're coming from Lake Mead, you can access St. Thomas
from Northshore Road; it's opposite S.R. 167, which leads to the Valley of Fire.
Follow the dirt road to its end—St. Thomas Point. There are signs leading you to
the town of St. Thomas; which is visible from the parking area. From Las Vegas,
take I-15 north about 35 miles to S.R. 169. Go east on S.R. 169, which becomes
S.R.167 for about 25 miles (past Valley of Fire). When you come to the intersec-
tion of Northshore Road, S.R. 167 becomes a dirt path. Drive down it about 1.5
miles, and there will be spots to park and a path down to St. Thomas. To get to
the Lost City Museum, return to Lakeshore Drive and continue towards Overton.
RED ROCK CANYON NATIONAL
CONSERVATION AREA
Breathe in the pinion pine, mesquite, creosote, and sage as wild burros graze in the
background, occasionally approaching with surprising courage.
Red Rock Canyon
National Conservation Area
(
%
702/515-5350; www.nv.blm.gov/redrockcanyon;
$
5 per car; Nov-Feb daily 6am-5pm, Mar daily 6am-7pm, Apr-Sept 30 daily
6am-8pm, Oct daily 6am-7pm; visitor center hours 8am-4:30pm)
is one of the
area's closest awe-inspiring views. Just 17 miles from the Strip, you'll suddenly
find yourself away from the endless housing developments and gated neighbor-
hoods, surrounded by hardy mountains of deep red and white sandstone, inter-
cut with tufts of green and even waterfalls and springs.
The canyon is a part of the Navajo Formation, which is a particular kind of
sandstone believed to be what's left of 150,000 square miles of desert that existed
178 to 192 million years ago. The bright orangey-red and white rocks began as
grains of sand, transported by the wind. With time and more sand, giant dunes
formed, solidified by their own weight and cemented together, resulting in these
mounts of rock. It's one of the world's largest wind-deposited formations. You
may note similarities to the Valley of Fire, Redstone in Lake Mead, Zion National
Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Arches National Park, all of which are also
part of the Navajo Formation. But I think Red Rock is particularly striking, with
the dissonance of the Strip as a glittering afterthought in the background.
