NATURAL WONDERS JUST AN HOUR OUTSIDE LAS VEGAS
Mount Charleston is just 50 miles from the casino cacophony of the The Strip.
The temperatures drop as the altitude rises – to more than 12,000 feet, on the tree-covered mountain.
Its Desert Overlook Trail, up at an elevation above 8,000 feet, is an paved, wheelchair-accessible path that leads to a spectacular view of mountains and the desert floor below.
People used to come to this site to watch nuclear bombing at the Nevada Test Site.
Area 51 is also off in the far horizon.
Valley of Fire State Park is less than 60 miles from Vegas, but a world away in tranquility and environment.
Petrified logs, sandstone that looks like beehives and another that looks like an elephant can easily be seen from the car or several accessible parking spaces.
These bizarre tangerine/crimson/ochre rock formations (some with petroglyphs) have passed for Mars in many a grade B sci-fi film.
Mount Charleston, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, 702-515-5400, www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf/districts/smnra.shtml
Valley of Fire State Park, 702-397-2088, http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm
Tomorrow: HOCKING HILLS
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