One of the places I have been looking forward to revisiting since moving to southern Nevada, is the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. Some 200,000 acres of scenic landscapes comprising sandstone and limestone hills with dozens of hikes and trails to explore in this corner of the Mojave Desert, and all just a 30 minute drive from Las Vegas or home.
Besides the beautiful scenery, there are other items of interest to explore including ancient rock art in the form of pictographs and petroglyphs.
There's certainly plenty to see here, and over the next few months I'll be exploring as much of the area as I can.
Mount Wilson and the western hills bathed in the morning sunshine
The distant southern Las Vegas basin in the pre-dawn light
Rocky trail in the morning light
The landscape is surprisingly verdant given the extreme temperatures endured this summer
Petroglyph rock carvings dating back about 800 years
Pictographs painted onto the surface of the rock, or by printed by hands in this case
Red Rock Canyon Image Compilation with Timelapse