Time slips like sand through our fingers and it has been a long time since our last post. We are back and have a few more trips to share. Speaking of sand and the passage of time, we never finished sharing our trip to Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada. Even worst, we left out one of the highlights of our trip: Redstone Dunes Trail! Time to fix this.
We left you with our last post about Hoover Dam so you may want to go there first just to get in the mood for what is coming next.
Our destination was Redstone Dunes Trail, just north of Lake Mead and about an hour directly east of Las Vegas.
What a spectacular drive!
And became progressively more spectacular.
Redstone Dunes
Redstone Dunes park is a small area containing one short loop trail and a picnic area, however, roaming through the formation in the park can take a several hours, which is what we did.
So we crawled and slithered through openings, hurled ourselves up some formations and slid down others. And every formation and cavern looked completely different from different angles.
There was so much to see and we will let the landscape speak for itself.
You may wonder where the dunes are. These days, all we see is hard rock and some shifting sand on the trail, but one hundred forty million years ago, these rocks were dunes in a vast desert. Over time, natural and geological forces forces turned the loose dunes into hard sandstone.
Looking away from the formations, the landscape around the trail turned into a colourful canvas assisted the sun and clouds playing with shadows and highlights.
A Disappearing Lake…
The weather was changing and It was time to head back to our campsite before the rain catches us. The scenery on the way back was just as captivating as the drive in.
Before settling down for the evening we drove down to the lake. There wasn’t much to see, but glancing at our GPS it became so very clear that we are driving on what used to be the lake. This was such a visual to the disappearing Lake Mead. Projections suggest levels could drop to record lows near 1,021 feet by late 2027. How scary is that.
Back at the campsite we enjoyed the view of the lake and tried not to think of what it may look like in a few years.
There are a few more cool spots in this trip to share with you. Until then, take care.
Beautiful photos, guys! I too wonder what the future holds for Lake Mead. Word is that the Rockies didn’t get as much snow this winter so far which will directly affect the lake level. Yet, I see homes being built on my photo drives around the valley going up furiously.
I don’t see this as sustainable but nobody seems to want to think about how things will be should the lake get below its critical level. The last time the lake was full was when I was just out of high school in the 1980s. Scary stuff. Be safe on the roads!
Thanks John, and yes, very scary to watch how we just take over the land with no consideration for the future. It was raining when we were there, but it was a drop in the bucket (or the lake to be exact). i hope that this winter will bring more snow!
Me too, last summers monsoon didn’t drop much rain.
Hi Campers, so this story is almost 2 years old. Correct? We visited this area in 2008, We flew from Toronto to Las Vegas, the cheapest flight we could find. We were picked up and taken to our Cruise America camper van, and we took off for 5 weeks of wandering, It was $43/day plus 750 free miles. Our first destination was the Western Pyrotechnical Association’s Winterblast at Lake Havasu. 5 days of building and blowing up fireworks. Where else does that happen?
When I first read your title I thought you might be exploring around the Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville Alabama where they built the Saturn 5 rocket that took the US to the moon. Also a very interesting place to adventure.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop, we look forward to future episodes. Happy Trails Tom and Dee
Hey there! Yes, it was sitting in draft for about 2 years and published today because it was time. That area is so interesting and there is so much to see there. Your trip sounds explosive and we will have to check out the other Redstone in Alabama one day! I hope you and Dee are well!
So glad to see you back on the blogging trail. A beautiful spot. Water levels are dropping everywhere due to lower snowfall. This year was better in Alberta, so hopefully the potholes and ponds will fill up again. Have a great evening. Allan
Good to hear from you Allan! Yes, water levels around the great lakes fluctuate all the time too. With Lake Mead there is an actual concern that it will disappear…hopefully not.
Margie! I thought my eyes were deceiving me. So lovely to see a new post from you. It’s been far too long!
Your photos are so gorgeous. Nature truly can’t be matched with its sheer beauty. The red formations must’ve been something to experience in person and with the changing daylight too!
The disappearing Lake Mead is shocking. I remember visiting Hoover Dam back in 2014 and back then, it was already quite recessed.
Look forward to more travel updates from you!
Haha, it is me…It was time to come back and here I am! Thank you for the compliment about my photos, but you are also right about nature and experiencing it in person. I just hope that I was able to pass some of it to you! I will try not to take too long with my next post as I have a lot of catching up to do!
beautiful red and good to see you!
Thanks, Beth. I am glad to be back!
I think desert scenery is absolutely magnificent. Thank you so much for the trip that I will never make in reality.
I love the desert too and I am glad that I could take you there through my camera!
Welcome back!!! We’ve missed you blogging, and it’s so great to hear from you again. Redstone Dune Trail looks stunning: it’s as if the Antelope Canyon and Mesa Verde had a baby, and BOOM! The Redstone Dune was born. I’ve actually never heard of this place, and it looks absolutely astounding; I’m just a half-day’s drive from Las Vegas (from Los Angeles), and the Redstone Dune isn’t much further away from Sin City! I’ll have to make it out there some day. Looking forward to more adventures from you soon!
Thank you! I am happy to be back. And yes, you described it exactly the way it happened I think…and what a baby those two produced 🤣 I hope you get to go. You might as well continue to fire valley and let me know how it is because we didn’t get to go this time.
So happy you’re back and I get to enjoy your travels. What a fantastic place. I think I could spend days there.
Thanks! It was such an enjoyable place. I could have spent more time there for sure.
Great to have you back blogging again, Margie. I’ve missed your posts. Incredible geological wonders. I love the uniqueness of each cavern. What season was it when you were there?
Thanks, Pete, I’ve missed this space too. It was very unique. We were there in January and just dodged a snow storm south of Vegas.
Magnificent rock formations. The park should be re-named with an accurate and appropriate name, though!
Yeah, pretty magnificent. Are you referring to the dune part? I think it is intentional. What would you suggest for a name?
Keep On Rocking Park
Haha, that’s a good one!
Great to see you back on the back roads. The photos of Redstone Dunes are spectacular.
Thank you! I should change the title to Back on the Back Roads 😂
Hello! Your beautiful photos are a treat. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you and thanks for coming along!
Beautiful! It’s good to hear from you again. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! It’s good to be back and reconnect with all these familiar faces!
Wow. Sandstone never fails to impress me.
Right? It’s a stunning place!
So good to see you back here! And I’m so glad you shared this place, because I’ve never heard of it but it looks amazing and well worth the visit.
Good to be back! It’s worth a visit. I can picture you hand standing in a few spots there 🙂
Glad to see you’re back to posting about your trips and adventures (we have such similar tastes when it comes to road trips). This makes me want to return to the southwest (in three years). Redstone Dunes looks beautiful and sounds fun. Crazy to hear how much Lake Mead has shrunk by.
Thanks! Not only similar tastes but we also ended up in the same areas just weeks or days apart (with the exception of your epic New Zealand trip). Parallel universes 🙂
Very true! One of these days our travel paths will eventually cross!
That would be funny 🙂
Welcome back to blogging! I missed your delightful stories of your trips.
Thanks, Julia! I will try not to disappear again!
I was always happy to see your comments on one of my posts. Feel free to stop by and visit us by the Tennessee River in Alabama!
Your place looks so lovely and I love reading your reflections on homesteading. We will definitely stop for a visit if we find ourselves in that area!
Thank you! It is very different from traveling. We talked about homesteading for years before getting the RV bug! We now live on back roads, not close to any interstates. 😁
Perfect!
Welcome back!! Good to see you!!
Thank you! It’s so nice to be back and receive such a warm welcome from everyone ❤️
Welcome back 🙂 Your photos are so beautiful, it looks like a great road trip!
Thank you so much! It’s good to be back and catch up with everyone.