❤️ Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! ❤️

Wishing all my friends and family a wonderful holiday season...
......whatever holiday you celebrate...
May your days be full of happiness and love.

These tooned photos were taken at the Belagio in Las Vegas.
They have a beautiful holiday display.

Jeff and I flew back to New England to be with my family for Christmas and to spend some time with our daughter her hubby and our new granddaughter.
❤️❤️

We will be back in Vegas after the new year and will continue our journey south in Homey.
Until then..

Wishing you all health and happiness, light and love!

Still here~Calico Basin

Jeff and I have been enjoying our stay in Las Vegas..

Luckily, our friends own an amazing property in Calico Basin, away from the craziness of the city.

I wake up in the morning and find Rock Wrens warming in the sun.

Gambel’s Quail visit the yard several times a day..

Four nights ago at 3am I opened my window and propped my pillow on the sill and looked for shooting stars..I saw 68 that night…

A record for me..

The views here are awesome..

The Red rock glows when the sun hits it.

I can walk out the door and down the street to say hello to the neighbors horses..

Just a few minutes walk is

Red Spring

Three springs with permanent water emerge from the base of the red and white sandstone cliffs: Red Spring, Calico Spring, and Ash Spring. Water also emerges from several seeps in the area, and water runs in washes to the north and south of the springs area during winter. The springs support trees, thickets, and an open meadow. Compared to the surrounding desert, Calico Basin is sheltered and moist, and it is easy to understand why Native Americans, birds, and wildlife spend time here.

White Crowned sparrows and other birds hang out near the spring..

Mockingbird

The area is fenced and has a boardwalk to protect the meadow

from people and wild burros..

Red Spring flows from a shallow tunnel in the rocks on the far side of the boardwalk, and several other seeps in the area support large velvet ash trees, thickets of shrub live oak and honey mesquite, plus a meadow of saltgrass and sedges. It also supports a diverse collection of wildlife including birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and invertebrates. All of this is surrounded by Mojave desert scrub vegetation, including creosote bush, white bursage, Mojave yucca, and joshua trees.

 

The meadow..

various shrubs and flowers..

Interesting rock formations..

Views looking north..

Petroglyphs..

Its a great area ..

A sharp contrast to the desert outside of the spring…

Red Spring comes in from the rocky area to the right..

giving birth to this lush meadow..

and trees..

I take the boardwalk back down..

To the end..

I then take the short walk back to where Homey is parked..

We go on some super hikes here..

We just walk out the door and hike up to the Red Rock and then explore the various trails.

Like the

Oh..Shit..Damn..F#$% Hike

Yeah, lots of bouldering and some interesting places to get down from..

This one took teamwork.

I found this heart on the same hike.

See the heart in white?

found on our friends property..

Sediment on stone.

Yep…

Its a great place to be!

We fly out of Vegas tomorrow and fly into the Freeze Zone of MA and CT for the Holidays..

Cant wait to see the family!

But..I am not looking forward to the cold

Candy canes and Polka dots~I ♥ this hike

One of our favorite hikes while staying with our friends in Las Vegas is in Calico basin.

We just have to walk out the door..and go.

See Homey parked next to our friends home?

Left hand side of this photo…

We walk up the main road through the valley..

and toward the red rocks..

Then we walk in the red rocks..

A path of red..

A few polka dot rocks start to appear..

bright green and orange lichens cling to the red..

This part of the hike is a climb..

higher and higher..

We start getting views of Calico basin and the few homes that are here in the beautiful area.

I huff and I puff as we near the top of the hill..

I stop to get my breath and look back on this stunning landscape.

At the top we stop for a break..

We take in the scenery…

But..the hike is not over yet..

Its time to go over the other side of the rocky hill..

Into the land of Candy Cane

Striped rocks..

We walk over and through them..

Looking down I see Jeff and Mark ahead of us..

We follow them..

Scrambling through striped rock..

to the wash below..

Into the world of Polka dots and Candy Cane..

I Love this hike..

♥

Its a bit of bouldering and scrambling..

Up and down over these rocky areas..

A great work out for the upper and lower body..

And …

A wonderful refresher for the soul..

Its hard work and love in one delicious Candy cane polka dot package..

This wash is surrounded by hills and it dark and chilly….

We say hello as we pass this lovely lady in rock....

We come out of the narrows..and the area opens..

Views of Las Vegas..

I zoom in for this photo..

A most fabulous hike!

Our hike ends with the faint calls of this..

Phainopepla

and my heart is full…

♥ ♥ ♥