Las Vegas, Rain, Grandchildren, Hiking

Dean, Lexi, & Ellen on the steps to
Calico Basin in Red Rock. The steps
are an exception and not the rule.

When we lived in the Midwest we loved a good rain and thunderstorm. Unless it was accompanied by tornadoes. The same is true in Las Vegas. The only exception is that our thunderstorms only occur 2 or 3 times a year. That makes them BIG events. Last week we had almost 3 full days of thunderstorms and heavy rain (heavy for Las Vegas). Because Las Vegas sits in the bottom of a bowl all the rain runs downhill to the lowest parts of town and gains some impressive speeds. It doesn't take much rain to create a flood. They say a 6 inch flow of water will move a car - a long ways. Most of us take our storms seriously knowing that there will be flooding, high water and the like.

Mix all that rain with a house full of grandchildren who want to go to the parks and play and it even gets more interesting. Fortunately that all worked out pretty well and there was enough dry time for them to have a great time at the parks.

Thursday was a moderately heavy rain day. We live almost right up against the mountain on the west side of town. Behind the mountain in Red Rock National Conservation Area, a beautiful area of mountains, plains, and enjoyment. Those mountains around Red Rock channel the storms and they tend to get heavier rain then we do.

Friday morning began with a beautiful sunshine and nice cool weather. I figured it was time to take the two big girls, Ellen and Alexis, and their Dad to Calico Basin. It is in Red Rock and about a 2.5 mile hike that takes 2 hours. It's all up and down and requires some bouldering. Both girls are big enough to engage in the bouldering, so we started out. At the gate I used my new $10 over-65 lifetime pass to national parks, recreation areas, and the like - You've got to take advantage of those over 65 deals!

I took the hike to Calico Basin for the first time last February with Tim. So I was familiar with the trail and knew what to expect. The first thing we noticed was that the rain had widened the channel (see photo). Some of the new cuts were 5 feet deep and looked like a knife had slide the soil away. There were also quite a few uprooted trees. Last time we walked up the wash and used that as our primary trail for about 30%f the hike. This time there was water in the wash so that meant we were climbing from the very beginning.

It was beautiful. The rain had cleared the sky. It was bright, the colors were magnificent, and the hike was refreshing! It was refreshing in February too, but a tad bit cooler that day. The girls kept up with a minimum of complaint and sometimes we had to ask them to wait for us! Well, me, not Dean, their Dad. There were spots where we crossed the wash and got our shoes a little muddy and our socks a little wet, but we lived through those experiences. They are part of the fun.

Ellen, Alexis, and Grandpa enjoying the beauty!

You can see the rugged beauty of Red Rock area, and the clouds that were
beginning to move in.

We even found hail left over from the storm. It wasn't a lot, but it was fun to find
in Southern Nevada.

We got to the top and looked at Calico Basin and saw about 3 feet of water in the bowl. I stuck with the girls while Dean went around to the other side to see the valley. Normally we go through the bowl to get the view of the valley. While all of this was going on we also recognized that the clouds were moving in and they were very dark. We decided it was time to scoot out of there as fast as we could, which isn't very fast when you are trying to be safe. Nonetheless we beat the storm. It just started to rain as we left, we got a little light hail, and later as we were driving on the main highway looking back we could see the rain coming down pretty good. We felt for all those folks who were out on the trail. We had a great time!

The Bake gang about half way through the hike!

Grandpa, Lexi, & Ellen celebrating!