More desert pics

When I flew to Vegas to visit my sweet little Jae-Min and her dear Mama and Daddy, I took the opportunity to strike off on my own and do a little desert hiking in the incredible and amazing Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire State Parks. Please go to both of them if you ever get a chance. It's amazing that Red Rock is within 15 miles of a major metropolitian area like Las Vegas and yet you feel a million miles away. Same with Valley of Fire but you are more like an hour from the city. I am so thankful that these are protected areas. For that reason I did not mind the entrance fees. However, I am sure if I lived local I'd be finding a way to sneak in. I really love, but respect, the desert. I love the refreshing fragrance and feel of the dry air-especially high dry air, the lack of mosquitos, sky-scapes, the interplay of sun and shadow on the rocks and mountains, alpine glow, the way it cools off at night, the way the plants look different depending on the time of day and how the sun is shining on them, and, just being in an allergen free (for me) environment. I respect the heat, the way it cools off at night, the need for water, the need for preparedness, the intense sunshine, rattle snakes, black widow spiders, the potential for flash floods and other storms. Yes, that's water coming off that rock in the above pic. In fact the day I was there they were warning about flash floods. Didn't see one.