Donna spent most of Friday morning finishing another article that was due. I took some time to clean the Spyder after being caught out in the rain on Thursday. The forecast for Friday looked good. Once again there was supposed to be a 0% chance of rain.

Just before noon, we rode the Spyder across town to west side of Las Vegas. As we approached I-215, rain drops started hitting my face shield. By the time we stopped in a plaza at the intersection of Charleston and Desert Foothills the front of my shirt was soaked. Sitting behind me, Donna was shielded from most of the rain. Another 0% chance of rain day in Vegas.

We waited the shower out in a Subway sandwich shop where we ate lunch. Then we walked to the Albertson’s grocery store and picked up a few things. By then the shower had passed. We continued our ride west to our destination – the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Red Rock Canyon is about 17 miles due west from the Las Vegas strip. It was designated a National Conservation Area in 1990 – Nevada’s first. It’s a place of natural beauty and a popular destination for hikers, rock climbers, bicyclists – both road and mountain bikers – and tourists. We rode the 13-mile scenic loop. This loop is a one-way road with several parking areas and turnouts.

We made a couple of stops as we slowly made our way through the loop. The sandstone rock formations are etched by the wind and have interesting textures. I tried to capture some shots, but the midday light didn’t produce the best images. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Iron minerals give the sandstone a red hue

A steep, craggy wall

Etched by rain and wind

Turtlehead Peak in the background

Deep gulch with shale on the nearside and sandstone on the far side

More red rock

We decided to take the freeway home instead of cutting across town. I rode I-215 to Summerlin Parkway and then down I-515. The freeways around Las Vegas are a little scary. People drive too fast and follow too closely. Sudden lane changes and wild maneuvers are the norm.

After spending the last week in Verde Valley and the quiet Kingman Elks Lodge, the fast pace and noise of Las Vegas is a sharp contrast. While we were out, we saw two car accidents on the road. Emergency vehicles with sirens blasting can be heard throughout the day. The Thousand Trails Las Vegas RV Resort is located due east of McCarran Airport. Business and private jets typically depart from runway 1L/19R putting their flight path just north of the RV park. It seems like business travel begins early in the morning and small business jets are actually louder than large commercial aircraft. We hear them taking off before 6am.

We had new neighbors pull in to the sites on either side of us. I was asked by a few people how we got our trailer into the site. I wrote about it in my last post. This picture shows how crowded the lane we’re located in is. The narrow road filled with parked cars made backing the trailer in with our 40-foot motorhome quite the chore.

Packed in tight with a narrow road

After we returned home, I watched the Formula one practice session from Sochi, Russia. While I was watching TV, I saw our neighbor cleaning his truck. He spent hours doing a detail cleaning job. I told Donna I wondered if he looked at the weather forecast – not that it’s been anywhere near right since we arrived. But rain was coming.

The rain came overnight and continues to fall as I type this. Heavy rain is expected within the next couple of hours. I’m hoping it lets up this afternoon as I have an appointment for a mobile glass company to come out and fix a stone ding in our windshield. Other than that, I have no plans today and I’ll probably read a book until the rain stops.