Our travels to the West have already included a trip the Eastern Sierra's near Yosemite, a journey to Boulder City, NV and Sedona, AZ, so why are we going back to where we've been? The answer is Red Rocks!
The climbing near the Red Rocks park 10 or so miles from the strip in Las Vegas is more than world class. It is a class in itself! Thousands of sport and traditional climbs surround any potential rock puller. It is also majestic. The area hosts a number of killer hiking trails and a scenic loop that defines the word "scenic". So it was with great anticipation when we drove back into Las Vegas for some climbing at Red Rocks.
Now, one of the great things about the Red Rocks area is also the mountain biking in Blue Diamond, NV. Just seven miles away lies over 30 miles of incredible desert trails. Actually, I've been told the trails stretch over 100 miles, but I can't confirm this, but will one day with my tires. In order to capture the area Walker-style, we woke early to hit the riding, when it was still cold, and then scooted over to the climbing areas to pull down. The combination of mountain biking and climbing is what made our experience at Red Rocks and Blue Diamond truly special, but there was also something else.
The wind was nightmarish at the Red Rock camping area, which is directly across the street from Calico Basin (and the bouldering), so we stayed at a wonderful motel in Bonnie Springs. Folks, the Bonnie Springs ranch is the place to stay. I'm not kidding about this! The rooms are totally reasonable at $70 - $120 a night and there is a killer restaurant with a bar next store. What's more, if you have any desire to pet animals, well, they have a petting zoo, too. We actually met Bonnie, who helped develop the small ranch. We also relaxed plenty in the thematic rooms which you can choose from when you check in. We chose the Sun Flower and Western rooms; be sure to check out the pictures of the jungle room - scary!
After days of 30-plus mile riding days and multiple pitches of sport climbs, we had, had enough. I looked at Pumpkin Pants and we decided it was time to head further South. After a spin of the map dial, we focused our energy on Phoenix and the Oak Flat bouldering area. It was off to the races and more adventure, after, of course, one last meal at Bonnie Springs.
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