Part 1 - Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

​You know how when you spend months planning a, hopefully, epic vacation filled with amazing sites, stunning views, exhaustion, stress, and fantastic memories? Well this is my tale of a trip I took with a few friends to a handful of parks in Nevada and California and this is Part 1 of that story!

The main goal of this trip was to climb the cables to the summit of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. We planned for a 10 day trip where we would visit Red Rock Canyon, Mojave Desert, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks and then finish the big circle back to Las Vegas thru Death Valley. We planned to hike, camp, and backpack along the route! This was the plan, but as you know, plans always change!

​I flew out of Rapid City, SD with a couple friends late on Friday evening. We arrived in Las Vegas, NV and waited in a super long line to get our rental vehicle. The rental guy gives us the option of upgrading, for free, to a Mustang Convertible! At the time, we think this will be so fantastic because it’s June in California so what better way to experience the National Parks we are planning on visiting than in a convertible? We regret this decision by the second day of the trip! Let's just say it was a snug fit for that long of a trip!

It was super late by the time we drive out of the rental car parking lot so we head in the direction of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area since we plan on hiking there the next day. We are able to find a camping area about 30 minutes from Red Rock Canyon. We set up our tents and settle in for the night. We wake up to a beautiful, clear morning and are ready to begin our vacation! 

We decided to enjoy some hiking while we were there! Hiking in the desert was a pretty cool experience! I didn't know you could get sunburned through your clothing, but you can! I was shocked to have a bit of a sunburn on my stomach later in the day. I also learned it is super important to pack more water than you think you will need. I ended up drinking all my water and we were still a couple miles to the car. Luckily, one of my friends was nice enough to share some of his with me!

After hiking part of the day, we headed out to the Mojave National Preserve. I really enjoyed this area because of all the Joshua trees. They are such an interesting tree and look so unique. Some additional information about the trees: Joshua tree is the common name for yucca brevifolia and is native to the arid southwestern United States. They are confined mostly to the Mojave Desert. The name Joshua Tree came from a group of Morman settlers crossing the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century. The trees unique shape reminded them of a Biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer. 

From the desert we made our way up to the next leg of our journey, Sequoia National Park. 

Continue reading to Part 2...

​Blog post written by:
Amy Karras
www.unnamedadventures.com