Day 14 – Red Rock Canyon National Park (now - National Conservation Area)

Woke up this morning in a bed I knew was not in the camper. Was a bit weird. The bed in the Revel is actually very comfortable. The goal was to head out of the hotel no later than 10am. And let me say that the goal was achieved. Anna and I headed down onto the casino floor and got some coffee at the Lucky Penny restaurant. As I got the van put back together, Anna finished getting ready and meet me down in front of the lobby.

Off to Red Rocks Canyon. As we were getting closer to the park, the colors in the rocks were spectacular. Like someone took a paintbrush and painted strips across the mountain range. Deep reds, browns, and greens. Sprinkle in some beige and almost whites, the site was somewhat mesmerizing. As we got to the entrance, it had signs stating you needed reservations to drive in the park. I pulled in and asked one of the rangers and they stated we should be able to get some without any problems. The only thing was we needed to drive back towards some cell signal and then purchase the ticket online.

We headed back toward Vegas for about five to ten minutes and booked a ticket for noon. Since we had an hour plus to burn before we could head in, we drove and explore the surroundings of the park. We enjoyed every bit of it. Once inside the park, we just took our time and I believe may have been the slowest drivers in the park. We stopped pretty much at all the stops and went on a few hikes. At the Willow Springs area, they had an unmanaged road which most people walked, but we took Olimas down it to find a beautiful spot. We parked her for around two hours and just took in the view.

Around 4pm or so, we headed out of the park and started to make our way towards Hoover Dam. The last time we were here, they had not finished the new sky bridge over the river but were almost completed. That was at least 15 years ago. Now the Hoover Dam road is mainly used as an attraction, more than a real vehicular crossing. As we looked up the Dam, it stated it was closed due to dam repairs, at least the center was and they were not doing any tours. 

As I crossed over the new bridge, I noticed a brown sign for Kingsman Wash a mile. It looked like it could potentially take you to a lookout over the river. I pulled off, Anna quickly noticed the gates on one side and said the road was closed. I looked to the left under the bridge and saw a dirt road. Let's see what's here. It took us on a 4x4 road that winded up and down through gorgeous hills only to dump us on the lakeshore about four miles later. Perfect final camping spot.