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| Destination: Floyd Lamb Park Distance from Point of Origin: 20 miles. Estimated (One Way) Travel Time: 30 minutes. Directions: From the Stratosphere Casino head northeast on Las Vegas Blvd about 3 miles and turn left onto US-93/95 north. Bearing left, stay on 95 north towards Ely/Reno. Travel about 15 miles and take the Durango Drive exit, exit 93. Turn right onto N. Durango Dr. Go about 1.5 miles and turn right onto Brent Lane. Brent Lane becomes Tule Springs Road. General Description: The 2,040 acre Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs is a significant desert ecosystem consisting of a series of small lakes that form an oasis in this part of the Mojave Desert. It is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. Its description is often confusing as there are two basic parts to this property; part being what is referred to as “the ranch" that encompasses a world-renowned mammoth fossil site currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and “the springs", a series of four lakes often referred to as Floyd Lamb Park operated by the city of Las Vegas. In actuality both the springs and the ranch are located within the Floyd Lamb Park. Special Attraction or Points of Interest: Besides the numerous birds, waterfowl and peafowl that have free roaming rights, Tule Springs is the site of Ice Age Fossils. In 1962 National Geographic documented a "Big Dig” at Tule Springs. The significant four-month study cataloged thousands of Ice Age mammal fossils including Columbian Mammoth, Ground Sloth, American Lion, Camelops, Bison and ancient species of Horse. Besides literally hundreds of surface fossil sites in the area, further studies have identified three unique and endangered plants - the Las Vegas buckwheat, Merriam's bearpoppy and the Las Vegas bearpoppy. Many are advocating that this 25,000 to 30,000 acre area that borders the Sheep Mountain range and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, that encompasses the Upper Las Vegas Wash to Corn Creek Springs, be designated as a National Monument for the protection of the many fossil sites. Primary Activity: Hiking/Bird Watching. Secondary Activities: Photographing. Elevation: 2465 feet. Best Time To Visit: Open year round, each “season” seems to bring it own special beauty to the park. However, I feel that the best time to visit is in the early Spring. The peacocks begin their mating rituals during the spring, often providing a wonderful shows by spreading their fans. Difficulty: Easy, mostly paved walkways in and around the park. Facilities: Several restrooms located throughout the park. No food or vending area. Estimated Round-trip Time: Beyond the hour driving time, it is hard to place a time on this visit. You can spend hours here, some of it just doing nothing but sitting and observing the birds and fowl roaming the property. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy! |
Personal Trip Notes: I visited Tule Springs on 02/03/2011 as part of a daytrip with the rock hounds from the Heritage Park Senior Facility. This was probably my fourth visit to the park since moving here, and every time I visit I walk away with literally hundreds of beautiful pictures. It is a photographers haven for capturing pictures of waterfowl and other types of birds.
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The slideshow below is designed to run automatically in place. Clicking anywhere in the black background area that surrounds the picture being shown will PAUSE the show and bring up the Pause, Forward and Back menu at the bottom of the slideshow window, allowing you to start, stop or manually forward pictures one at a time.
To view the slideshow full-screen, click in the middle of the running show. When the new browser window appears, click on the left side of the menu where it says "slideshow".
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| Slideshow Description: The slideshow showing here is a 35 picture collection of shots throughout the property showing its buildings, lakes and overall scenery. I've divided the remaining pictures that highlight the birds, peacocks and waterfowl that openly roam the property into two general categories; The Peacocks of Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs and Waterfowl of Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs. Click to view. |
PDF Collage: In 2009 I produced a series of PDF collages for the creation of "Our Travel and Entertainment Diary" blog. Click here to view a two page PDF collage showing one of our trips to Floyd Lamb Park ... Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs
