Cold Creek and Bonanza Trail North Trailhead - Summary Page

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This page last updated on 05/04/2020

(Fig. 01) Directions: From the Stratosphere Casino head northeast on Las Vegas Blvd about 3 miles and turn left onto US-93-95, keeping on the left for US-95 North towards Reno. Following US-95 North towards the Mt. Charleston area, drive 36 miles, past SR-156, the turn to Mt. Charleston (Kyle Canyon Rd.) and past SR-156 (Lee Canyon), and head as if driving to Indian Springs. Look for a small green sign on the freeway for Cold Creek (approx. 5 miles past Lee Canyon Ski Area Turnoff). Turn west of the freeway onto Cold Creek Road (SR-172) and drive up the mountain past the prisons (State, Federal, work camps) toward the town of Cold Creek (approx. 13 miles). Drive slowly looking out for wild horses along the road. Cold Creek Description: Located at an elevation of 6,500 feet at the base of the northern Spring Mountain Range, the small community of Cold Creek, with nearly 250 people, is about 50 miles north of Las Vegas. It is nestled inside the boundaries of the Toiyabe National Forest. With a serene and breathtaking high mountain desert environment, the town is not a place for those who like city comforts. There is no electrical power and everyone's homes are supplied by either solar panels or generators. This is a place of wide open ranges, wide open spaces and sparse vegetation. The town's backdrop is a north-south mountain range with elevations up to 13,000 feet, separated by long narrow valleys ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. There are two main reasons for visiting the town of Cold Creek; taking pictures of the nearly forty plus wild horses in the area and hiking the Bonanza Peak Trail. Just inside the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area (SMNRA), it is surrounded by the Wheeler Pass Herd Management Area (HMA). Primarily managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), HMA's are public lands where wild horses and wild burros are allowed to free-roam. The Cold Creek area is one of the best locations in the state for observing these animals. The Bonanza Trailhead is located about 2.2 miles north of the town. The view of Cold Creek in (Fig. 01a) below was taken looking east from the Bonanza Trail about halfway to the saddle.                                        (Fig. 01a) Bonanza Hike Summary: After following the paved Cold Creek Road through to the edge of town, it will turn into a dirt road. This unmarked dirt road is called the Camp Bonanza Cold Creek Road. To get to the trailhead, follow this road for 2.2 miles to a parking area. The elevation at the parking lot and trailhead is 7,553 feet (Fig. 02) . From the trailhead, follow the obvious trail for 2.8 miles up 2,253 feet to a Bonanza Saddle at the top of the ridge. From the saddle, elevation 9,803 feet, looking west into the valley below you will see Pahrump NV. Once you attain the saddle, turn to your left (south) and you will again see the very obvious trail heading off towards a heavily wooded area. Stay on the trail that ascends with a series of gentle switchbacks. After nearly a mile, just 10 yards before the last switchback that heads down, turn left. This use trail takes you to the summit of Bonanza Peak. The peak is an elevation of 10,397 feet , making the total one-way hike a distance of 4.07 miles from the trailhead.  Even though there are lots of switchbacks (someone estimated more than 80), the total elevation elevation gain from the trailhead is 2,844 feet, making what I consider to be a moderately difficult hike.

(Fig. 02) 05/02/2020 Trip Notes: On this date Jim Herring and I decided to visit Cold Spring for a little four- wheeling and a picnic. We started out by taking Cold Creek Road, then parts of Wheeler Pass Road and eventually Willow Springs Road, driving deep into the wilderness. We took so many roads that I thought we might get lost. The first thing we came to was Cold Spring, the we had hiked on our previous trip. Click here for pictures and a description of today's hike ... Cold Creek - 05/01/2020 Visit 08/24/2018 Trip Notes:  This trip was my eleventh visit to Cold Creek. Today, Jim Herring and I hiked along the Cold Creek the led to the Cold Creek Spring and to the Willow Spring and campground. Click here for pictures and a description of today's hike ... Cold Creek Spring - Notes for 08/24/2018.

07/03/2017 Trip Notes:  This trip was my tenth visit to Cold Creek. Today, Jim Herring, her daughter Christina, Bob Croke, Harvey Smith and I decided to head to Cold Creek Nevada to hike the Bonanza Peak trail. Once we reached the town of Cold Creek, we spent a little time looking around for some wild horses that normally populate this area. After a few pictures we headed up the 2.2 mile dirt road above the town (Camp Bonanza Cold Creek Road) that leads to the trailhead. We made it in Jim's SUV without any trouble. Click here for description and pictures of today's hike ... Bonanza Trail Hike - Notes for 07/03/2017.html.                                               09/13/2016 Trip Notes: This was my ninth visit to Cold Creek. The main goal of today's hike was to hike to the Cold Creek Spring. Even so the 45 mph gusting winds made this a difficult hike, it was never-the-less a rewarding hike. Click here for info and pictures of today's hike ... Cold Creek Spring - Notes for 09/13/2016. 04/30/2016 Trip Notes:  This trip was about my eight visit to Cold Creek. Today, Blake Smith, Jim Herring and I decided to head to Cold Creek Nevada to see if we could hike the Bonanza Peak trail. This was my third time hiking this trail. We had heard that Camp Bonanza Cold Creek Rd., the dirt road above the town the leads to the trailhead was in bad shape and would require a 4WD vehicle. To our surprise, it was actually in pretty good shape and were able to make the 2.2 miles to the trailhead in Jim's SUV. Click here for info and pictures of today's hike ...Bonanza Trail Hike - Notes for 04/30/2016

10/22/2014 Trip Notes: I made my third trip this month to Cold Creek to let some visiting company experience the wild horses that roam this area. As usual it made for yet another great day of picture taking. Click here for more info and pictures of today's visit ... Cold Creek Trip Notes for 10/22/2014.

10/01/2014 Trip Notes: On a recent trip to Vegas, our friend Jim Herring was joined by a colleague from work who lives in Oklahoma. Jim suggested that we take Ray up to Mt. Charleston and out to Cold Creek for some picture taking. Click here for more info and pictures ... Cold Creek Trip Notes for 10/01/2014.
                       
09/16/2014 Trip Notes: I recently had a visit from my sister and her husband who live in Lake Tahoe. As they both like the outdoors and love to take pictures, I decided to take them to Cold Creek to take pictures of the wild horses.  Even though I have been here at least five times, I am always able to get some great pictures. Click here for more info and pictures ... Cold Creek Horses.

04/11/2013 Trip Notes: This was my fourth visit here with the rock-hounds from the Heritage Park Senior Facility. As usual, we spotted more than a dozen wild horses (Fig. 03 & 04), both on our way in and out of the area. Each time I come here, I seem to climb a little higher up this trail. Because I am always stopping to enjoy the beautiful views, trying to capture pictures of birds, and looking for rock specimens, it seems that I never have enough time to make it to the top. I estimate that this time I made it about a mile and a half up to an elevation of nearly 8,800 feet. Refer to “Turn Around Point” on (Fig. 02).  The view in (Fig. 05) is looking east towards the Sheep Range. (Fig. 06) is a view south towards McFarland Peak. As you can see from the shots in (Figs 07 & 08), the higher we climbed, the more snow we encountered. As the morning warmed up and the snow started melting and the trail actually began to get quite muddy and slippery. 
                                         

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04/19/2012 Trip Notes: Even though there was considerable snow visible in the upper reaches of the ridge line, we escaped the deep snow that prevented us from reaching the Bonanza Trailhead a year ago (see 3/24/2011 trip notes below). Unfortunately, as a result of this year’s lack of snow and rainfall there was very little in the way of wildflowers or blooms of any kind. We were rewarded however, with the largest sighting of wild horses we've ever encountered here in any one single visit – I counted more than 32. At around the 6,500 foot level above the town, one of our first encounters was of three or four horses that were just taking it easy by lying around (Fig. 09) on the cool ground. One even provided a show by rolling over on its back several times (Fig. 10), as though he was scratching an itch. Some in the group even took to petting them (Fig. 11), while the “more skittish” just looked on (Fig. 12).
                                      

(Fig. 09)	(Fig. 10)
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On our return trip down the mountain, we stopped for lunch at the first of the three ponds (Fig. 13) located just east of the town and found another cluster of horses that were feeding on the vegetation in this area of the upper valley. This grouping included a proud mother and her young foal (Fig. 14), the third newborn we had seen today. They appeared a little more skittish than the first group we encountered and would start running away (Fig. 15) whenever we got to close. Click here for more pictures of wild horses ... Wild Horses of Cold Creek.

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09/01/2011 Trip Notes: This was my second time hiking here and I was glad to see the snow gone. Unlike our previous visit, we got to see the many wild horses that this area is noted for. At one point when we stopped for pictures, they came right up to our van and one actually stuck his head in the door as soon as it was opened (Fig. 16).  It is just amazing how tame they have become, and how close you can get to take pictures (Figs. 17-19). On this visit, the lack of snow also allowed us to travel the two miles beyond the town (Fig. 02), up to the Bonanza Trailhead (Fig. 20), located at the base of the Spring Mountains.

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Driving to the far edge of Cold Creek, where the pavement ends, a very rough dirt road (my back will never be the same) continues up to the parking area for the Bonanza Trailhead at an elevation of 7,513 feet. Hiking to the top requires a moderately a strenuous, 5-mile R/T hike involving many switchbacks to a saddle (Fig. 02) and crest of the Spring Mountains at 10,230 feet, that then heads south along the crest to the summit which is 10,397 feet. Due to time constraints, we were only able to hike up about one miles of the trail, traveling through a wide variety of flora that begins in pinyon-pine-juniper woodland, ascends through a mixed forest of white firs, bristlecone pines, ponderosa pines and limber pines. As most of the trail is forested with bristlecone pines, there is plenty of shade and openings that offer great views to the east, like the one shown below in (Fig. 21). Be sure to view the slideshow at the end of the page.

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03/24/2011 Trip Notes: This was my first visit to Cold Creek with the rock hounds from the Heritage Park Senior Facility. The area is known for the wild horses that roam the yards of homeowners and the surrounding desert landscapes. Because it had snowed for several hours the night before our visit, the roadway was covered with snow and ice (Fig.22),  providing a kind of "winter wonderland" view. About halfway up to the town we encountered a resident whose vehicle had skidded and was stuck blocking the road. We had to assist her in order for us to pass and continue on. The snow on the road on the western end of town was actually so deep it prevented us from driving up to the Bonanza Peak trail-head where we were going to do some hiking. As a result, the only wild horses that we were able to observe were the 7 horses that were feeding on some hay put out by one of the local residents. Everyone spent some time hiking a short distance up the snow covered road (Fig. 23), enjoying the crisp fresh air and the occasional smell of a wood burning stove. We actually got the van ‘stuck’ (Fig. 24) due to the icy road conditions and had to spend a few minutes getting it turned around.

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Truly and early sign of spring, were the dozens of good old American Robins (Figs. 25 & 26) feasting on the plants and desert shrubs that surrounded the small pond just downhill (east) of the town. There are three ponds, fed by the springs that emanate from the mountains on the western end of town. I’m sure these ponds are good for a wide variety of desert species as I also observed several sparrows, house finches and some four legged animal tracks that I was unable to identify. I am looking forward to a return visit a little later in the spring.

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One of the residents came out to talk and told us that the BLM is considering another controversial roundup of wild horses, leaving many of the local residents in an uproar. Even though only a few hundred people live in Cold Creek, many of them say they moved here because of the wild horses that wander through their property almost every evening. The locals know the horses so well they've given names to most of them. Rumor has it that the most likely plan would be for the BLM to gather about 95-percent of so-called "excess animals", which would mean the removal of more than 300 horses and more than 500 wild burros from the area.

Play a Slide Show Clicking the picture-link below will open OneDrive in a new window and a folder containing 83 pictures taken on nearly a half dozen trips to Cold Creek. To view the show, click on the first picture in the folder and you will get the following menu bar: Clicking the "Play slide show" will play a fullscreen window of the slide show. ___________________________________________________ Note: Every attempt is made to provide accurate information, but occasionally depictions are inaccurate by error of mapping, navigation or cataloging. The information on this site is provided without any warranty, express or implied, and is for informational and historical purposes only.

Gypsum Cave

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This page last updated on 04/06/2018

(Fig 01)

(Fig. 02) Click to Enlarge

04/24/2013 Trip Notes: After leaving NV-147 (Lake Mead Blvd) you must drive in about five miles on the Pabco Mine Rd before turning off and heading north onto a dirt road near a grouping of power line poles. Refer to (Fig. 02) There are several crisscrossing roads in this area, most all of which leading to a parking area (Fig. 03) below the cave. The view in (Fig. 03) was taken looking down from the cave entrance, back to the parking area. Note, Lava Butte is the dark, volcanic mountain in the very center of this view.   To reach the cave entrance you must then climb a several hundred feet up a hill (Fig. 01) in front of the parking area. The dark area in the center of (Fig. 01) is the location of the cave opening. Unfortunately, for the shot of the cave’s entrance in (Fig. 04), I had to zoom in in order to eliminate the multitude of graffiti markings that some rather unscrupulous persons had sprayed all over the outside rock faces. It was really sad to see how much this area had been defaced. They even graffitied area inside the cave. Because it has been written that unexcavated areas of the cave still exist, we were hopeful that we might be able to explore its depths and find something of interest. Unfortunately, our exploration of the site (Figs. 05 & 06) revealed that the majority of the rooms were well below ground, and required much better lighting and climbing equipment than we had in order to be safely explored. The first room entrance we located had some wooden shoring (Fig. 07) near the opening, but then required you to squeeze through a very narrow opening to go any deeper. The second room’s entrance was a small opening that required a very steep decent into a very dark room (Fig. 08) that appeared to go much deeper. Without a stronger light, it was impossible to determine what we would be facing. Learn more about this site by reading the “Cave History” below. Climbing to the top of the ridge above the cave, seen in (Fig. 01), we were afforded a view of the open pit Pabco Gypsum mine and processing plant (Fig. 09), the largest drywall manufacturing operation on the West Coast. Mining at the Pabco plant started in the early 1960s. At the time, Pabco used to scrape gypsum from the land, but now, new technologies and methods allow them to drill and blast gypsum. Their manufacturing plant produces nearly a billion square feet of board annually; enough daily to line the innards of 800 homes. In 1994, Nevada State Historical Marker #103 was erected about a half mile from the cave's entrance, but it was removed by the  PABCO Mining Company, to discourage visitation of the area.

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Cave History: Gypsum Cave, a six-room limestone cave in located in Sunrise Mountain, is considered to be among the oldest aboriginal sites in North America. The cave measures 300 feet long (deep) by 120 feet wide. Its rooms are filled with dry, dusty deposits. Gypsum Cave is significant because it has yielded artifacts related to early human occupation and information about the region's ancient ecosystem. (Fig. 10) Back in 1930-31, archaeologist Mark R. Harrington (Fig. 09) unearthed various kinds of prehistoric materials from Gypsum Cave, proving that it was occupied by both humans and now-extinct mammals, specifically the ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastense). His excavation yielded an extraordinary collection of terminal-Pleistocene paleontological and Holocene archaeological specimens. In different places within the cave, he found hand-carved wooden fore-shafts from dart/atlatl weapons, torches, stone points, and yucca fiber string. Since the advent of radiocarbon dating, it has been determined that the presence of sloths in the cave dates back to between 20,000 to 33,000 years BP (Before Present). In contrast, the human artifacts are much younger. Radiocarbon dates on the dart shaft fragment and nine other cane and wooden dart fragments taken from the cave’s six rooms range from 2,900 and 4,250 years BP. The oldest implement now documented from the cave is a fragment of a 9,280-year-old basket found in a crevice in Room 3. It is among the oldest pieces of basketry ever found in North America, and its weave is unlike that of other basketry traditions documented in the region.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area - Summary Page

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(Fig. 01)

(Fig. 02) Click to Enlarge From the point where SR-159 (West Charleston) leaves SR-160 (Blue Diamond Rd) to the Park's entrance, the 13-mile Scenic Drive (Fig. 02) is generally referred to as the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Byway. In addition to driving, making stops and hiking along the Scenic Drive, one can spend many hours and days hiking the peaks and canyons along the Wilson Cliffs and Cottonwood Valley. For a detailed map and more information on the hikes in Cottonwood Valley and along the Wilson Cliffs, the two shaded areas in (Fig. 02), go to my page Ref - Wilson Cliffs & Cottonwood Valley. I have hiked no less than a dozen hikes in Red Rock Canyon and Calico Basin. Use the map in (Fig. 02) to locate each of the hikes and and their links outlined below. Click to Enlarge 12/08/2015 Trip Notes: The Calico Hills are a 3.2 mile long section of brilliantly red sandstone cliffs, easily what is one of the Red Rock Canyon's most beautiful features. Below the road, at the base of the hills, there are numerous trails that traverse open country with interesting rocks, fossils, birds, rock art, contrasting vegetation types, and grand scenery all around. The main trail is known as The Calico Hills Trail. Click here for pictures and description of this hike … Calico Hills Trail Hike - (RRCNCA). Click to Enlarge 12/01/2015 Trip Notes: The First Creek Trail is in the Cottonwood Valley. It is wrestled between Oak Creek and Spring Mountain Ranch, beneath the towering red-and-white Wilson Cliffs in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. First Creek Canyon is home to a very well known secret: the waterfall. But most people will never see it because it’s quite well hidden. Click here for pictures and description of this hike … First Creek Canyon & Falls Hike (RRCNCA). Click to Enlarge 11/10/2015 Trip Notes: The Keystone Thrust Fault is considered the most significant geological feature in Red Rock Canyon. The Keystone Thrust Fault extends from the Cottonwood Fault along State Route 160 north for 13 miles along the crest of the Red Rock escarpment. It then curves east along the base of La Madre Mountain before it is obscured by very complex faulting north of the Calico Hills. The escarpment in Red Rock Canyon NCA provides examples of one of the most dramatic and easily identified thrust faults to be found anywhere. Click her to view …Keystone Thrust Trail (RRCNCA). Click to Enlarge 09/17/2014 Trip Notes: The 13-mile long Red Rock Canyon Back Country Byway is the jumping off point for no less than a dozen hikes within the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Besides using it to get to numerous hiking trailheads, just driving around it provides some of the most scenic views in the Las Vegas valley. For more pictures and information on this visit, click on the following link … Red Rock Canyon Back Country Byway. Click to Enlarge 08/09/2014 Trip Notes: The Willow Springs Picnic Area is located about halfway around the Scenic Drive off of Rocky Gap Road in the middle of Willow Springs Canyon. The Red Rock Wash runs through the canyon on the west side of the picnic area. Adjacent to a spring with large cottonwood trees, it has approximately 28 picnic tables, various trash receptacles and toilets. There are six trails that either start at, run through or converge near the Willow Springs Picnic Area in Willow Springs Canyon: The 1.1-mile Willow Springs Loop Trail; the 0.15-mile Petroglyph Wall Trail in Willow Springs Canyon (RRCNCA); the 1.8-mile La Madre Spring/Dam Hike (RRCNCA) - Summary Page; the .5-mile Lost Creek Falls (Upper) Trail; the 0.31-mile Lost Creek Falls (Lower) Trail (RRCNCA); and the southern portion of the 6.35-mile White Rock Loop Trail (RRCNCA). Refer to the map in (Fig. 02). Pictures, descriptions and links to each of these trails can be found on the page at … Willow Springs Canyon Hikes (RRCNCA). Click to Enlarge 11/14/2013 Trip Notes: On this visit to Red Rock Canyon, five of the people in our group chose to hike the White Rock Loop Trail, two decided to hike the Pine Creek Canyon, while the remainder spent time at the Visitors Center and making various stops around the scenic 13-mile loop. At the end of the day we all met up at the Willow Spring Picnic Area for lunch and dessert to celebrate Bill’s birthday. As I chose to hike the White Rock Loop Trail, here is a link to the page I created for that hike … White Rock Loop Trail (RRCNCA). Click to Enlarge 10/16/3013 Trip Notes:  Blue Diamond Hill is located within the boundaries of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, outside the fee area, east of SR-159. It is covered with dozens of mountain bike trails and horse trails that provide many miles of relatively easy hiking. The trails on the northern end of Blue Diamond Hill provide great views of the Wilson Cliffs across the valley to the west, the La Madre Mountain Range to the north, and if you make it all the way to the “Viewpoint” on the eastern edge, views of the Las Vegas valley far below. Click here for pictures and details about this hike … Blue Diamond Hill Trails - Summary Page.

04/25/2013 Trip Notes: Driving along the 11-mile scenic loop, we headed to the Sandstone Quarry parking lot, our primary destination for the day's activities. From here everyone divided into four separate hiking groups; some hiked to the Sandstone Quarry Overlook Trails, some to the Calico Tanks (RRCNCA) - Summary Page, some to Calico II & I, and some to the Pine Creek Canyon Trail. Refer to (Fig. 02) above for the trailhead location.

10/11/2012 Trip Notes: On this visit we hiked to the La Madre Spring & Dam. The actual trailhead is about a half mile from the Willow Springs Picnic Area parking (Fig. 02). This area is the beginning of the 47,180 acre La Madre Mountain Wilderness Area and contains the La Madre Mountain and several archaeological areas including the Brownstone Canyon Archaeological District. It is administered by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management. Click here for pictures and details about this hike … La Madre Springs Dam. Refer to (Fig. 02) above for the trailhead location. 09/04/2012 Trip Notes: Harvey Smith and I decided to do a little 4-wheeling today through Cottonwood Valley. We drove to the Late Night trailhead off NV-160 and headed north through Cottonwood Valley to the Black Velvet Canyon trailhead located inside the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. As it turned out, this ended up being an absolutely beautiful hike that led us up a boulder filled wash to a point just below the 2,000 foot high Black Velvet Wall, one of the most famous free climbing places in the entire U.S. Check it out here … Black Velvet Canyon.

05/10/2012 Trip Notes: On today's visit with the rock-hounds from the Henderson Heritage Park's Senior Facility we made four stops. First we made a relatively short visit to Red Spring. Along with a few spring flowers and a couple more landscape pictures, I got a distant picture of a  long-eared Black-Tailed Jackrabbit. Get more info and pictures here ...  Calico Basin and Red Spring.  We then made a stop at the Red Rock Visitors Center, which contains an extremely well put-together collection of area artifacts, photographs, scenes of the ancient inhabitants of the area, and a desert tortoise habitat.  Click here for pictures and more info on the desert tortoise ... Desert Tortoise. There is also a great observation deck that's perfect for snapping some pictures of the area. Next, we stopped at the Willow Springs Picnic Area (refer to the map below) and walked the relatively short trail across a wash to some Petroglyphs. Click here for pictures and more info ... Willow Springs Canyon Trails (RRCNCA). Finally we drove to the trailhead to the Pine Creek Canyon Trail. We we spent several hours here hiking the trail and walking along a stream through this relatively lush, green canyon. Check it out here ... Pine Creek Canyon. Refer to (Fig. 02) above for the trailhead location.

03/03/2011 Trip Notes: I visited the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area to hike the Lost Creek Falls trail on a daytrip with the rock hounds from the Heritage Park Senior Facility. Having been here with friends and family who have visited us over the past several years, this was probably the sixth  time I have been to Red Rock and driven its 13 mile Loop Drive, but only the second time I have hiked Lost Creek Falls. Because this time was much earlier in the spring, there was much more water going over the falls, which made visit much more enjoyable.The following links will take you to pages with pictures, descriptions and slideshows of our hikes to the  Lost Creek Falls (Lower) Trail (RRCNCA) and the Calico Basin/Red Spring Summary Page. Refer to (Fig. 02) above for the trailhead locations.

(OPTION 1) Each show is designed to run automatically in place, without leaving the current browser window. If the show is not already running, just click the large "Play" button in the middle of the picture and let it run. (OPTION 2) Running the cursor over the picture being shown will PAUSE the show and bring up a navigation bar at the bottom of the slideshow window with Pause, Forward and Back buttons, allowing you to start, stop or manually forward or back up pictures one at a time.

Slideshow Description: The slideshow above contains 41 pictures that were taken at various vantage points along the 13-mile scenic loop.

Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister)

(Fig. 01)

Picture Notes: I found this guy while hiking a wash near the Crescent Mine off the southern side of Nipton Road on 04/04/2013 (Fig. 01). While walking around an old abandoned mine head structure, just south of the Crescent mine, my hiking partner “Buster” Brown spotted him sunning himself about five feet up the side of one of the support beams (Fig. 02). Once he spotted us he quickly ran down and scurried to a spot near some bushes about 20 feet away (Fig. 03). The picture in (Fig. 04) is of another one that I saw a week later while hiking near Cold Creek, Nevada. He was sunning on top of a concrete foundation and quickly ran underneath it when I approached. After waiting patiently for about five minutes, he stuck his head out to look around, but wouldn't come out. The final pictures in (Fig. 05) were taken on a hike to the La Madre Spring hike in the Ls Madre Wilderness Area inside Red Rock Canyon Park.

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Description: Sceloporus magister, also known as the desert spiny lizard, is a reptile of the family Phrynosomatidae. This genus includes some of the most commonly seen lizards in the United States. Over 90 species in this genus currently are organized in to 21 species groups. Their relationships to each other are currently under review. Another member of this genus is Sceloporus occidentalis, also known as the Western Fence Lizard. This stocky lizard can be up to 12 inches long, including its tail. It has large, pointed, keeled, overlapping scales. Base coloration is gray, tan, or brown. In the southern subspecies (magister) males often have a large longitudinal purple patch or bar on the mid-dorsum. Because the ventral abdomen of an adult is characteristically blue, it is also known as the blue-belly. Notice the edge of the blue underbelly near the head in (Fig. 01). During the breeding season, females may have orangeish or reddish heads. Spiny lizards can change their color to be darker during cool times (thus absorbing more heat from the sun) and lighter during warm times (thus reflecting more of the solar radiation). Also, spiny lizard species living in the cooler, higher elevations are darker. Native to the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts, it is found in the states of Arizona, California, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. Its elevation range extends from sea level to 7,000 feet in a variety of arid mountainous habitats, especially Joshua tree, palm oasis, desert succulent shrub, creosote scrub and rocky desert washes - water is not required. It is usually encountered on lower slopes, bajadas, plains, and low valleys, often in the branches of trees or in the vicinity of ground cover such as wood piles, rock piles, and packrat nests. When I first observed the lizard in these pictures, he was sunning himself on the side of an old mine head structure. When approached it is often heard before it is seen as it scratches and claws the bark en route to the opposite side of a trunk or branch. It flees down into the inner tangles of pack rat nests, rock crevices, or burrows when threatened. It has a strong jaw and often bites when captured. Hibernating during the cold months of winter and late fall, they are active from April to October, though higher-elevation populations become active a little later. The lizards are diurnal and remain active, or at least visible, on conspicuous elevated sunlit perches throughout the day. During the hottest weather they may retreat to cover in the middle of the day.

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