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This page last updated on 02/18/2018
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| (Fig. 01) |
Directions: Floyd Lamb Park is located at the north end of town at 9200 Tule Springs Rd, Las Vegas. 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 and takes you to the entrance of the park. Distance from the point of origin is about 20 miles and takes about 30 minutes.
Description: Floyd Lamb is a pleasant and pretty place to throw out a picnic blanket or reel in a rainbow trout. In a city filled with palms and desert landscape, the park's grass lawns, 4 stocked ponds, hundreds of cottonwood trees, picnic areas, barbecues, scenic paths and volleyball and horseshoe facilities on 2,040 acres, it looks a little out of place in the Mojave metropolis of Las Vegas (Fig. 01). The grounds are filled with hundreds of ducks and geese (Fig. 02), dozens of beautiful peacocks, and more than two dozen
Pygmy Rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis). Those with a Nevada fishing license can fish in any of the park's ponds but are limited to three fish per person. Visitors can also explore Tule Springs Ranch, one of the best examples of Pleistocene paleontologic sites in western North America. Tule Springs was visited by large prehistoric mammals in an era when the southern Nevada area was much cooler and wetter. Fossil remains of extinct mammoths, bison, horses, camels, giant sloths and other animals have been found in Tule Springs.
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| (Fig. 02) |
In later years Tule Springs served as a watering hole for Indians and prospectors who traveled across Nevada. In 1916, John Herbert (Bert) Nay was the first non-Indian to file for water rights. As he acquired more property at Tule Springs, he built a blacksmith shop and a storage room. The property remained vacant until prospector Jacob Goumond purchased the land. He took advantage of Nevada's changing divorce laws and set up a dude ranch for prospective divorcees. Tule Springs also was a self-supporting ranch. One hundred acres was set aside for alfalfa and cattle; other animals were raised and sold, as well as several vegetable varieties. Its many functional wooded buildings still exist. Goumond's granddaughter inherited the ranch when he died in 1954. She sold it to a group of businessmen who formed the Tule Springs Investment Company. They leased out the ranch until the city of Las Vegas bought it in 1964. It was converted into a city park and renamed in honor of state Sen. Floyd Lamb.
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| (Fig. 03) |
02/12/2018 Trip Notes: Even though I have visited this park more than a half dozen times, this is the first time I've come for a 'picnic' in the winter. Today, Jim Herring, Blake Smith Connie and myself decided to have a picnic in the park. It was sunny and near 70, but the winds made it feel colder. The picture in (Fig. 03) above, show where we picnicked. Looking out across the lake is the view we enjoyed while we ate (Fig. 04). The lake was filled with nearly a hundred American Coots (Fig. 04). To read more ...
American Coot - (Fulica americana). After lunch I started throwing out some bread. They swam in from everywhere and starting fighting each other like they hadn't eaten for months. Their efforts to grab the bread created a very loud trashing sound. I titled the picture in (Fig. 05) "Free for All". Jim, Blake and I then took a walk around the park while Connie sat in the sun at the picnic area reading her book. (Notes con't below)
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| (Fig. 04) |
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| (Fig. 05) Title: Free for All |
Notes Continued: As we walked we circled two of the main lakes. As usual here we encountered a variety of geese and ducks including Greylag Geese (Fig. 06), Canada Geese (Fig. 07), Snow Geese and more, many "hunkered down" due to the winds (Fig. 08). Even the winter views of the trees, void of any leaves made for some nice pictures (Figs. 09 & 10). At the far end of our walk we encountered more than two dozen peacocks (Figs. 11 & 12), most nestled in the shrubs and small trees. (Notes con't below)
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| (Fig. 06) |
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| (Fig. 07) |
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| (Fig. 08) |
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| (Fig. 09) |
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| (Fig. 10) |
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| (Fig. 11) |
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| (Fig. 12) |
Notes Continued: Finally we came upon the area where the rabbits habitat. These are Pygmy Rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) (Fig. 13). The small rabbits have short ears and a snub nose. The pygmy rabbit is believed to be one of only two Leporids (a family of mammals that include rabbits and hares), in Northern America that digs its own burrows. There main habitat is Northern Nevada and Utah up into Montana. To read more ...
Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). The first time I encountered these on a visit two years ago there were only about four of them. Today we counted nearly 15 (Fig 14). We then made back to Connie and our picnic area for the ride home (Figs. 15 & 16).
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| (Fig. 13) |
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| (Fig. 14) |
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| (Fig. 15) |
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| (Fig. 16) |
