Eldorado and Cottonwood Valley - 01/14/16 Trip Notes

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This page last updated on 06/15/2017

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Directions: Searchlight is situated in the Colorado River Basin in Clark County, Nevada on U.S. 95 and State Route 164, midway between Las Vegas and Laughlin (Fig. 02). From the Stratosphere Casino head northeast on Las Vegas Blvd about 3 miles and bear right to merge onto US-515/93/95 south towards Boulder City. Follow US-93/95 for 17 miles and then merge onto US-95 South (Veterans Memorial Hwy) for 36 miles to Searchlight. At the light, turn left onto NV-164 (Cottonwood Valley Rd.) and travel about a mile and then turn left onto 157 (Gas Pipeline Rd.). Travel on this dirt road about a half mile until you come to a large clearing (parking area). Park here and use this as a staging area.

Area Description: Even though I have visited here on several occasions, I always have a difficult time trying find the right label to describe this area. Some maps call the vast desert area due east of Searchlight, NV, nestled between the Eldorado Mountains to the north and the Newberry Mountains to the south, Cottonwood Valley. West to east, the area between Searchlight and Lake Mohave (Colorado River), is divided down the middle and managed by two agencies, the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and the NRA (National Recreation Area). The northern portion of this large valley is bordered by the Ireteba Wilderness Areas and the Nellis Wash Wilderness and Spirit Mountain Wilderness areas to the south (Fig. 02).

01/14/2016 Trip Notes: Harvey Smith, my friend Jim Herring and I decided to do some four-wheeling around the Cottonwood Valley area, east of Searchlight. After reaching the staging area on Gas Pipeline Road, we unloaded the quad and Ranger (Fig. 01) and began our journey by heading out in a northeast direction toward the Oakland Mine site and then on to Lake Mohave. The "yellow" on the map on (Fig. 02) highlights the routes we traveled on this visit.  Even though Harvey and I had both been here before, we began by giving Jim an extensive tour of the mine sites around the Oakland Mine. With numerous adits and shafts, mine heads, water tanks, a 4 stamp battery mechanical crusher, and other numerous debris, this site offers much to explore (Fig. 03). The stamp battery crusher seen in the collage was probably quite noisy and somewhat awkward to operate. Its traditional use was for the processing of mineral extraction, whether it be copper, silver, gold, or any other metal contained within host rock. The stamps were heavy metal weights that were lifted and dropped on the ore by a crankshaft. The crushed ore would then be further refined, usually by a mercury or cyanide process. From what I have learned, there appears to be more than one mine claim located here. The remains of the mine located on the hill south of the Oakland Mine appears to be a separate claim (Fig. 04). When searching around this site, I found a mine claim (Fig. 05) located in a pipe that was buried in the ground indicating that this site was the Berkley Mine Claim. Located on the top of this hill is what appears to be a steam driven piston and belt system (Fig. 06) that was made by the Ingersoll Rand company of New York. It appears that it was used to drive the pulley at the hoist equipment. Looking into the barred off shaft, it is apparent that this shaft is quite deep. (refer to the bottom right picture in Fig. 03). (trip notes con't below)

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Trip Notes Continued: After touring these sites, we began our journey through the hills and out across the valley by going though an area that was populated with hundreds of Pencil Cactus and Joshua Trees (Figs. 07 & 08).  We then followed a wash that paralleled Cottonwood Cove Road, east towards Lake Mohave (Fig. 09).  Refer to (Fig. 02). Driving down this wash along the road we encountered a car graveyard (Fig. 10). After reaching Rockefeller Road, we headed northeast toward the Irebeta Peaks, across a section of the valley that is covered with thousands of Jumping Cholla Cactus (Fig. 11). We then turned right onto Copper Mountain Cove Road and followed it down to Copper Mountain Cove (refer to Fig. 02) along the edge of Lake Mohave (Fig. 12). This peaceful spot was full of cat-n-tails, thick tamarisk salt cedar, an was a great spot to grab bite. While here we even spotted a fisherman that was boating out on the lake (Fig. 13). From here he drove back up Copper Mountain Road to Rockefeller Road and to the intersection of Solicitor Mine Road. This road travels northwest up the side of a mountain and a power-line at the top. The view in (Fig. 14) was looking back toward Lake Mohave. When we reached the power-line we weren't sure which way we needed to go. We decided to turn left and head down, following the power-line. Unfortunately, we should have followed the route (noted in red on the map in (Fig. 02), across the power-line road. Even though the route we chose took us somewhat out of our way, it provided some really great scenery and views (Fig. 15). All-in-all, it was another great day exploring abandoned gold mines and roaming around Cottonwood Valley.

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Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Garden – Chinese New Year (2016)

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Background: A few weeks ago, I made another of my annual pilgrimages with my friend Jim Herring to Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Garden, titled “Chinese New Year, Year of the Monkey”. The Conservatory at the Bellagio Casino starts the 2016 season with the Chinese New Year exhibit featuring traditional designs of the celebration, even though the actual Chinese New Year doesn't begin until Feb. 8, 2016. Chinese New Year goes by a number of names, including New Year Festival, Lunar New Year and Spring Festival.


The Chinese calendar runs in a 12-yearly cycle, with each year in that cycle represented by a different animal. Monkey is the 9th animal in 12 zodiac signs. The general image of people in this zodiac sign is always being smart, clever and intelligent, especially in their career and wealth. They are lively, flexible, quick-witted and versatile. In addition, their gentleness and honesty bring them an everlasting love life. Although they were born with enviable skills, they still have several shortcomings, such as an impetuous temper and a tendency to look down upon others. They are enthusiastic, self-assured, sociable, and innovative. Their weaknesses are being jealous, suspicious, cunning, selfish, and arrogant.

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Visit Notes: At the Conservatory’s entrance, the central garden (Fig. 02) has six colorful Chinese children topiaries playing on each side of the moon gate bridge above a tranquil pond filled with Koi fish (Fig. 04). Above the children, there are more than a dozen custom Chinese lanterns hanging from a tree (Fig. 03).

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In the south garden on the left, there is a colorful garden with dancing waters and three Chinese pagodas (Fig. 05). I'm especially fond of the streams of water that leap from one part of the display to another.

The children in the center garden are each made up of 5,000 flower stems including red, purple and yellow carnations and green and yellow spider mums. The children’s colorful outfits were hand-made using flowers such as carnations and an assortment of chrysanthemums. It’s adorable that children appear in the Bellagio display, because the Chinese New Year actually began with a mystical creature called Nian that would devour villagers, especially children. The legend says Nian was afraid of the color red, which explains why celebrants hang red lanterns, use red firecrackers and wear red clothing during Chinese New Year festivities. Red represents virtue, truth and sincerity. (Con't below)

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Notes Continued: In the West garden at the back, the display’s vibrant centerpiece (Fig. 01) features a garden representative of monkeys and their natural habitat. A family of 12 Rhesus Macaque monkeys are climbing in a 16' tall bonsai tree atop a 14-foot mountain, all working together using their intelligence and creativity to reach the 52 oversize peaches descending from the sky as the water cascades down a picturesque waterfall. Peaches, it turns out, are a symbol of wealth, abundance and a long, healthy life (Fig. 06). One of the best-known species of Old World monkeys, Rhesus monkeys are familiar brown primates with red faces and rears. They have close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces. They can also be found in the small pond at the base of the mountain filled with still more Koi. (Fig. 07). People born during the Year of the Monkey (a symbol of intelligence, wittiness, and magnetic personality) are wise, intelligent, confident, charismatic, loyal, inventive, cheerful, clever and energetic.

The North Garden features a stunning 18-foot tall Chinese money tree made of 384 sparkling gold coins, weighing a total of 3,000 pounds. The base of the tree is surrounded by four-foot-tall Ingot fountains and I-Ching coins. Round coins with a square hole were first introduced in China around 350 B.C. Surging water from the fountains descends on the money tree to keep it strong and vibrant.

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Notes Continued: In the three ponds there are more than 50 varieties of beautifully colorful Koi (Fig. 09). The pictures in (Figs. 10 & 11) there are pictures of the customized Chinese lanterns hanging above the center garden. The close-up of one of the topiary Chinese girls in (Fig. 12) shows the exquisite detail of these Chinese figures. Except for the "monkeys" in the tree, many of the features found in the garden have been in previous New Year exhibits. Even so, it is still worth visiting.  This exhibit will be on display from Jan. 9 to March 12. Be sure to visit early in the day to encounter the fewest people possible and get the best pictures.

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Sloan Canyon NCA - 01/21/2016 Trip Notes

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This page last updated on 05/25/2020

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Directions: From St. Rose Parkway (NV-146), turn onto Executive Airport Drive. At the intersection (light) of Volunteer Blvd and Via Inspirada, continue straight onto Via Inspirada. This road then curves left onto Bicentennial Parkway. About 2.3 miles from St Rose Pkwy, turn right onto Via Firenza and go to the end. At the junction of Democracy Road, turn right and bypass the barrier onto a dirt road. Work your way west toward the main power line. Follow the power line until you see a two-track dirt road on your left, just before pole number 12084. Follow this road south for approximately 1 mile to a cleared parking area (Fig. 02). From here exit the parking area on the east side walk to the Sloan Canyon Wash. Then hike to the original trailhead and the entrance of Sloan Canyon. A high clearance vehicle is recommended to reach the parking circle.

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General Description: Formed in 2002, the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area (shown in green on Fig. 03) encompasses 48,438 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), located only a short distance south of Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada in the northwestern portion of the McCullough Mountain Range. It surrounds an additional area that has been designated as the North McCullough Wilderness Area. The Sloan Canyon Petroglyph Site, found in the south western portion, is the centerpiece of this conservation area. The Sloan Canyon Petroglyph Site is one of the most significant cultural resources in Southern Nevada. Archaeologists believe its 318 recorded rock art panels with approximately 1,200 individual petroglyphs were created by native cultures from the Archaic to the historic era. Experts believe the earliest of these were made by ancestral Puebloans in the Archaic period, but other tribes may have continued to add petroglyphs in later years. Archaeological evidence suggests resources within Sloan Canyon may have been used as long ago as 7,000 years. It has been called the Sistine Chapel of Native American rock art due to their size and significance. For more information on Sloan Canyon, click the following link ... Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.

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01/21/2016 Trip Notes: On this third visit to this area, I tagged along with the rock-hounds from Henderson's Heritage Park Senior Center. From the parking circle, considered by some the trailhead, the trail runs east into Sloan Wash and the beginning of BLM 101 Trail that turns upstream (south) following the wash. In about 0.6 miles, the trail arrives at the historic trailhead (Fig. 05), passes around the cable fence, and passes through the old boulder barricade to the trail information sign (Fig. 01). The sign provides a map of the trail and information about the area. Beyond the trail sign, the route continues up the gravel wash in a fairly narrow, shallow canyon. After a minute or two, the canyon widens and the sides lay back (Fig. 06). At 0.64 miles out from the trailhead register and kiosk (Fig. 01), a side wash on the west merges with Sloan Canyon Wash. This confluence is marked with a trail sign indicating that the HorseTrail (BLM 200 Trail) turns right, out of Sloan Canyon Wash, and runs up the side canyon. Note that the Horseman's Trail is suitable for horses and does not require any scrambling, although it is about 3/4-miles longer to the petroglyph gallery. The BLM Trail 100 continues straight ahead up the wash to the petroglyph gallery. Half of our group took the trail to the right and the other half of the group continued straight ahead. Taking the BLM Trail 100 involves navigating a series of 3-4 pour-overs like the ones seen in (Figs. 07 & 08). At about a mile out you encounter the largest non-trivial (3rd-class) water-polished 10-foot pour-over to climb. This pour-over has a very large boulder stuck between the outer walls of the canyon (Fig. 09) Though somewhat intimating, it isn't too bad if you are willing to climb up on the most exposed part. (con't below)

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Trip Notes Continued: Just above the 10-foot pour-over, the canyon jogs back to the south (left) and widens considerably. The view in (Fig. 09) is actually looking back towards the pour-over. This straight section of wash is the area known as the Sloan Canyon Petroglyph Gallery. There are amazing petroglyphs on both sides of the canyon here. The rocky strewn hill on the west side of the wash is loaded with thousands of boulders with many containing anywhere from one to more than a dozen glyphs. As we walked up and down the wash, some of us took to climbing up the sides of the hill (Figs. 10 & 11) in order to obtain better pictures of petroglyphs. The collage in (Fig. 12) is just a sampling of the dozens of petroglyph pictures I've taken here. Click here to view more 50 petroglyph pictures ... More Petroglyph Pictures From Sloan Canyon. It seemed the more we explored, the more we found. The find by the two ladies in (Fig. 13) shows a rare petroglyph of what appears to a be person riding either a horse of donkey. At this point, some in the group returned by hiking back via the BLM Trail 200. About six of us opted to "slide" down the pour-over that we climbed on the way up. The picture in (Fig. 14) is a staged picture of me after I descended the pour-over on a previous visit. Today, Robert Croke (Fig. 15) volunteered to lead the way. The picture in (Fig. 16) is a view looking down at Sloan Canyon Wash from the top of the pour-over. After descending the slippery pour-over, it was pretty much easy going the rest of the way back to the trailhead and the parking circle. Click here for more pictures and descriptions of my previous visits to Sloan Canyon ... Previous Visits to Sloan Canyon. I'm sure that I've still only seen less than 20% of the petroglyph rock panel found at this site. I will definitely return again and do some more "investigating".
                                           

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11/21/2013 Trip Notes: On this visit to this area we approached the area from Bicentennial Parkway. Not only was this a much shorter, easier route, it was accessible by our van. Once we reached the beginning of the road leading to the trailhead, we followed the road about 1.1 miles to the actual trailhead. We then began the 1.1 mile hike up the loose gravel filled wash to the petroglyph area. Stopping short of the actual site, I detoured up the lower portion of the “loop trail”, BLM Trail 200. View Previous Visits to Sloan Canyon

02/21/2012 Trip Notes: I made this trip with Harvey Smith, one of the regular rock-hound hikers, who volunteered the driving with his new 4x4 truck. The drive along the power line access road was extremely rough and required the four-wheel drive in a couple of spots. Once we reached the trailhead which starts at the beginning of the North McCullough Wilderness Area, the hike up the loose gravel filled wash to the petroglyph gallery was relatively easy, excepting the climb up the last of the three wash-overs. View Previous Visits to Sloan Canyon

Pages Uploaded in May 2016

May 2016 Posts (by Category & Title):
Mt. Charleston - North Loop Trail - Trip Notes for 05/27/2016 
UPDATED - Mt. Charleston -  North Loop Trail- Summary Page
Cottonwood Valley - Spring Mountain Ranch - Trip Notes for 05/26/2016
UPDATED - Cottonwood Valley - Spring Mountain Ranch State Park - Summary Page
Bowl of Fire - Bowl of Fire Trip Notes for 05/17/2016 
UPDATED - Bowl of Fire - Bowl of Fire - Summary 
Red Rock Canyon - Brownstone Canyon Archaeological District
Las Vegas Springs Preserve - Las Vegas Springs Preserve 05/11/2016
Pioche - Highland Mining District near Pioche NV
UPDATED - Pioche NV - Summary Visit Page

A brief Christmas Message from Ken & Connie Clarke

Well, here it is yet another year gone by. My how time flies when your old. First let us thank those of you who took the time to send us Christmas cards and letters. It is always nice to hear from those with whom we haven't had enough communication with over the past year. As many of you may know, we (Connie) always sent out cards and letters over these past many years, however, Connie's handwriting has gotten so hard to read, that she doesn't even attempt to write any more. So even though you may not receive a card or letter, we still have you in our thoughts.

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This past June we spent 10 days visiting my brother Tom in Sacramento, CA, getting his surgery for esophageal cancer. This was a very difficult for all involved. After the operation we then accompanied him home to Lake Tahoe during the early days of his recovery.

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The good news was that we had time to visit with my mother in the nursing home. This was the first time we had seen her in two years. Mom is now 94, and in spite of dementia and Alzheimer's, she is still doing quite well. With a little coaxing, she even recognized both Connie and I.

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This Christmas we are 'pet-sitting' our friend Jim Herring's dog Scooter, while Jim spends the holidays with his daughter back in Kansas. Over the past year since he moved to Vegas, we get to see Scooter on a weekly basis. A Terrier, he is the best behaved dog we have ever known. He is very affectionate, never barks, and loves to be pet. At nearly 110 years old (in people years), he mostly eats and sleep, similar to us. We spoil him with slices of cheese.

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Occasionally we have someone over for dinner, so this is becoming less and less. It is so much easier to go out to a good restaurant. Jim has us over about once a month for lunch or dinner or Bar-B-Que. This past November, his daughter Christina was visiting from Kansas, and they had us over for wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner. They even had the house decorated for Christmas.

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Since Connie broke her hip, which still causes her considerable pain, we don't seem to get out as much as we used to. We try to get out to eat 2-3 times a week, play a little 'slots' and (me) poker at the casino, and an occasional movie. This week we just saw "Rogue One - A Star Wars Movie" in 3D-IMAX and really enjoyed it. With the help of Netflix and Amazon and DirecTV, we spend the rest of our time in the evenings watching TV shows and movies.

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Other than that Connie spends most of her time reading books on her Kindle Paperwhite while I work on my pictures for my photo blog on the computer. This year Jim and I signed up with the Nevada Site Steward Program to be site stewards for some endangered Petroglyph sites. I try to get out hiking, as weather permits. In addition, an injury to my left knee has limited my hiking over the past several months. After two months of pain I finally just received a cortisone shot that has done wonderful.

It seems that with each passing month I end up adding another person to our list of doctors. Thank God for my insurance. Come the new year, I will be starting it in the hospital getting a kidney stone removed. Even though I have one in each kidney, they only do one at a time. I actually had this done back in 2010 and only hope it goes as well this time around. Well, I guess that's about all for now.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Love, Ken and Connie