Search results for:

Death Valley Ranch, the remote Moorish-styled mansion in Death Valley National Park better known as Scotty’s Castle, continues to fascinate visitors as it has for more than 85 years. Located in Grapevine Canyon, the ranch served as a vacation retreat for wealthy Chicago businessman Albert Johnson and his wife, Bessie. Introduced to the desert in the early 1900s by Walter Scott, a colorful character known as Death Valley Scotty, the Johnsons developed a campsite, then decided to build a grand house. Construction began in 1924, but was never completed. The Johnsons provided the funds and Scotty the notoriety.

The nostalgic scenes of the family trek to the woods to cut the holiday tree exist only on Christmas cards for most urban Americans. The closest they come to that festive expedition is a trip to the temporarily forested tree lots that spring up seasonally in every American city. The tradition survives, however, in areas where private tree plantations allow cutting and on portions of forested public lands where tree cutters pay small fees for limited number of trees.

An impressive display of ancient American Indian rock art decorates granite boulders at the mouth of Grapevine Canyon, a desert oasis near Laughlin. Located along the scenic Christmas Tree Pass Road, Grapevine Canyon provides opportunities for hiking, exploring and tailgate picnicking, and is best enjoyed during the cooler months of the year.

A delightful cool-season destination, Rogers Spring in Lake Mead National Recreation Area provides opportunities for picnicking, hiking and exploration. The natural oasis features a shallow pool fed by a warm spring shaded by palms, tamarisk and other vegetation. The overflow creates a meandering creek that heads toward Lake Mead. A few hundred yards distant, tiny Blue Point Spring supports more trees and marshy undergrowth.

A popular autumn event for the past 14 years, the Moapa Valley Art Guild’s Pomegranate Art Festival will take place for the first time at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Logandale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. With record attendance and parking problems in 2008, the Pomegranate Art Festival outgrew its location at the Old Logandale School. Just a mile away, the fairgrounds provide plenty of safe, off-highway parking and room for indoor and outdoor booths and activities. The event welcomes visitors free of charge.