Tucked away in a gorgeous part of Southern Utah’s Color Country, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary offers visitors excursions to several of its care centers for a resident population of never less than 1,700 domestic and wild creatures. In 2009, the largest no-kill homeless animal facility in the country celebrates its 25th year of pioneering animal rescue efforts and innovative and humane solutions to problems of pet over-population and animal abuse.
Despite encroachment by urban housing tracts, portions of the northwestern Las Vegas Valley retain their rural feel, especially at Floyd Lamb State Park at Tule Springs, a former “divorce ranch” as well as working livestock spread.
Weathered remains of yesteryear dot Highway 165 to the old mining town of Nelson. The pavement continues through rugged Eldorado Canyon to a superb overlook above the Colorado River where steamboats used to dock at Nelson’s Landing. This 18-mile highway through history lies just 10 miles south of Railroad Pass on U.S. 93, within minutes of Las Vegas but a world away from urban bustle.
Springtime rates as the top season for spotting a wide variety of birds in the desert. One of the best places for bird watching in our area is the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve just off Sunset Road, east of Boulder Highway, at 2400 Moser Drive. Birders list more than 200 species of birds, both resident and visitors, at the site on the grounds of the Henderson Wastewater Reclamation Facility. When you first arrive, you may notice odors from the treatment plant, but most visitors soon get used to them and stop noticing.
Intermittent winter rains in the desert promise wildflowers in the spring. In our area, late autumn rains brought the inch of rain needed to trigger seeds to sprout in some areas, encouraged by mild to warm temperatures in January. Rain and snow from following storms furthered the tender greening on the desert. Winds carrying moisture did not dry out the seedlings. The conditions add up to a better than average wildflower show, but you have to know where and when to look.
