Before the weather gets any hotter in our region, a good place for a short hike might be Mojave National Preserve in California just south of the Nevada border. One you might try is the Rock Spring Loop, which boasts a historic stone house, the site of a 19th-century Army post, a natural spring and American Indian petroglyphs.
While the native California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera) can be found in several areas in California, including Joshua Tree National Park and near Palm Springs, there is one hidden spot in Arizona where it also can be found.
If you have a few days and dollars this summer to invest, you can get much for your money and time at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks in California. In these adjacent and jointly managed parks about six hours from Las Vegas, you can wander among the largest trees on earth, hike some of the 850 miles of maintained trail, swim in cool snow-fed mountain streams, and maybe see a black bear or three.
One benefit of living in Southern Nevada is the opportunity to explore little-traveled back roads winding their way to uncrowded outdoor adventures. One of the best is the Mormon Well Road, originally a pioneer wagon trail on what is now the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.
