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China Ranch, a family date farm in a secluded oasis near Death Valley National Park, offers visitors a variety of attractions and unique experiences. The farm produces dates from several varieties of palms, as well as delicious date shakes, date bread and other baked goods showcased at a gift shop and snack bar.

A privately owned zoo flourishes in Moapa Valley’s rural setting, drawing visitors for guided tours of the facility and hands-on acquaintance with many animals in the 160-member menagerie. Where else in our area can you pet a gentle camel, watch agile and amusing otters at play, touch a soft young kangaroo, feed carrots to a zebra or get within inches of porcupines dining on fruits and vegetables?

Scouring the desert and mountains, wind gathers tiny sand grains and pushes the grains into drifts. Over time, when conditions are favorable, the gathered sand grows into shifting mountains several hundred feet high. In some places in the desert Southwest, vast dune deposits cover miles, taking on a life of their own. They form shapes such as stars or crescents. They even make sounds. All of them whisper as the sand moves, but some squeak or sing and a few actually boom as dry sand cascades from a high crest down the lee side.

The rugged Bitter Springs Trail lies not far from the sprawl of urban Las Vegas, but seems a world away. Designated a scenic back country byway by Congress in 1989, the 30-mile route south of Valley of Fire State Park connects old mining roads, a mountain pass and desert washes between Interstate 15 and the Northshore Road in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Allow at least two hours just to drive the route, more if you stop to explore.