Refreshing Nevada

The title of this blog may be Nevada, but I need to back track to our grand finale of Utah for a moment.  It really was a grand finale!  As I mentioned before, the owners of the campground where we stayed (Riverside Resort in Hatch, Utah, if you ever need a nice place,) told us about the "places only the locals know about."  So, on our last day in Utah, we decided to check out a hike to a waterfall that they recommended.  It was amazing!

First, we had to off-road quite a bit to get to the trail.  I was really worried we'd get stuck, but Char thought it was the most fun part of our trip so far!  Here's the way the truck looked after this drive:

After off-roading, we arrived at the Cascade Falls trailhead.  These overlooks were incredible.  We hiked along, and it was, just like the road, exceedingly muddy.  Every time we reached snow or snow run-off, we would wash our feet.  Our feet would feel ten pounds heavier before each washing, because of all the mud.  Our kids renamed the place "Foot Washing National Park."

After the hike,

we arrived at this:

Incredible!  It was a waterfall falling out of sheer rock.  Every time I've ever seen a waterfall previously, it's in a river.  This waterfall is in a cliff underneath a lake.  The lake has sink holes in it, and that's how this waterfall is fed.  It was so cool and so beautiful!

That ended our trip in Utah.  Still cold, and still with snow in the air.  We drove to Nevada, and the temperature increased dramatically.  Snow last week in Utah, and tomorrow it's supposed to be 103 here in Nevada.  Crazy!  We arrived at our new campsite on Lake Mead, and this is our view:

It's so refreshing for a family that loves water, to be back near the water again!  We walked the beach, swam, and the kids built with rocks and sand.  There are a good number of sharp mussel shells here, but that didn't matter!  We were so ready for a beach after our time in the desert!  (Yes, the desert was great, too!  But, our family adores the water.)  It was interesting to learn that Lake Mead was formed when the Mojave Desert was flooded by the creation of the Hoover Dam.  Our family is really happy about it, and we're all for flooding deserts whenever possible!

Something else was immensely refreshing in Nevada, and that was hanging out with cousins.  We got to visit my cousin Melissa, her kids, and her boyfriend, and it was so fantastic to be with friends.  Friends for us and friends for the kids, and it was wonderful!  We had such a great time!

As we tried to visit some traditional Nevada spots, here's a picture of the Hoover Dam.  It was neat to see in real life.  Our kids liked the escalator there the best.  Oh, well.  Someday I'll be able to show them pictures of themselves at the Hoover Dam, and they'll appreciate it more.

view from on top of the dam

view from the top of the dam, looking in the other direction

looking back on the bridge we walked across, over the Colorado River

Finally, we quickly drove down the Las Vegas strip at night just to see the bright lights.  We also went to visit the Pawn Shop that's on TV.  Char always enjoys that show, and I think he thought it very fun to visit.

So, that sums up our time in Nevada.  It was refreshing.  We hope you're doing well, too, and that there are no more tornadoes for any of you!