Mt Charleston

Last night we took Kymba, my son's golden retriever, for a walk around the golf course adjacent to their house. Despite the temperature having been a sunny 16' during the day it plummeted at night due to the lack of cloud cover and it was really cold. Hats, gloves and the warmest coats were required and even then we had to walk quickly to keep warm. It was a good chance though to see all the festive lights around the different houses.

Today was also very warm once the sun got higher in the sky and we set off to drive to Mt Charleston in the Spring Mountain range which forms the northern edge of Las Vegas. I hadn't realised but Las Vegas itself sits 2,000' high and is bordered on three sides by high mountain ranges which were boasting snow on their peaks. Immediately we left the suburbs we were in stony desert which seemed to stretch for eternity in every direction and where only sad looking cacti were growing.

Mt Charleston can be approached by two roads which take you to different sides, the northern face providing the city with excellent ski slopes, and the more south facing slopes offering several walking trails which is where we were headed today. When we were quite near the top we stopped at a viewpoint and all you could see in every direction was desert flanked by mountains and Las Vegas itself appearing like an outcrop on the very level plain below us.. It was interesting that as we drove higher there were many trees and small bushes all the way up the mountainside and I can only assume that these are able to survive due to the melt water they receive in the spring. We started walking at about 8,000' and it was quite noticeable that the air was thinner and I felt a wee bit dizzy to start with. However we took our time and had a great walk along a reasonably well trodden snowy path. Kymba just loved the chance to run in the snow and relished the cold weather. Even at this height there were tall redwoods and many outcrops of what looked like birch trees so it all looked very attractive with the snow underfoot. After our walk we came down the mountain for about a mile to a Lodge where we stopped for a very late lunch, and where there were a large number of wooden houses set into the mountainside which are let out in both summer and winter seasons. I had probably the best beefburger I have tasted and felt a lot better!