Lava Butte Road - Beautiful Desert

Lava Butte Road

Scene from Lava Butte Road with Lake Las Vegas in the Background

Star enjoying the view from Lava Butte Road

Looking Down on Lava Butte Road from overlook. You can see Lake Las Vegas looking in the opposite directions at the top of the bluff.

Barrel Cactus growing out of the cracked rock.  

Orange rock along Lava Butte Road

Orange Mountain Along Lava Butte Road

Lava Butte Road follows the power lines for a little ways.  In the backgound you can see Henderson, NV.  If you keep going on this road you come out at Las Vegas wash.  You can turn around and go back the way you came, take Rainbow Garden Road back or drive up to Sahara.

Scene from Lava Butte Road

Lava Butte Road has some of the best scenery in the area and most people do not know about it. It is just north of Lake Las Vegas. Take Lake Mead Drive to North Shore Drive, Past Lake Las Vegas and make a left onto Lake Mead Blvd. Not too far past the National Park entrance you will see a dirt road that goes off into the desert to the left. This road will take you to Lava Butte Road and Rainbow Garden Road. If you want to travel the entire Lava Butte Road, you should take a four wheel drive vehicle and lost of water. The road is pretty good, but in a few places there is high clearance. Do not go in the summer!

When you get down to the wash you can turn around and go back the way you came or drive all the way out to Sahara. Either way is about the same distance. The drive to Sahara is a much better road and much faster.  They have been working on the roads in this area so this might have changed since I have been there.

Pill Bugs! Sow Bugs! Roly Poly Bugs!

Roly Poly Bugs

Pill bugs, sow bugs, or roly polys bugs, no matter what you call them they can be trouble.

I have had a problem with pill bugs in my garden for years. They ate my tomatoes, strawberries, and other vegetables at night before they were even ripe. I read some where that if you get rid of the decaying matter in your garden, you will get rid of the roly poly bugs.  I tried that, but that didn't help at all. I tried a poison, but that didn't help either. I vacuumed them up by the thousands with my shop vac in my grass with no affect.  I even tried doubled-side tape, beer, and cans around my plants, but nothing kept them from eating my plants until I put hay down around all my plants. I found that the roly poly bugs liked the decaying hay so much they ignored my tomatoes and strawberries.  They did still eat some of my young plants but putting cans around them until they got bigger kept them safe.  Try hey!!!!  I still have thousand of pill bugs but they stick to the hey. Not only that this is the first year my tomatoes are actually producing quite a few tomatoes!  I love hey!

Roadrunners

Roadrunner Hunting Grasshoppers

It seems mockingbirds aren't the only birds that hunt grasshoppers. I spotted three roadrunners hunting grasshoppers near the road this morning. A local resident said he has seen these birds hunt quail chicks, spear them with their beaks, and eat them whole.  No wonder the mockingbirds chase them away.
"The Cornell Lab of Ornithology" website says they kill rattlesnakes - that's a plus!  They remind a little of mockingbirds because they lift their tail feathers up at a slant when standing as shown in the picture.

Mockingbirds Defending Their Territory

Mockingbird harassing a Red-tailed Hawk

On my morning walk today I witnessed what National Geographic describes as mockingbirds "defending their nesting and feeding grounds".  Pictured above is a mockingbird trying to scare away a red-tailed hawk. There were actually two mockingbirds, but I could only photograph one. I also saw another set of mockingbirds harassing a roadrunner near a house at the edge of the desert. The roadrunner took off towards the desert.

Where's Your Focus?

I finished work early yesterday so I decided to sit out in the garden and relax for awhile. I'm not the type of person to sit for more than a few minutes so I got my camera and spent an hour taking pictures instead. Photography has been one of my passions since college. I am always amazed at what I find when I take out my camera and focus on just a few feet around me. Photography has a way of helping you see things in a whole new way. It always lefts my spirits.

Taking pictures can be a lot like living life. If you just point your camera and shoot without focusing on what is important, you won't get a very exciting picture. You won't have a point of interest, just a boring picture.  If you take the time to really look around and find what is important and make it a focal point your picture will be successful.

It's the same with life. If you just run around without a purpose or focus, your life will just pass you by. Before you know it, it will be over and you will wonder what you really accomplished. But if you take the time to focus on the important things, help people around you, and appreciate the small things, life is so much better, like a beautiful picture.

Blue Cornflower Ready to Bloom

Bird of Paradise Getting Read to Bloom

Bee on Lavender Flower

Artichokes in Bloom

Artichokes in Bloom View 2

Artichoke and Artichoke leaf

Where's Your Focus!

Creosote Bush

Anyone who lives in the desert is familiar with this flowering bush. Its' most notable feature is the little silvery seed balls that form after the flowers have died. They are especially beautiful in the early morning and evening when the sun is shining through the millions of little hairs on the balls making them glow. I was surprised today to see some new flowers on the bushes because I thought they were done blooming for the summer. The recent rain must have encouraged the plants to bloom again.

The ants love the furry seed pods. It is interesting to watch them carrying them to their underground homes once they have fallen to the ground. Their homes are surrounded by a large soft mound of the unuseable parts. Stepping on the refuge is like stepping on soft moss in the woods. Creosote is the smell of rain here. Many people say they love the smell, but I think it is very pungent and miss the sweet smell after the rain in the midwest.

Red-tailed Hawk Carrying Rabbit's Legs

Hawks can often be seen hunting near the edge of the desert. They hunt rabbits, birds, and lizards. Here you can see a hawk with rabbit feet in its talons.  I have also seen the birds eating other birds. The mockingbirds get very upset whenever they are around, flying in circles around the intruding hawk trying to get it to leave the area.