RED ROCK AND BLUE SKIES

The most common response to my news about moving to Las Vegas was “OH MY GOSH! VEGAS!?…WOW, it’s gonna be so lit!” But the truth is, people didn’t even know the half of it. The strip is the face of this place to most, but to me, the real highs exist outside of the valley…in the mountains surrounding it.

In 2015 I decided to go back to school with a new focus, but before I could truly hit the books I had this thing I needed to scratch off the ole list…I had to photograph the Grand Canyon. In full support, my dad planned a trip and we headed west.

More about that later, but it was on that trip, that actually began with a day in Red Rock Canyon, that I first fell in love with the mountains and the idea of living out west. From then on I had it in my head that I needed to move to Vegas…not the strip, but the outskirts of it.

So the minute we got here I started hyping this place up until finally, the weekend rolled around and I got to share one of my faves with my man.

I wouldn’t describe this as any type of harrowing adventure but it was a beautiful introduction to our new home. There are several different hikes throughout Red Rock but we stuck with a really simple one for our first visit. Around the base, up a dry riverbed and over the mountain.

Walls of cinnamon toast crunch, plants that look like they belong under water…and tarantulas! I got so many eye-rolls for the amount of photos I had to stop to take, but whatever.