Grapevine Canyon - Nevada
While roaming the desert during Christmas 2013 we were told of this canyon by an old guy in an art gallery in the small town of Oatman Arizona and we decided to explore it on the way back to Las Vegas.
The road to reach the canyon was aptly named Christmas Tree Pass and clearly signposted from the highway (which is a good job really as my chief navigator was asleep)
The road to reach the canyon was aptly named Christmas Tree Pass and clearly signposted from the highway (which is a good job really as my chief navigator was asleep)
After a couple of miles along Christmas Tree Pass there was the turning exactly as described by the guy in Oatman and we arrived in a small car park with just two other vehicles. After getting water, cameras etc together we set off walking across the desert again toward the clear canyon ahead.
At the canyon mouth on both sides the walls were adorned with petroglyphs. perfectly preserved by the desert atmosphere
We started into the canyon on a well trodden trail really happy to be back out in the desert again, lizards scurried in every direction as we walked and the warm winter sun made a perfect companion.
One of the many lizards that didn't scamper away too quickly
when we reached a place where the trail clung to the side of the canyon Sarah wasn't keen to follow it so we opted for the up and over approach, which she wasn't keen on either...but she did it all the same.
At the top of the sandstone lump Sarah had to sit a minute to compose herself before going on...it made me laugh, she insisted it was steep and slippery even though it's sandstone!!
Down in the bottom of the valley the trail continues through a beautiful array of colours from brown to blue and everything in between
There are some fantastic cacti dotted around and so many differing varieties layered across the landscape that we found ourselves wandering from side to side chasing photos.
here's Sarah getting up close with a cacti whilst surrounded by yucca and directly below is the shot she was making at the time
The desert is stunning with beautiful colour around every corner and we follow the canyon for a couple of miles chasing the next corner and the next before stopping for a seat in the middle of the most peaceful, wonderful desert and watching the lizards lounge.
The gallery below shows the remainder of the desert shots from Grapevine Canyon, click any image for a larger one or click to start and use the directional arrows on your keyboard to navigate.