Away From It All
January 25, 2010
It rained more in Vegas last week alone than in all of 2009, and even though the “storms” here are laughable by East Coast standards (our heaviest day of flooding was caused by .89 inches of rain), the precipitation still left a nice coating of snow on the mountains.
Since Sunday is the day of the week with the least amount of traffic in the Vegas Valley, we took advantage of the relatively empty roads and cool temperatures to spend a day in Red Rock and the adjacent canyon.
The trip is actually a pretty easy drive from The Arts District. You simply head west on Charleston Boulevard and 25 minutes later … there you are. Believe it or not, Charleston is the precise road that takes you from Sunrise Manor, to Rexville, to Red Rock Canyon. If you can catch favorable light timings (which I never do), the trip can actually be made in roughly 15 minutes.
Shortly after passing the Red Rock Casino we entered the canyon and were greeted with some of the nicest natural scenery that Nevada has to offer.
Red Rock Casino
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon
Spring Mountain Ranch State Park
Red Rock Canyon
Wild Burro at Red Rock Canyon
Wild Burro at Red Rock Canyon
Wild Burro at Red Rock Canyon
In addition to simply looking around, the canyon also offers one of my other favorite natural attractions, and that is the wild burros. These typically-gentle creatures roam the area in search of food and copulation.
Last month, the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) began rounding up these creatures in an effort to relocate them. Because of this, there are noticeably fewer animals to be seen. The BLM claims that the canyon is becoming overpopulated with the animals, and that the burros are in danger of starving to death — therefore, the agency is spending nearly $400,000 to have them relocated and/or adopted.
Is this the right thing to do?
Frankly, I do not know. There were protests over this project last month, but unfortunately I am not educated enough on the specifics of burro habitats to draw a conclusion and be able to defend it. I hope the BLM is doing the right thing, but I fear they are not. My inclination is that if the four-legged animals thrived in the canyon for thousands of years, then the habitat is more than suitable for them, but our benevolent government always knows best … so who am I to question their motives
The burros tend to gently beg for food from humans, and it is technically illegal for us to feed them (it is a $25 fine). Many people ignore this rule. As a matter of fact, here I am in a photograph today giving the burro one of the two whole grain bars I brought for lunch. If someone from the BLM wants to email me a ticket, I’ll gladly pay it.
Wild Burro at Red Rock Canyon
Wild Burro at Red Rock Canyon
Wild Burro at Red Rock Canyon
Wild Burro at Red Rock Canyon
If the Bureau’s position is that the animals in the canyon are starving, then the creatures are more than welcome to whatever food I have on me if they come up and “ask” for it. If the BLM says they are hungry, I take them at their word. Being cited for feeding a hungry animal is something I can live with.
The other stated problem with feeding the burros is that they will come to trust humans, but by the time a lone adult burro actively seeks you out, it’s fair to say that this cat is already out of the bag.
After watching my lunch date wander off in search of more sustenance, I hopped back in the car and headed for Blue Diamond.
Bonnie Springs Ranch
Entrance to Blue Diamond, Nevada
Entrance to Blue Diamond, Nevada
Entrance to Blue Diamond, Nevada
Welcome To Blue Diamond, Nevada
Welcome To Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond is a place I discovered quite by accident toward the former half of the decade. I headed the wrong direction trying to get back into Vegas, and ended up passing a small village which openly advertised its relationship with the local burro population.
Located about 20 miles west of Las Vegas, Blue Diamond is a minuscule town of 282 people, and it’s one of the smallest self-contained villages I’ve personally encountered in the USA.
The town has a post office, an elementary school, a general store (with slot machines of course), and it looks like a throwback to Mayberry. It almost reminds me of a movie set. Since cops like to live away from the people they interact with on a daily basis, the percentage of police officers residing in this town is high. Blue Diamond is also a frequent stop for bicyclists who use Red Rock Canyon as a training location. This place is so strangely isolated, that you don’t feel like you are near a major population center of 2 million people. It seems as if you are literally hundreds of miles away from the traffic, crime, and chaos of Vegas.
I like to stop and hang out in the park just to get away from it all. It’s very relaxing, and it’s a great place to kick back without being bothered … while not having to resort to hiking into a remote desert area. Cellphone service is decent, which also makes it an ideal place to take care of some business.
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond Four Square Church
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond Post Office
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond Library
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond Bike Outpost
Blue Diamond Bike Outpost
Blue Diamond Private Park
Blue Diamond Memorial
Blue Diamond Village Market
Blue Diamond Village Market
Blue Diamond Village Market
Blue Diamond Village Market
Blue Diamond Village Market
Blue Diamond Village Market
Blue Diamond Sheriff's Department
Inside The Blue Diamond Village Market
Inside The Blue Diamond Village Market
Inside The Blue Diamond Village Market
Inside The Blue Diamond Village Market
Inside The Blue Diamond Village Market
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond, Nevada
Blue Diamond Gas Station
Blue Diamond Gas Station
Blue Diamond Elementary School
Blue Diamond Elementary School
Leaving Blue Diamond, Nevada
About Blue Diamond, Nevada
Overall, this was a very pleasant Sunday. It’s not often that I get further than one or two miles from Las Vegas Boulevard, but sometimes it’s a nice change of pace. No porn racks, nobody asking me for money every five seconds, no graffiti, no cops looking to clobber the first person they encounter. Don’t get me wrong, I like the area from the Mandalay Bay to the El Cortez, but it can get a little overwhelming everyday for months in a row.
The proximity of Rexville to Red Rock Canyon is one of those things that make living in Las Vegas slightly less painful.
The Canyon is fine to visit during the Summer, but in my opinion, it’s twice as nice during the winter months.
If you have yet to make the trek between November and March … I highly recommend giving it a shot.
If you do go, remember, do not feed the burros.
Especially don’t feed them apples or whole grains.
They love the stuff, and if there is anything we will not stand for in Nevada, it’s an uppity well-fed burro with enough caloric energy to outrun the BLM.
Written by Jennifer B on January 25, 2010 at 7:43 am
Loved your photos, but have to speak out against feeding the burros. Even if they are, as you point out, accustomed to begging, every time they are fed by humans, they become more aggressive. Those that are fed repeatedly can become so aggressive that they have to be shot. Each person’s action can make a real difference. I’m a former park ranger who worked with black bears, and personally saw the same thing happen. In the end, no one wants a dead animal, right? And just because an animal begs, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s hungry and needs to be fed. Also, human food (especially with as many artificial ingredients as a pre-packaged granola bar) can actually make wild animals quite sick. While I understand that you were trying to being kind, but do the animals a favor and let them remain wild and forage in the canyon for their own food. By feeding them, visitors can unknowingly contribute to the animals’ demise.
Written by Keith on January 25, 2010 at 2:46 pm
maybe that is part of the thinning out of the herd/natural selection? i’m sure that there is a percentage of the wild burros who don’t feed off the humans who stay away from that area and have never gotten people food. if a chunk of the population gets wild and out of control, then subsequently put down, doesn’t that help thin the herd?
Written by Rex on January 25, 2010 at 4:58 pm
While I understand that you were trying to being kind, but do the animals a favor and let them remain wild and forage in the canyon for their own food. By feeding them, visitors can unknowingly contribute to the animals’ demise.
It’s a point well-taken.
I suppose at this point, though, the goal of the BLM is for the animals not to remain wild. They are trying to capture them in an effort to put them up for adoption. Once they are captured, they will need to be human-fed.
I also have to say that, unlike bears, I don’t think the burros are genetically pre-disposed to become aggressive enough to be put down. Even the most embolden burro (and I have seen a few), will bolt if you actively “shoo” them in any manner. They “beg” while maintaining about a 6′ buffer, and only approach your hand if you speak to them calmly and after they satisfy themselves that you have no ill intent.
I just can’t imagine a burro being so aggressive that they would ever have to be shot to protect the human population. They’ve co-existed with the town of Blue Diamond for a long time, and I don’t think burro attacks are an especially large problem.
Of course, I could be wrong.
The point about the food is also well-taken. I’ve seen so few animals lately, that I did not bring food for them. I just had to grab when I had when this guy began observing me.
I understand the wild/domesticated paradox, and I don’t generally feed wild animals.
Besides birds, the burros are probably the only time I do this, because I feel like the co-existence is already well-established. These guys don’t live in Yellowstone Park in the middle of nowhere, they live (literally) three miles from a population center of 2 million people, and they are ostensibly starving.
I will reconsider my position in the matter, though.
I am far from an outdoorsman, and I know little about wildlife.
I just try to behave as a humane ©”good person” would, but I suppose the path to hell is paved with good intentions.
Written by Dean on January 25, 2010 at 5:43 pm
How are the paytables on the video poker machines inside the Blue Diamond Village market? Do they offer 9/6 JOB? Or are all the machines offer paytables that short pay?
Written by philipj on January 25, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I’m glad to see that villages like this still thrive. If the market does not stock something, it is something you really don’t need.
Can I help but say that I like their Sheriff Station. Reminded me of the Sheriff’s Office at Eagle Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior. You would swear you were in Andy Griffin’s Mayberry. The place was tall while columned buildings right out of a Southern Plantation town. Small town folks who know how to live and let live.
Glad to see you had a chance to experience something like this, the out doors and wild animals up close.
Written by Ron from MI on January 25, 2010 at 9:30 pm
From philipj: “Can I help but say that I like their Sheriff Station. Reminded me of the Sheriff’s Office at Eagle Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior. You would swear you were in Andy Griffin’s Mayberry. The place was tall while columned buildings right out of a Southern Plantation town. Small town folks who know how to live and let live.”
A lot of areas in the Northern Lower Peninsula and the UP are like that, especially when you go off the beaten path; very little progress that doesn’t clog the arteries of a big area, lots of simplicity and almost no flotsam and jetsam. Very intimate indeed.
By the way, nice photos on Blue Diamond, Rex. The photos did have that remote feel of a small town, unlike Vegas, Henderson, Nellis, etc., just down below.
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on January 26, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Was out of State for a week and a half, Rex. I’m back now. Enjoyed this article.
Just wanted to respond to Jennifer B’s comment. I think it actually all worked out in the end. What Rex probably didn’t say is the burro latched onto him, followed closely when he left and now lives at Rex’ house and begs granola bars from the neighbors. Sorta like that tiger in the bedroom in “The Hangover.”
Written by Stacey on February 1, 2010 at 3:13 am
Awesome article, amazing photos. It was great to learn about Blue Diamond.