Monday, November 12, 2007

Spring Mountain Ranch State Park

Still within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, we visited the Spring Mountain Ranch beneath the Wilson Range. At 3,800 ft, the area is much cooler than Las Vegas. Water for this once luxurious retreat and working ranch is sourced from some of the many springs in these mountains. This was also the area of the Paiute Indians.

Earlier, before being shown through the ranch, our guide had primed us to ask to see "the secret room". In the bedroom, what looked to be just another wardrobe door opened into a hallway. One step up while ducking your head, and following the hall led to a whole suite of luxurious living quarters.



Past owners of the ranch included Chester Lauck of the comedy team "Lum & Abner," German actress Vera Krupp, and famous billionaire aviator, Howard Hughes.

3 comments:

Alice said...

What a view, and the colours are so vivid. You know, I can never, ever tire of looking at green grass - I'm not really a dry climate person. So what am I doing living in Australia at the moment?

The building actually looked like a barn - was it? Fancy have those concealed rooms. Was there a reason for them being built like that? Did they have a lot of 'shady' customers at some stage?...lol. I'd fit right it!...lol.

Kerri said...

Sounds like you had quite a trip!
We were in the Mohave Desert back in '79 and I found it one of the least pleasant places I've ever traveled through. I wonder if I'd appreciate it more these days. I'm sure there's beauty there, but what I noticed most at the time was the oppressive heat and lack of water.
The mountains are beautiful though.
That secret room sounds very mysterious. I'd love to know the story behind it.
Thanks for dropping by and saying hello! :)

Unknown said...

Breathtaking photos, indeed! Thanks for visiting my site also!!