#14: Outdoorsy in Vegas

Dear Bob and Sue: A National Parks Podcast

Matt and Karen Smith

Society & Culture, Nature, Personal Journals, Places & Travel, Science

5.0 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 July 2020

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Come on seven! Mama needs a new pair of shoes! Yep, you’re in the right place, this is still The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast. Except, this episode has a bit of a twist. In it we explore many of the great public lands that are within day-tripping-distance from—that’s right—Las Vegas. During our many visits to Sin City over the years, we’ve managed to take a few breaks from the general debauchery of The Strip to explore some of the magnificent outdoor attractions in the area. And there are many. So leave the sequined dress and sharkskin suit in your hotel room closet and join us as we get outdoorsy in the desert just beyond the glare of the neon signs. Some topics and places we discuss include: How and why we got started collecting National Park passport stamps Red Rock Canyon - a desert beauty with towering red cliffs offers an escape for hikers, bikers, horseback riders, and even drivers who just want to cruise along the 13-mile scenic drive Valley of Fire State Park - this amazing park has a little bit of everything: petroglyphs, petrified wood, amazing rock formations, a slot canyon, and even an “elephant” arch Lake Mead National Recreation Area - America’s first and largest national recreation area boasts two lakes and nine wilderness areas with miles of hiking trails, showcasing its spectacular scenery whether you’re on the water or on a trail Mojave National Preserve - Covering a whopping million and a half acres, this preserve has sand dunes, cinder cone volcanoes, and the world’s largest Joshua tree forest And, of course, at the end of the episode we answer a question from the mail bag Links to more information: To see photos from our travels, visit our Instagram account, or TikTok account Link to our blog post Outdoorsy in Vegas Red Rock Canyon homepage Valley of Fire State Park homepage Lake Mead NRA homepage Mojave NP homepage Where to learn more about our books and travels Join the conversation on Facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	There's not that much climbing at the Mesquite Flats in Death Valley.
0:04.2	At the Kelso Dunes, again, these are 600 plus feet up.
0:08.3	And so we were there one time.
0:10.1	You said, let's go, let's go climb to the top and sometimes after being married a
0:17.5	million years you realize it's easier just to do the thing than to argue about it.
0:25.0	So I knew what was coming, but I said,
0:30.0	yeah, that's fine well we'll do it honey This is the Dear Bob and Sue podcast, stories of adventures and misadventures as we traveled to all the U.S. National Parks and
0:54.7	other public lands. I'm Karen Smith. And I'm Matt Smith. We're the authors of the
0:59.5	Dear Bob and Sioux series of books. Today's episode is about our favorite public lands
1:04.4	where you can be outdoorsy near Las Vegas, Nevada. Now they say that what happens in
1:09.2	Vegas stays in Vegas, but we'll be sharing some of the things we like to do when we're there.
1:14.5	All of the places we talk about today are a short driving distance of no more than an hour
1:18.7	or so from the Strip.
1:20.4	Which means if you're staying on the strip or downtown Las Vegas for that matter
1:23.8	you can enjoy all the man-made wonders of Sin City yet still get away and spend some
1:28.2	time in some beautiful natural settings. Definitely. Now to kick things off, we discuss our National Park Passport Books, and at the end of the
1:37.2	episode, we'll answer a question from a listener in our mailbag segment. So you'll be happy to hear that as I'm packing up for this
1:49.6	next road trip on the top of my pile that's growing by the front door is my
1:55.1	National Park Passport Book which I always seem to forget when we go on these road
2:01.5	trips. I'm glad you're taking it with us this time.
2:04.0	You know I thought after we went to all the national parks I kind of retired the book because I
2:09.7	thought I was done. You gave up. You started late and then you gave up. You I had stamps before you.
	...

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