Last day in Boulder City

We've had an incredibly good time here in Boulder City.   The Elk's Lodge RV park is wonderful, good hook-ups, friendly people and a perfect location.   In between jeeping marvelous desert backroads,  hiking and sightseeing we've managed to take care of mundane tasks of life and complete a safety upgrade to Beluga.

Dave works on his project in our outdoor laundry room!

outside portion of the fire suppression installation

working hands

 sprinkler head installation in the engine bay and the system is complete

We've washed and mowed the poodle.   Fuzzy Wuzzy really needed it this time.
Hiking makes his hair grow.....

Friday was our last hike for this trip.   All the other hikes we took were at the end  jeep roads, but this time our start point was at a parking lot/picnic area (33 holes overlook) in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.     After we parked and put on our boots we followed the birdandhike instructions and walked to the western most picnic table to look for the trail.    They couldn't be right, there was nothing past the table but a steep and stony erosion gully leading down to a wide wash with several paths and elevated saddle areas.    I wasn't crazy about scrambling down that gully without knowing which way to head for the trail to White Owl Canyon.    We got back in the car and went to the Visitor's Center for a map of some sort, or at least some better directions.    No luck, no map.   All the ranger said was that the Canyon hike was very worth the trip down.     Do we go back and see if we could figure it out?    Yep, that's what we did.

Dave scouts ahead while waiting for me patiently......

  
We (I) took our time, used our hiking sticks and were at the bottom before we knew it.   After a few changes of direction we came upon a clear trail and we were on our way!

Is this the right way Dave?

The Canyon walls became more narrow as we approached the slot area.

 We could see evidence of the Canyon's namesake, white owls, along ledges and outside deep holes in the porous rock sides.

We never actually saw an owl but their sprays of "white wash" were everywhere.
Pam wrote about finding numerous owl pellets below these roosts so we were on the look out as we walked along.

Dave found a pellet outside one of the large holes.   After teasing it apart he found the remnants of an owl's recent meal, a small rodent of some sort.  Tiny, delicate bones and fur were all that was left...burp.

Not fun for everyone, I suppose, but we were fascinated by these pellets and the minuscule remains contained in them.

We spent quite awhile in the Canyon, walking and looking.   We enjoyed the cool respite the high walls offered.   It is still quite hot here and the steep crawl down combined with a shade less hike along the wash made the dim White Owl Canyon feel luxurious.

Here and there the hot sun found its way to the bottom and lit sections of wall in a most beautiful way.

Once through the narrows we came upon a huge culvert carrying the trail under a road.     It gave us an odd sensation as we followed each other through it.   Sound was deadened and accentuated at the same time and the rings of steel made my vision zig about.....twilight zone!

Don't go into the light Dave!

We decided to head back, the sun was beginning to sink in the sky and we knew we had limited time left.    We didn't want to be wandering about in the dark.

ready to hike back up that hill?

he waits patiently

the two Italian cars eye each other jealously....

Mother Nature showed up tonight to wish us beautiful farewell.

Tomorrow we'll be in Arizona at Lake Havasu State Park.