Our speaker, Sharon Hawley introduced us to a fascinating place at the Mojave National Preserve, which is located due southeast of Baker California between the interstate 15 (I-15) and the interstate 40 (I-40) highways and south of Las Vegas.

She tells us this is a baron dry place that dates back millions of years and she enjoys camping out among the rattlesnakes, tortoises and cacti to explore and discover the area. Her trip takes her further north, outside and west of Las Vegas to the Mount Charleston and Red Rock Canyon area. There she set out for the summit of Mt. Charleston, which is the highest mountain in southern Nevada. Sharon says it’s like climbing a ladder almost a mile high, a four thousand foot climb with eight-mile horizontal hike from trailhead to summit. There is little vegetation at the 10,000-10,500 foot elevation with only rocks exposed. But along the hike she experienced many Bristlecone Pines that date back 5000 years, some weathered with swirls from wind, rain and red hematite color.   There were also flowers, and aspen trees along the way and beautiful limestone rocks dating back millions of years.

Sharon found ancient Indian tribes depictions of animals such as deer, snakes, coyote, sun, feet and other Indian people had inscribed many rocks. Most dated back around 5000 years old and left as a treasure for those of us today to find. She could see the limestone sandwiched between the San Andreas Fault and the pacific plate and imagined how many millions of years have gone by. Sharon is a real adventurer who is certainly not afraid to explore our desert, and mountains and find unique towns, mountain ranges and especially people. She has a lot of true grit to hike around, camp out, spend time and be “alone in the desert”.  Many thanks Sharon for sharing your adventures!

(Pat Dolphin)