Part 4: Return to the East

From California To Nevada

California

My journey from San Diego to Las Vegas included a portion of road I've traveled on before. Back in 2001 my family and I drove from Bakersfield, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, by driving along I-15 across the Mojave Desert but my most recent drive featured one of the most unique power plants.

The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility was something I had only read about in my science classes and geek-journals. What seems like a solar farm with acres of solar panels is actually acres of mirror panels that reflect sunlight to a tower. The tower houses a heat generator that converts heat energy into electricity.

Three heat generating towers supply this large facility.

The California/Nevada Birder is clearly marked by an explosion of casinos on the Nevada side.

Hoover Dam

Nevada

My short visit in Balboa park due to most of its museums being closed on Mondays allowed me enough time to see another site I've seen before: Hoover Dam.

Las Vegas

Nevada

This section needs no explanation.

I've been welcomed.

The king spotted in the wild!

Zion National Park

Utah

Zion National Park was the first of Utah's Mighty 5 that I visited. Zion is fairly green compared to most of the canyons I have visited, but what defines Zion National Park different from Utah's other canyons are its monoliths with vertical walls