We're Finally Leaving Mt Chalreston...

But not for 2 more days.  That will put us 12 days here at Kyle Canyon Picnic Area, 22 miles north of Las Vegas.  The pollen from the Ponderosa pines has finally subsided but not without taking its toll on our lungs.  We've taken the last couple of days off from our hiking and are just about back to normal.  Today is our wedding anniversary so we are taking it easy today and will start preparing for our Monday departure tomorrow.  We definitely hope to visit here again!

Everything seemed to be in bloom :)

​The Bristlecone Pine—the oldest living trees in the world—are found throughout Mt. Charleston. Interestingly enough, this wilderness area contains 18,000 acres of them and is considered to be one of the largest Bristlecone Pine groves in the Intermountain West. The Mt. Charleston Wilderness Area also is home to 15 endemic wildflower plants as well as the Ponderosa Pine and White Fir, which are home to the Palmer’s Chipmunk — a species exclusive to the Spring Mountains. Rocky Mountain Elk also are found here, along with wild horses and burros, desert tortoises, deer, coyote, foxes, bobcats, songbirds, hummingbirds and various birds of prey.

Even the lichen and mosses are getting in on the act :)

We've seen evidence they're around but have yet to see one :)

Let's go this a way!

​The first 1/4 mile was brutal but the rest was fine!

On a challenging hike to Mary Jane Falls we were not disappointed.

Wendy caught this little guy in mid-air :)

He came up for a reward for his performance but since it's illegal to feed the wildlife he had to settle for a simple clapping of our hands :)

Paul A. would be proud of us to know we took a ski lift ride :)

As you can tell by Wendy's grip, she doesn't care much for being airborne.

Artificial snow machine? 

Here's where it gets interesting.  How do we get off this thing?  Almost everyone got off at the top to ride bikes down the trails so we had no one to watch as they got off.  The lift never stopped the entire time we were on it so we were obviously concerned by getting run over by the chair as we exited our seat.  I reckon my white beard tipped the attendants off that we might need some assistance... they gave us directions on how to lift the restraining bar on our approach and stopped everything so we could safely exit our chair...whew!   :)

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We have truly enjoyed our hikes and adventures on Mt Charleston and hope to be back one day!