Howdy Folks!  How does camping at Lake Mead for 4 days/3 nights, exploring Valley of Fire State Park and learning how to rappel down a 30' dryfalls, kayaking the Black Canyon portion of the Colorado River (beginner OK, flat water) to a sauna cave and hiking into 2 canyons with natural hot springs, and finishing the extended weekend with a tour of the Hoover Dam's power plant and maze of tunnels sound?!!  

This is absolutely my favorite trip ... EVER!  I've hosted it a couple times over the past few 'chilly' months and am looking forward to doing it in the Spring .. So, here are the new dates (which also just happen to be my Birthday weekend!)  So, come join me and some of my favorite buddies and buddettes (yes there will be a couple of awesome women on this trip!) to celebrate the weekend with some incredible activities! Here are some details:

Kayaking: An all-day 11 1/2 miles of easy/moderate kayaking down the Colorado River. We'll put in at the base of the enormous Hoover Dam, under the new bridge, and paddle on smooth water through Black Canyon where we'll stop and explore a sauna cave and a couple different hot springs (with enough time to soak!).  We'll be using 5 'tandem' kayaks and 10 'single' kayaks, so 10 people will be in double kayaks and 10 people will be in single kayaks .. please be flexible as I can't guarantee you a single!

Valley of Fire: An all-day exploration of Nevada's biggest state park with several small hikes to some amazing vista's and points of visual and historic interest ... and tons of petroglyphs (if you like that sorta thing!)  I'll also take as many people as want to go, to Fire Canyon and set up an anchor and rope and teach anybody who wants to learn, how to rappel down a 20-30 foot dry falls .. I'll provide all the gear.

The Hoover Dam: The extensive tour of the Hoover Dam is $30 and takes a couple hours .. and it's pretty amazing.  You'll also, on your own, want to stop and take a walk across the new bridge which soars above the Dam where we'll also be ablt to see our put-in point from the day before!

Camping: Lake Mead NRA, Boulder Beach Campground, Group Site #5

Details:  The fee for this trip is $275 and includes 4 days and 3 nights of camping, a welcome BBQ dinner on Friday evening, another BBQ dinner on Saturday evening, breakfast at a cafe before our kayaking trip, shuttle service to and from the river, gratuities, kayaks, paddles, life vests, dry bags, and a shower after our kayaking/hot springs day.  What it does NOT include is $10/car entry to Lake Mead NRA (tho if you have a National Parks Pass it's free!), $10/car entry to Valley of Fire State Park (which includes use of the showers at the campground!), $12 for a buffet dinner we'll have on Sunday evening and the $30 Hoover Dam tour on Monday (if you decide to stay for that .. a couple people have to work on Monday and will be leaving after the kayaking on Sunday afternoon .. that's an option!) .. and you'll be responsible for 2 of your own breakfasts in camp and 2 sack lunches for our activity days.

Out-of-State Travellers:  Twice now I've picked-up people from the airport in Las Vegas to join us on this adventure ... if you're considering flying to Las Vegas, arrange times/dates with me in advance of purchasing your tickets!

From LA/SD ... take the 15 North toward Las Vegas; Exit 215 East toward airport (11mi); merge onto 93 South toward Boulder City (12mi); turn Left at stoplight to stay on 93 South; turn Left into Lake Mead NRA; 1 mile past entry gate turn Right into Boulder Beach Campground; make the first Left into Group Use Area; Group Use Area is on the Left .. #5 is at the end.  It takes about 5-5 1/2 hours from Los Angeles.