Lake Mead and The Valley of Fire

In March, Dan and I went on our first Jeep adventure in Nevada. We spent the day driving around Lake Mead and The Valley of Fire. The landscape was absolutely gorgeous and I can't believe in all of my vacations to Vegas, that I had never ventured off of the strip to visit either of these places.

We didn't quite know what to expect, but we paid our daily fee at the Lake Mead rangers station and drove into the park. There was plenty of sunshine, but it was a crisp, winter day.

Just before reaching The Valley of Fire, we took a detour to see Lake Mead. The water level was low and the boat launch area had a defunct hotel. It looked like it once was a thriving resort. The area was practically deserted and we only saw one other couple taking pictures. The water was a beautiful blue and crystal clear. Next time, we hope to see a more active part of the lake and to maybe rent a boat.

My pictures can't do it justice, but The Valley of Fire was a stunning explosion of red and orange rock formations. We visited in the late afternoon, when the setting sun made the rocks look even more dramatic with intense shadows and warm light.

We entered The Valley of Fire from the unattended side. There was an honor system daily permit box, where you got a little slip to retain for your records, but basically wrote down your license number, stuck ten dollars in an envelop and dropped it into a locked box. A lot of people were decided to take their chances and not paying. In case you were wondering, they do check. The whole area is crawling with park rangers and there is a manned booth on the opposite end. Even if you think that you might get away with it, just pay the fee. It goes to supporting an amazing National Park and our parks need the funds!

We encounter a bit of excitement as we were leaving the valley. We noticed a couple of tourists had tried to go off-roading in their rental car and they got stuck in the sand. Bad idea. Dan got to use our Jeep's winch for the first time. He was happy to rescue them, but probably even happier to test out the winch!

I even recorded the action.

The Valley of Fire and Lake Mead should be added to your must-do list for your next trip to the Las Vegas area. It's magnificent.

Here are some last shots as we headed down an empty road and back to the strip.

Big Bear Dining

We tried several new-to-us restaurants on our winter trips to Big Bear Lake. The food and service, was so good, that I wanted to share it with y'all ( We didn't have biscuits, the y'all just felt right).

If you've been following my blog, then you know that one of our favorite places is the Le Dolce Vita Tasting Room. It's simply the most fun place in town. There is always a great crowd, live music and the owners are very chatty. The only problem is we could easily spend our entire trip parked at the bar and never do anything else. We visited on the weekends just before Valentine's and St. Patrick's Day, so note the decor. The cheese plate was the best I've ever eaten, so much variety.

We were excited to go back to the Grizzly Manor Cafe for breakfast, but the line was out the door. We drove through the city and stopped at the Grind & Grill Cafe. It's not as unique as Grizzly Manor, but the Grind & Grill is strong competition when it comes to the best pancakes and waffles on the lake. Plus, they use local coffee mugs, which I love.

One of biggest dining surprises was the Evergreen, a fine dining restaurant that is nestled up on a hillside and offers the best views of the lake. I should clarify the fine dining. Big Bear has restaurants that serve amazing meals, but even the nicest places have a woodsy/casual vibe. Don't let this deter you or make you think that the food is somehow less with regard to quality. Our meal at the Evergreen rivals some fabulous meals that I've eaten in big city/ celebrity chef restaurants.

What's more, is the hospitality was stellar. We arrived early, not realizing that the restaurant wouldn't be open for another half an hour. The owner of the Evergreen saw us out front and opened early for us. She escorted us to the best table in the house and got us started with champagne and appetizers, as we waited for her staff to arrive.

Dan and I had their Beef Wellington for two, which was scrumptious. The meat was so tender and had zero gristle. The thing to order is the scallop appetizer. Wow. I've never eaten better scallops. Evergreen goes out of their way with presentation and decorative plating.

The best thing at Evergreen was a moment where I relived my childhood. This is the same ship painting that my mom had hanging in our living room for my entire childhood. Isn't it dreadful?!?!

Sometimes a big, greasy breakfast is not what you want. In Moonridge, just off the main road that runs through Big Bear, we found the Moonridge Coffee Company. This independent coffee shop was super cozy and the antithesis to Starbucks. We had made-to-order breakfast sandwiches and lattes while perusing the local newspaper.

Big Bear has a Himalayan Restaurant, lacking imagination, it's actually called the Himalayan Restaurant. I ordered the chicken sekuwa, which is a chicken that is baked in a clay oven and served with onions and assorted vegetables. It's hard to describe exactly how it's seasoned, as the spices are completely foreign to me. I've ordered this dish at Tara's Himalayan Cuisine in Los Angeles and the taste is very similar. Whatever it's seasoned with, it's delicious. I try to sop up all of the spices with some naan, just to savor it. Excuse the single, not so great photo. We were too busy chowing-down to take pictures!

Finally, if you love your pizza drowning in toppings, then Neo's Pizza House is the place for you. Neo's isn't technically in Big Bear, but it's close. It's located in the town of Running Springs, just a short drive from Big Bear Lake. I've never seen so many toppings on a pizza. Never. The price was so low that we left an extra big tip because we felt like we were robbing them. This is good stuff!

I'm convinced that Big Bear is a town for foodies. Take a weekend trip and bring your appetite!

Big Bear Jeeping

As soon as we bought our Jeep in January, we couldn't wait to test it on the trails. Our first off-roading was in the mountains surrounding Big Bear Lake on the North Shore side.

Prior to hitting the trails, we stopped by the rangers station to get a map and to buy our Adventure Pass. We frequently noticed signs mentioning the Adventure Pass while driving in the Angeles National Forest. It's necessary to have if you wish to park your vehicle in the forest, you don't need it if you're just driving through. As we intend on doing a lot of off-roading and hopefully some hiking, the Adventure Pass is a must have accessory for our Jeep. It's also a nice way to support our local parks.

We spent about five hours off-roading in Big Bear, most of the time we were completely alone on the trails. We only saw one little chipmunk scurry in front of us. No other wildlife, except for birds.

It was mid-February and we were really hoping to find some snow, but with the unseasonably warm winter, this was all that we could find. The weather was brisk, but the sun was shining.

The trails were marked with ratings from easy to most difficult. A majority of the trails that we explored were flat and easy.

However, we did go on a trail that was rated the most difficult. This is how I handled it.

And when it became too much, I refused to stay in the Jeep as Dan drove down the steep trail.

Now that we've taken the Jeep out a few times and we've done far more harrowing trails, I'm not so chicken. I know that this picture makes it look pretty mild, but trust me, it was steep! I shouldn't have been walking down it in my Uggs.

Normally, I wouldn't advocate graffiti on nature, but I like this photo.

Our drive included a lot of dirt, tree branches scraping the sides of the Jeep and loud "clunk/clank" sounds as we jostled along. In the end, there were a few minor scratches, but mostly, the Jeep was just blanketed in dirt.

Nemo suffered a dismembered tail during an epic battle with a large tree branch. He just kept swimming.

In early May we will be back in Big Bear for the Jeep Jamboree. We can't wait to tackle the trails and really push our Jeep to its limits. Check out the official website for the event here.

http://jeepjamboreeusa.com/event-detail/62/