THURSDAY - GRAPEVINE CANYON
Last year visited a waterfall hidden in the desert. It was such a cool place that I decided to do it again this year. To get there I drove down this road.

The desert isn't a particularly "user friendly" place, but that's why I like it.

I saw quite a few Zebratail Lizards.

They favor open areas with loose, sandy soil like this.

Here's one sporting a dewlap.

There's a large gallery of rock art to be enjoyed on the way.

This seep of water was attracting a large number of insects, especially Honeybees.

But there were other insects too, such as this Queen Butterfly.

Double Queen!

I got so lost in taking invertebrate photos, including trying unsuccessfully to get good shots of Tarantula Hawks and Dragonflies, that I did not realize that I was being watched.

And he brought backup as well. The Bighorns and I had a "staredown" that lasted a few minutes before I decided that they wanted to get a drink and they wanted me to leave so they could do so.

So I continued on my way, which involved climbing these rocks, which is no easy feat.

Side-blotched Lizard.

I heard a noise behind me and wouldn't you know it, those Bighorn were following me. I reasoned that they were going to mug me and take the pack of almonds that I got at Starbucks earlier in the day. But then I realized that they were simply admiring my stellar rock climbing skills.

After the rock climb there's more hiking and eventually this abstract art-like passage often called "the narrows" needs to be navigated. It's pretty cool looking and pretty cool inside, especially when a breeze passes through.

The narrow granite canyon was carved away over the years by wind and water.

Following even more hiking, I approached the waterfall.

It was early April when I visited here last year, but this time around there was no water flowing. The "bath tub" at its base was nearly dry.

This Dragonfly seemed to have the right idea - it was time to metamorphose and get out.

Even though I've been to this place a number of times, I've never roadhunted the area. I came back at night and gave it a try. This turned out to be a good idea, because I saw this.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.

Western Diamondbacks are tricky to find in Nevada, this is only the second one I've ever found in the Silver State.

There were also a few Desert Banded Geckos crossing the road as well.