The Fourth of July was only days away and Charlie and Holly Franks were busy dealing with more than 140 customers. It may be a small shop by square footage, but Scubafy Dive Center is packing them in for several reasons.
Recreation
Austin, a formerly booming mining town founded in 1862, is home to fewer than 400 people today. Yet it’s one of the best-preserved early mining towns in Nevada and well worth a visit by city dwellers from the state’s southern end.
With plenty of summer outdoor activities available in Ely, and temperatures at a perfect comfort level over the next couple of months, the town should be a priority summer destination for Southern Nevadans with itchy feet.
Waterfalls are rare in the Southwest except for seasonal examples that appear after snowmelt or briefly after a heavy rain. For that reason we treasure the few that put on their show year-round, including Lower Calf Creek Falls in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah.
For an outdoor experience that’s different enough to make long-lasting memories, consider the Rings Loop Trail in the Mojave National Preserve, Calif. Located near the Hole-In-The-Wall campground, the trail is named for the metal rings bolted to the walls of a short, yet steep slot canyon.
Every hiker who has heard of it dreams of walking the Bright Angel Trail, the famous footpath that snakes from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon all the way to the Colorado River on the canyon floor, with spectacular scenery almost every step of the way.
Arches National Park, just outside of the town of Moab, Utah, is a feast for the eyes. There are more than 2,000 natural stone arches in the park, the largest density in the world. But you will also be amazed by natural windows, balanced rocks, pinnacles and other stunning formations.
