Red Rock in Flip Flops

We had every intention of roadtripping to Zion National Park during our President's Day weekend in Las Vegas, but the many warnings I read about overcrowding turned me on to a more local yet outdoor experience, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  

I'm certain every tourist in Nevada had the same idea and they were playing loud music on their phones.  Or they were climbing rocks in flip flops.  They dismantled trailside cairns - those pyramid shaped rock piles made by hiking hippies.  Oddly, once we jumped back into the sanctity of the inner Prius, there came a sense of calm and wonder in the majesty around us.