The Seven Magic Mountains

 The Seven Magic Mountains

S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89054

Open 24 hours

     I had been driving for almost 6 hours from California, headed into Las Vegas after a few days visiting my sister. I absolutely love the mountains, but the desert can get a little monotonous after you've spent long enough staring at it after a busy weekend. I had probably run through the Hamilton soundtrack for about the second time, which Lily did not appreciate from the back seat, when in the distance I see some stacked boulders painted neon bright and sticking out like a sore thumb. 

     While I resisted the urge to immediately pull over, I looked it up later at home. Turns out, this is an art exhibit by Ugo Rondinone, a Swedish artist living in New York who is known for his work that explores the relationship between people and the natural world. It was only supposed to be up from 2016-2018, but it's popularity granted the spectacle a few more years of life. The mountains are expected to come down at the end of 2021, but apparently there is a rally to keep them up even longer, until 2026. 

     

About as crowded as it gets

    

 Lily and I drove out on an early Saturday afternoon in February. It's only about 15 minutes south of Vegas. We drove closer to the designated parking lot, which is just a sectioned off patch of dirt with a few orange cones to help organize the cars. As someone who hates fighting for parking, I could immediately tell I was going to get annoyed. There were about 5 or 6 cars pulling up at the same time as us, and there was no parking or anyone to keep drivers in line. Some cars started to get aggressive, and I wanted none of that. Luckily, it's A-OK to park along the two lane road, which several cars had already done. In fact, on truck didn't even bother trying with the parking lot, and just veered in at an angle near the exit on the shoulder. It's not a very busy road, so it's safe to cross, but of course, you should always be cautious. 

     In the parking lot, there were a few small, dingy food shacks selling tamales and funnel cake. I was tempted, but decided to skip it this time. Quick note, there are NO restrooms! There are also a few off road vehicles available for rent, but I'm not sure where you were supposed to ride them... We took the trail to the Mountains, and there were plenty of people coming and going. 

     The installation itself is pretty cool and it's a great photo opportunity, which looks like the reason everyone is there. It looks great in the middle of a wide open space, mountains looming in the distance. It seems like it could be symbolic of Las Vegas itself. A large, colorful formation in the middle of the harsh, rocky desert, drawing crowds for a quick visit. 

     Literally, very quick. You may spend about 20 minutes there, if you take some time to soak it in. Good thing it's so close, I still absolutely recommend stopping by to see it.