Friday, December 13, 2019

Hiking in Las Vegas: Kraft Mountain Loop


Last year was a great hiking year for me, and one of the best hikes I did was the Kraft Mountain Loop in Calico Basin. 


This year I've spent more time at my desk than on the trail, sad to say. I'd almost forgotten about this trail until I found these pictures when I was cleaning out my phone's storage. 

As it turned out, my hiking partner and I did the trail going up the wash as opposed to going down it. This is the more difficult way to go, as I discovered when a woman stopped us at Pink Goblin Pass and asked me how I’d gotten up the wash. Honestly, at a couple of points, I didn’t think I was going to make it, so I highly recommend hiking the trail in the recommended direction, which is down the wash—starting at the Sandstone Road Trailhead.

Here are some pics I shot that day. It was just a little overcast, perfect for keeping cool while hiking. If you stick to the trail as intended it’s a 3.25 mile loop, although we probably hiked closer to four miles since we parked near the intersection of Calico Basin Road and Charleston/ Highway 159.









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All pictures by Terrisa Meeks


Sunday, November 17, 2019

The Plane Crash on Mount Charleston


Sixty-four years ago today, a plane crashed at Mt. Charleston.


If you were outside in today’s beautiful sunshine, it’s hard to picture the snow storm that was raging around Mt. Charleston on this date decades ago.

On November 17, 1955, a C-54 military cargo plane traveling from Burbank to Area 51 went off course, hit that terrible storm, and ultimately crashed into Mt. Charleston about a half a mile from the peak. All 14 men aboard were killed.

No one, not even the families of the deceased, knew the details of the flight or why the men were on the plane until after the details were declassified in 1998 – although if one persistent man hadn’t been tenaciously pursuing information about the crash, those details still might have been lost, ignored as insignificant and forgotten again.

For decades the remnants of the plane littered the area around the trail to the peak of Mt. Charleston. One of the most distinctive pieces left was a propeller, twisted and gnarled. I saw it when my hubby and I made the peak in 1996, and we, like everyone else, simply knew a plane had crashed there.

Today the propeller is part of a memorial to the men of USAF Flight 9068, which is next to the Silent Heroes of the Cold War memorial for those who served during those years. According the Forest Service’s fact sheet, it’s the only national memorial to the Cold War era of its kind.



Not until I visited the memorial with my husband, who is himself a Cold War veteran, did I learn the whole story of the crash. I picked up a copy of “Silent Heroes of the Cold War Declassified” by Kyril D. Plaskon in the gift shop and learned the true story behind the flight. 

The book starts out with a thorough background of the Nevada Test Site, where the infamous Area 51 is located, and its role in atomic testing as well as the development of the U2 spy plane. The flight from Burbank to Area 51 was a regular flight taking people who were working on the U2 back and forth on a daily basis.

On the day USAF Flight 9068 took off from Burbank, the flight was a little late taking off because the pilot waited to see if one of the regular passengers would show up (he had overslept, which was a lucky thing for him). At a little after 7 a.m., the very secret flight departed for Area 51. The flight took a route through the mountains and according to the book, near Goodsprings it went radio silent, flying without contact with the flight tower as it made its way toward the Test Site.

Unfortunately, a storm was approaching and they were blown off course to the east. The pilot was flying by sight, but the storm clouds made that difficult. The disoriented crew soon realized they were in trouble. In the book, Plaskon describes the crew “...dodging peaks just above the trees and snow covered mountain range when their normal flight path should have taken them over flat desert.”

At 8:19 a.m., the plane slammed into the side of Mount Charleston, killing everyone aboard.

Plaskon’s book describes the harrowing recovery mission undertaken, which ultimately involved the Sheriff’s Mounted Posse, which was the Search and Rescue of its day. A team that included Sheriff Butch Leypoldt led 17 horses to the crash site to bring the bodies back down, a gruesome chore carried out in the midst of terrible storm conditions.

The entire incident might have gone unremembered had it not been for Steve Ririe.

Ririe had seen the crash site and became interested in knowing more about it... then the crash site seems to have become interested in him, so to speak. The book recounts Ririe’s slightly paranormal experiences, all of which led him – some might say compelled him – to pursue the story of the crash. The story he uncovered is the reason there’s a memorial now to commemorate the men who lost their lives.

The Cold War had no battles to feature on the nightly news. It was, however, a pivotal time in world history when the entire world was holding its breath in the hopes of averting a disaster, a time of secrets and spies that still holds mysteries like Flight 9068.

The U2 spy plane was considered vital to our country’s efforts to prevail in the quiet fight that was happening, and the men who died that morning on Mt. Charleston were instrumental in its development.

The next time you’re at Mt. Charleston, take a moment to stop at the memorial. Ponder the propeller, preserved as it was found at a little over 11,000 feet. We almost didn’t get to hear the whole story of that flight and the men aboard it. 

They deserve remembering.


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All photos by Terrisa Meeks

Sunday, August 04, 2019

Vegas Voices: Brian Rouff’s Vegasy Ghost Story, “The House Always Wins”

When you live in a famous city, you get used to reading about your hometown. But very few Vegas-based books have a truly local setting. In “The House Always Wins,” author Brian Rouff takes us to a part of town that doesn’t make it to the Travel Channel, with characters that will ring a bell or two for any long-time resident.

East St. Louis Avenue at Atlantic, looking west towards the Stratosphere
If you know anything about Las Vegas, you’ve heard of our most famous street: Las Vegas Boulevard, a.k.a. The Strip, a.k.a. The Boulevard. It’s sparkly and fancy and attracts the attention of over 40 million visitors a year.

Unless you’re truly a local resident, however, you probably have not heard of East St. Louis Boulevard.

Brian Rouff’s newest novel, “The House Always Wins,” opens with a whirlwind romance that begins in Michigan and winds up in Las Vegas. Our heroine, Anna, quickly succumbs to the charms of Aaron, a touring Vegas musician, and in short order, Anna and Aaron are married with a baby on the way. Finding a house quickly becomes a priority.
Homes along East St. Louis Avenue
Rouff describes the bulk of houses in Las Vegas with complete accuracy: “Outside, some variation of an earth tone, a red-tile roof, and a mottled textured coating they call ‘stucco.’ All accented with a patch of ‘desert landscaping,’ meaning rocks, cactus and other bushes that require less than a thimble of water to survive.”

Then Anna wanders into what’s now known as the Beverly Green Historic District, and is captivated by a two-story brick house that stands out from the cookie cutters she's seen. I thought it sounded a lot like the house the Sahara's orchestra leader Jack Eglash once lived in (which was actually further east in the Mayfair District), and in fact Rouff and his family bought and remodeled Eglash’s former home in the 2000s. Today, that distinctive home is gone.

Beverly Green, Mayfair and all of the aging/vintage neighborhood in this area hold a mix of homes that range from fully restored to vacant lots that once held homes, with everything in between. 

This abandoned building on St. Louis was once a home that was converted to a dental office
Anna and Aaron take on the fixer-upper and Anna finds that it comes with a ghost named Meyer Levin, who has a lot in common with Moe Dalitz.
Looking west up East St. Louis from about 16th Street


Dalitz isn’t the only local who makes an appearance, so to speak. One of my favorite nods to local lore is the character of Ed Scott, a muck-racking reporter who’s ready to help Anna fight a casino owner (imagine Bob Stupak crossed with Steve Wynn) to save her property from becoming a parking lot. Just like local reporter Ned Day, a man who covered the mob, Scott expires while swimming on vacation in Hawaii. (In real life, Day died of a heart attack while swimming--some would add "allegedly"--while the character of Scott drowns.)

Neither the ghost of Meyer Levin nor Anna are willing to let the house get turned into a parking lot, but if you want to find out exactly what happens, you’ll have to pick up the book.
Looking west up East St. Louis from John C. Fremont Junior High, my old junior high
The locations described throughout the book are very familiar to me, since I grew up in the area, just a few streets from East St. Louis Avenue. It’s a real pleasure to read a story set in my old ‘hood, and anyone who knows Las Vegas will enjoy the attention to detail throughout the story.
Beautifully maintained/restored home along East St. Louis
Rouff is also the author of two other Vegas-based novels, “Dice Angel” and “Money Shot” (both of which are also quite good). I’ve seen a few comparisons drawn between Rouff and Carl Hiaasen, although personally I was reminded of Janet Evanovich’s style. In addition to being a great writer, I have to tell you he’s also one heck of a nice guy, being kind enough to come speak to my former writing group back in the day.

If you’re looking for a Vegas book that goes beyond the Strip, pick up “The House Always Wins” and see a side of the city you don’t know about.

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I took the photos for this post along East St. Louis Avenue traveling from St. Louis and Atlantic west to just east of Las Vegas Boulevard, where the actual street address of the house in the book, 339 E. St. Louis, would be, according to Google... if there were any homes there:


Look for a future series of photos from me taken mostly in this area and the Mayfair District, where I grew up.