Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, perhaps 15 minutes from the edge of Western Las Vegas, is a perfect escape from Las Vegas.
The sprawling, 500-acre park, with an elevation of 3,800 feet, can run 10 even 15 degrees cooler than the city. It is rich with history — (Howard) Hughes Tool Co. owned the land for a time as did a German movie actress and later Fletcher Jones.
Animal life abounds there — squirrels, cotton-tail rabbits, jackrabbits, foxes and coyotes. (Snakes and lizards, too. This ain’t the Strip.)
Plant life reflects the a high desert terrain — brittlebush, Indigo Bush and Mohave Yucca.
During the day, it’s a perfect place to picnic under a shade tree or take a nature tour.
But at twilight, the park unfolds as the setting for Summer Super Theater. Crowds bring their own food and plenty of wine, sprawl on the meadow and then sit back to watch a professionally performed musical.
The meadow opens at 6 p.m. but the play doesn’t start until about 8 p.m., giving you plenty of time to enjoy a gourmet feast and perhaps a second glass of wine. (You want to bring wine glasses; this is not a paper cup crowd.)
There’s a little bit of people-watching, too, but the park almost steals the show — bats flit about, fireflies streak the nighttime sky and dragonflies the size of Chinook helicopters hover in the air.
Summer Super Theater is currently showing “Bye Bye Birdie” through July 25. The play is good with a strong cast. The sound system is excellent, and an appreciative audience caught most of the lines on the night we were there.
But it’s the cool of the evening and the sprinkle of evening stars — the kind in the sky — that really makes this one of the best Las Vegas escapes.
