In this episode of Solomon's Vegas Adventures, Solomon, Benjamin, and Mary went to Oak Springs and went fossil-hunting for trilobites, as well as visited the gorgeous Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge.

Located 2 hours north of Las Vegas on US Highway 93, the Oak Springs Trilobite Area is a nice place to collect Trilobites, Ferns, Worms, and other Cambrian trace fossils. The entire area was under a shallow sea 530 million years ago, and the muddy bottom of the sea turned to shale over millions of years. Organisms such as trilobites, ferns, and worms died and sank into the mud, and over millions of years these organisms were fossilized in this shale. Today, the outcrops of shale are exposed due to extensional tectonics of the Basin and Range Province.

Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge is located an hour and a half north of Las Vegas on US-93 near the town of Alamo. It boasts abundant cottonwood trees, multiple lakes, and a few perennial streams and wetlands. It is also a pit stop for many migratory waterfowl and other birds, and sustains several local species as well. It is a great place to hike and picnic.

Both Pahranagat and Oak Springs are great places to stop on a road trip towards northern Nevada. To get to each locality, simply follow US-93 north of Las Vegas for an hour and a half (Pahranagat) or two hours (Oak Springs).

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