I had visited the Lost City Museum at some point in the early 80s and was impressed by the collection of points and pottery. It's a small museum, but contains a large collection of artifacts taken from the local area, especially those portions now covered by the waters of nearby Lake Mead.

Our ultimate destination on this most recent visit was Valley of Fire State Park, about ten miles farther south of Overton. Because of the time of year, we wanted to make sure that the air had warmed some before our hiking, so we decided to stop at the museum first. The museum opens at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time, or 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time (our time zone). So we were able to sleep in as well. Nice.

9:30 a.m.
We drove to the south end of Overton and visited the Lost City Museum, which is on a small bluff to the west side of the highway. The museum is in a nicely localized building and still has a unique collection of artifacts from the Anasazi and other local cultures, as well as a reconstructed pueblo in back of the museum, which is built on an old pueblo foundation. They have many nice exhibits, photos, and a nice reconstruction inside the main room. There is also a great, although small, book store and gift shop. Lots of great reads and some cool trinkets, if you are into that sort of thing. There is a $2.00 per person entry fee.

The two women who were working there this morning were very friendly and helpful. We toured the inside and outside exhibits, examined the old farming implements scattered about, and walked to near the covered picnic area along what looks to be an old canal. There is lots of parking, however, on this day, we were the only people visiting. Nice.

About 10:30 a.m. we left and continued south through the Lake Mead National Recreation area to Valley of Fire State Park.