Located less than two hours away from Las Ve.. Recreation Area is a scenic riverside park located near Laughlin.

The park offers sandy beaches, clear beautiful waters, rugged desert landscape.

Located along the sweeping curve of the Colorado River, it is a popular destination for boating, for fishing, for camping, and wildlife viewing.

It offers both relaxation as well as outdoor adventure.

The best of two worlds.

And today I get to do both.

First up, a short hike before meeting up with Eli Joke with Nevada State Park.

Big bend of the Colorado State Recreation Area offers a network of trails combining park roads and sandy areas to take you throughout the park's undeveloped desert terrain.

The sandy surfaces can present a moderate challenge, particularly during the hotter months, so it is advisable to hike during cooler parts of the day and carry sufficient water.

All right, Eli, I am so excited to be here exploring something completely new t.. I've never been here.

I'm loving it.

It's a great area.

Tell me about this area.

So as you can tell, it gets pretty hot down here.

But fortunately, we're right on the Colorado River.

The Colorado River stays roughly like in the town of .. So it's a great place for people to come and play in the water.

As you can see, this area is also known as Maui of Nevada.

Why is that?

So, we get a lot of Hawaiian visitors out her.. that have moved from Hawaii, and they're living, like in the Vegas area, and they've come down and they've told me it's the closest they can get to feeling like the beaches out in Hawaii.

Every year we hauled out sand onto the beaches because it starts to erode away after a while.

And so we're always, sifting sand and putting fresh, soft sand on the beaches.

And then again, we see so many people and families out here just enjoying themselves, having a good time with us and picnic areas as well.

What other things can they do out here in the water?

It's a beautiful I mean, it is like a beach, right?

So yeah, we've got a launch ramp over here.

So you get a bunch of people coming out to, ride their personal watercraft, which is like jet skis.

A lot of people launch their boats from here as long as the water's high enough.

And then you've got other activities.

People float on twos.

People paddle board out here, and all that stuff is pretty.. Okay, you mentioned paddleboarding.

I'm actually going to try that for a really the first time here in Southern Nevada.

So I'm really excited about doing that.

Have you done that?

I have yeah.

And what are you any tip.. So just just keep your balance standing up.

We come down the river down here the currents pretty swift.

So you want to keep close to the shore so you don't get swept away in that current.

Make sure you've got personal, life vests and safety equipment and should be fun.

It's a fun time.

Okay.

All right.

So wish me luck.

We got this.

Thank you.

Eli.

You're awesome.

Thank you for what you do.

Thank you.

I'm off.

The Colorado River and Lake Mead off for recreational activities, including paddleboar.. I love seeing people effortlessly gliding across the water, peacefully paddling.

And today I will be trying paddle boarding.

So excited about that.

I just hope that I can keep my balance and stay on that board.

Challenge accepted.

Let's go!

I'm getting a lesson from one of the best in the business, Josh with the Las Vegas paddle board.

This is exciting.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Okay.

What will we be doing today?

Tell me a little bit about all the excitement that's going to happen out there.

Today we're going to be having a beginner paddle b.. We're going to be learning all the basics.

Your equipment, safety, learning how to stand up and learning.. I didn't want to waste a second, so we got right to it.

Josh is such a pro, he took the time to walk me through the details of being safe on the water.

First the life vest and proper fit, then the board's leash.

This will keep the board close if I fall in the water.

From there, we talked through the proper use of the paddle, how to move forward, how to switch hands, the backstroke and a proper stance.

So grab on there.

Now it's time to get on the water.

And at the same time, go ahead and hop up on there.

Now wiggle your way up next to the handle.

The handle in between your knees.

This isn't the first time I've done this, but it's been a while.

So I know there were a couple of people hoping for that.

It makes for good TV.

Fly into the water.

Oh, you.

I did my best.

Getting my balance.

Once I was sort of comfortable.

It was all about standing at the weight and looking for the rudder.

You.

I gotcha.

It took a minute to really get into a rhythm, and once I did, I can tell you it was so much fun.

Like, Josh is a great instructor and knew exactly what to say for my confidence.

Awesome.

Oh, you got me.

Whoo!

About finding that.

Really?

Yeah.

You can relax every time.

Awesome.

You're doing it.

I'm doing it.

I got a great instructor.

I'll switch sides again.

Keep your eyes up.

This has been an awesome experience.

I definitely want to do this again.

But right now, I need to get back to a bit more of a home state of mind.

Josh's wife, Nicole, invited me to practice yoga with her, and that sounds pretty relaxing.

Hold your breath.

Now, Nicole and I jumped right into it.

She's been a yoga instructor for more than 20 years, and is one of the few floating yoga instructor.

Open your eyes.

Inhale.

Arms up.

All the way up.

And as you exhale, you're going to turn to one side of.. And we ran through a series of poses.

Really?

Put in your lap.

Oh, yeah.

It's a good .. It was so relaxing.

We're going to move into a focus here.

So first we're going to start here.

Okay.

And it's floating on the oversize paddle board.

Brought an additional element to the practice.

It was a great session.

Arms in front of your chest.

No thank you.

Well done.

It's been an amazing day.

I can tell you that.

I love to get out and explore ne.. That's why I have this big smile on my face.

There really is no shortage of things to do here in beautiful Southern Nevada, so I hope you'll get out and .. Try new things.

Paddle boarding, yoga on the water.

I can tell you it is good for the mind, body and soul.

I leave with the happy heart.

I'm Maria Silva and till next time I hope I see you out on the trails.

Namaste.

Stay.