The Valley of Fire State Park in Overton, NV, was only 50 miles or so north and east of Las Vegas, NV, which made for a nice day trip. Our route took us through the Lake Meade National Recreation Area where there were a few glimpses of the lake and lots of breathtaking landscapes of rugged mountains and desert.
The Valley of Fire State Park was named for a large basin of red sandstone that has been pushed up and cracked (according to plate tectonics theory) and weathered into some strange and wonderful formations. There was also an abundance of ancient petroglyphs to explore.
There were several hikes that looked promising beginning with the White Domes (one of the longest) at the end of the park drive. It was a loop trail about 1.5 miles long. It could have taken about 45 minutes, unless like us, you have to stop for pictures every few feet. Then it turns into a 2.5-hour hike. There were so many beautiful picture opportunities it was difficult to leave.
I don't really know how to describe the rock below - it was like the layers were frosted with some coating that has been melting away for a while. The red actually stained the rock underneath.
Since it had rained only a few days before, there were still ripples in the sand/mud where the water had been flowing.
The colors here rivaled those in Death Valley.
There was a narrow section of the trail where you would have a problem passing someone else. There was unexpected color and interesting formations everywhere.
The HDR function on Joani's camera did a great job of capturing both cloud detail and shadow detail in the same frame.
Joani climbed into the little alcove below making for a nice picture. Note that Sam was along for the hike. Since this was a State Park, dogs were allowed along the trail as long as they were on a leash (and you pick up after them). Sam was happy to be included instead of lying around the coach all day.
The hole made a nice frame for the landscape and the HDR, again, helped to capture the wide dynamic range of the composition.
The sun was getting low in the sky, but there was still one more hike that could not be missed. This one went to the formation called the Fire Wave. It is not shown on their map, but the Ranger told us the trail started from parking area #3. It was 0.6 miles each way and at times our pace was pretty brisk.
I think we got to the park's signature feature at just the right time of day. The nearly setting sun really accentuated the colors in the rock.
Below is a picture that pretty well indicated just what the roads in the park were like.
How can that rock stay in place? I don't think I would venture too close to that formation just in case it was not my lucky day.
On the way out of the park, we found "Poodle Rock" and "Arch Rock" near the campground. It looked nice for an RV no longer than 30 feet or so. Obviously, our visits will have to be day trips.
Heading south on I-15 we were treated to a fabulous view of the city lights
Because it was Fat Tuesday, one might expect there should be some craziness downtown. We decided to see what was going on on Fremont Street. I think the police were concerned things might get out of hand so they had enough of a presence there everyone was pretty well behaved.
The Fremont Street canopy featured music by the "Who" which I found to be pretty entertaining - Joani liked the psychedelic '60s show better.
It was an exceptionally long day for us. It's been so long since we were busy throughout the whole day. It was good to get home for the night with plans for sleeping in late the next morning!
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