Valley of Fire

I came across the Valley of Fire by accident when I was looking into some other Vegas-related stuff. The name intrigued me so I did some research, and I decided I wanted to check it out. It's a state park that's located an hour from Las Vegas.

We arrived around 11am. The drive there was terribly boring and as we approached the entrance, it looked disappointing. I'd heard that the rocks are so red that it appears the valley is on fire (hence the name of the park). We paid the entrance fee and began driving into the park. It was pretty, but I wasn't impressed. Probably because Zion was so cool. We drove further into the park and came up over the hill and BAM! A valley of rocks so red that it literally shocked us both. We couldn't get down there fast enough.

We first stopped at a few formations known as the Beehives. Chris is terribly afraid of heights but decided to climb the tallest one. I have no idea how tall it was, but he was WAY up there (enlarge the picture to see him at the top). I was so proud to watch him conquer his fear. I was even more proud that he was able to make it down on his own!

We asked a ranger what must-do hikes he recommended and he mentioned White Domes and Mouse's Tank. We drove to the White Domes trailhead and were happy to see the only people there were definitely not hikers. Meaning we'd have the place to ourselves. We began our descent down into the valley through some thick sand which did NOT make me happy. Sand is miserable to walk in when your legs are tired! Soon however, the trail hardened out and we found ourselves surrounded by the most amazing rock formations we'd ever seen. We ended up climbing to the top of one. Check out our victory poses:

I could have stayed there all day.

However, the clock told us it was time to get moving. We headed to the Rainbow Vista trailhead and hiked through more dreaded sand. We wandered into a canyon until we came to a cliff (along with a sign advising us to stop) and had a great view of the valley below. We saw lots of snake holes along the trail and were careful to keep our eyes open for rattlers.

We made our way to the Mouse's Tank trailhead and were rewarded with TONS of petroglyphs. Experts believe they are at least 4000 years old. We were surprised at how high up they were (I doubt they had ladders!) but I suppose that the ground has eroded over the years. At the end of the trail was a pool of water tucked away between some rocks. Water collects there after a rain and can stay there for weeks. Sure enough, it was full. However, because of the shadows it was difficult to get a picture.

We checked out Atlatl Rock and found more petroglyphs, and then drove to Arch Rock for one last hike. We wandered off the trail and explored a couple of caves. I was hoping to find some petroglyphs inside but no such luck. We did find a bunch more snake holes though. Luckily we didn't encounter any of the occupants.

Eventually, it was time to make our way back to the entrance. We caught a glimpse of Elephant Rock and left the park. We drove back through the Lake Mead Recreational Area and watched the sun set over Vegas. After one last trip down the Strip, it was time to head for the airport. And I actually enjoyed the flight home because there were only 35 people on the plane! What a blessing, because after all that hiking it was nice to stretch out and sleep :)

Now that we're home, I'm missing Nevada and Utah in the worst way. When I close my eyes, I see all those amazing colors. I can't wait to go back.