Because we had never been there but had heard great comments, on route to our next planned destination, we stopped to just drive through Valley of Fire State Park. This is a stunning state park, and we are so glad we did.
When we entered the park, we explained to the ranger that we were just there to look at the campground in anticipation of another visit at some other time. He told us that there were several campsites available in the Atlatl Rock Campground because of some cancellations, so we said we’d take a peek. Sure enough, there was a beautiful, unoccupied site with water and electricity, so we grabbed it – and stayed three nights! As Captain Barbossa would say, our plans are more like guidelines. Note: There is zero cell phone coverage (Verizon) in the campground, but we were able to get a signal at the east entrance gate area.
And in a timely manner, for those of you who have been wondering where you can express your First Amendment rights (or take free photos), well, right here! Please – stay between the signs. We don’t want this free speech thing getting out of hand.
Located in southeast Nevada, north of Lake Mead and the Pinto Valley Wilderness, and northeast of Las Vegas in the Moapa Valley, this is just a gorgeous 40,000-acre state park. If you were a geologist, you would be in heaven, and honestly even if you aren’t, you’ll think you have received special dispensation. Valley of Fire is close to Lake Mead (think Hoover Dam) – you can see some of the park’s peaks from the lakeshore – a short drive away.
On a hike within the Valley of Fire, we were able to see petroglyphs (people’s earliest versions of storytelling, books, graffiti, blogs…) on some of the rock faces. The Nah’gah (the Nuwu name for desert bighorn) were frequently drawn by the Nuwu – indicating their importance. While the age of the petroglyphs is unknown, some may easily be thousands of years old. As depicted in some of the petroglyphs, we found Bighorn sheep grazing nearby in the park, as they must have been thousands of years ago.
On our hike, always attuned to find new and interesting things, we came upon some seemingly unlikely rocks right on the trail – round, maybe the size of an acorn. I picked one up to inspect, and surprisingly it was a bit sticky. On closer inspection, I believe they were dropped Milk Duds from some child’s stash. Ewww. I felt a little bit like Bill Murray in Caddy Shack when he was cleaning the pool and found a candy bar. I did however, resist eating the candy.
Millions of years ago (as in 150 million years ago), there were forests nearby in which some trees were carried miles by water and subsequently buried under thousands of feet of silt, where the trees slowly turned to stone. These petrified trees can be found throughout the park. The rangers don’t recommend using them in campfires, so bring your own firewood.
At the risk of boring you or burying the lead, here are some photos from this very appropriately named and gorgeous park, named for its flaming red sandstone. And as goes without saying, pictures do no justice to the beauty of this park.
