March 23, 2007

Decided to leave Las Vegas today and spend a night in the Valley of Fire. It’s only about 50 miles or so from Vegas so it didn’t take very long to get there.

The Valley of Fire, Nevada’s 1st State Park, derives it’s name from red sandstone formations, formed from shifting sand dunes during the age of the dinosaurs (150 million years ago). We found a beautiful campsite for the night and just nestled right in.


We spent the afternoon checking out the different rock formations. Oh - did I mention the temperature was around 80 degrees F - it was beautifully hot ’tracking’ around in the desert.
Anyway here are the beehives, unusual sandstone formations weathered by the wind and water.










Mouse’s Tank is a natural basin in the rock where water collects after a rainfall, sometimes remaining for months. This place was named for a renegade Indian who used the area as a hideout in the 1890’s












This was a beautiful sight, called White Domes. The sandstone formations had the most brilliant contrasting colors. Pictures just don’t do it justice. We walked through the canyon on such soft powder, sometimes orange, sometimes, pink, sometimes yellow…. Amazing!! Point of interest - White Domes was the stage setting for the filming of Star Trek.














Another beautiful sight - Rainbow Vista - a favorite photo point with a panoramic view of multi-colored sandstone.





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