THE VALLEY OF FIRE

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

                                                                  DESERT VEGETATION AGAINST SANDSTONE

This last November Fran and I were invited to a destination wedding in Death Valley (!). We had a wonderful time, despite having to spend some time in Las Vegas, which I feel has to be one of the worst examples of the American Dream. The nicest part of Las Vegas is the opportunity to get out of that hell-hole and to visit some world-class scenic locations a short trip out of town. This week I would like to show you some images from our visit to Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park. This was my first opportunity to take my new camera “on the road” to see how far I had advanced on my learning curve with my new/old Fuji X-T3.

                                                                  AZTEC SANDSTONE WITH CRACKS AND POTHOLES

                                                                  A GUARDIAN AT THE SEVEN SISTERS      

The Valley of Fire is about an hours drive East of Las Vegas. What the Maps app on the phone fails to mention is that you pass by some of the worst suburbs that Las Vegas has to offer, along with some more “exclusive” subdivisions whose locations on the side of the barren roads were even more depressing than their poorer neighbors. All in all not exactly a showcase for one rather extreme example of urban America. The other thing that Maps neglected to mention was that the “toll” we had to pay on our route was actually the admission fee for Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Our admission fee included admission to other National Parks for one month, so we didn’t have to pay to enter Death Valley a few days later. We drove through a long stretch of the Mohave Desert for a few minutes until we took the turn-off for the Valley of Fire instead of heading towards Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.

                                                                  CONFRONTATION

                                                                  BLUEY ROCK, OF COURSE. YOUI DON'T SEE IT?

The Valley of Fire is composed of about 40,000 acres of desert in the middle of absolute nowhere astride an early road towards Las Vegas. It contains several areas of raw natural beauty that early travelers noted as significant in the context of the unforgiving desert. It was set aside as Nevada’s first state park, but the Depression and the state’s apparent neglect almost led it to be reclaimed by the National Park Service. State pride, coupled with hatred of the Feds, finally led to the park we see today.

                AT THE MOUTH OF THE RAINBOW VISTA TRAIL

                 ALONG THE TRAIL

There are two main roads through the park. Most of the maintained hiking trails branch off from these roads, as do several picnic/camping sites that are locate right off the road. Fran and I spent a lot of time at one of these, the Seven Sisters area, which we passed on the way to the Visitors Center on our way into the park. I resolved to double back to this very intriguing collection of massive Aztec Sandstone red-orange rocks arranged in a line off the side of the road. The minimal parking lot led to a small collection of covered picnic tables literally nestled between the several-story-high rocks.  These rocks had been carved by thousands of years of wind into highly evocative shapes whose resemblance to some poetic vision was only limited by your imagination. We had a wonderful time wandering among the rocks without regretting that several decades of age and good sense would not lead us to actually climbing on to the rocks. We noticed that most of our fellow travelers had a much easier time climbing up than on the inevitable trip back down. A surreal time was had by all with the arrival of another destination wedding party, complete with catering and limousines, to the parking lot. A few dozen travelers watched as another few dozen Parisians attended a wedding up hill beyond the rocks. The idea that people from Paris, not exactly a slouch in the romance department,  had decided to stage a wedding thousands of miles away, complete with an Elvis soundtrack, was simply beyond belief. To each his own, and they seemed to be having a wonderful time.

                                                                  ROCKS ON THE TRAIL

                NEAR AND FAR ON THE TRAIL

We then decided to take up one of the shortest hikes in the park, the Rainbow Vista Trail, which promised an easy trip up a short canyon. This canyon was truly spectacular, even though Fran and I never got near the trail’s triumphant endpoint. The trail seemed to be as ill-judged as anything on the Isle of Skye. We were prepared for the sun, but not the idea that most of the trail was composed of deep sand that would do Cannon Beach proud. By the time I got used to that heavy going, the trail then devolved into a giant collection of boulders that only promised sprained ankles in our near future. With no end in sight and the trail narrowing at every step, we found a rock bench in the shade and had a primitive picnic before heading back. Even the youngsters who gallivanted over the boulders without a care were disappointed by the trail’s conclusion beyond our sight. Several evidently thought that Rainbow Vista was the promise of an actual rainbow rather than just another multi-colored rock formation.

                WHERE'S THE RAINBOW? TASTE THE RAINBOW!

                THE MOUNTAINS BEYOND THE CANYON

In any case the canyon was spectacular. I found a lot of photographic opportunities surveying the cliffs that surrounded the trail. As usual I seemed to be drawn to the more intimate landscapes that concentrated on the brittle vegetation nestled against the red rocks. I think that my most successful images utilized the color contrast between the red rocks and the vegetation which sometimes verged on purple along with the parched desert greenery.

                                                       BACKLIT DESERT VEGETATION

                                      PURPLE  VINES AND RED ROCKS

                                                                  GREENERY AMIDST WHAT APPEARS TO BE PETRIFIED WOOD ALONG THE CANYON WALLS

It was only a few days later that all memory of any sort of vegetation was gone when we arrived at Death Valley. I would recommend that anyone who ventures to Las Vegas try to visit the Valley of Fire. Fran and I only scratched the surface at all the park has to offer only an hour away from Sin City.