Valley of Fire State Park 4/6-9

Driving from Joshua Tree NP to Valley of Fire SP was very windy almost the entire way.  We did see a lot of Ocotillo plants covered in firey red blooms. The wind had subsided when we arrived and we only experienced light to medium breezes.  Temps were in the high 70s to mid 80s until Wednesday when it heated up to 90 when we left.

Valley of Fire is east of Las Vegas and near Overton, NV thus has a lot of day visitors, tour buses, and Pink Jeep tours.  The campgrounds are all first-come-first-served.  Some of the sites have electric and water and some only have water but the restrooms have flush toilets and spotlessly clean showers at the Atlatl Campground.  The first night we had a site with only water but moved the next morning as a site with electricity became available.

The pictures don't do justice to the colors of the park, they are stunning as the different light shines on the areas.  No Photoshop here!

Our campsite that backed up to the rocks.  The rocks provided afternoon shade over most of the site.

Linda made full use of her lounge chair and the pleasant weather.

Atlatl Rock

Arch Rock

There is another campground near Arch Rock and it is a little more primitive and secluded.

Beaver Tail Cactus

The Beehives

This is an area with petrified logs that have been exposed.

White Rock Dome

At White Rock Dome there is a 1.2 mile loop trail which we took.  The first half mile was down a canyon/narrow wash that was strewn with rocks and some rocks were arranged as steps.  The steps were generally greater than 12" drops which were tough on the knees and hips.  When it wasn't rocks it was fine powdery, deep sand which isn't easy to walk in.

This was part way down the wash.

At the bottom the trail goes through a slot canyon that was cool and pretty.  Linda kept worrying that a flash flood would come flowing around the corner.

Near the bottom of the trail we met a photographer that said he comes in the opposite direction as it is much easier, and it certainly was going back up.  Experience is a wonderful thing.

Almost back to the top.

In a section of the road where no stopping is allowed and you aren't allowed to pull to the shoulder we saw some Desert Big Horn Sheep.  The photographer we met on the trail was driving ahead of us and had stopped in the road otherwise we may have missed them.  There was a herd of 10-15 sheep but trying to get the pictures without getting out of the truck limited what I could capture.

A little further down the road he stopped again and there was a Desert Tortoise crossing the road.  The photographer turned around to go back and make sure it was off the road and probably took some great pictures.

This is Silica Dome off to the left.

There is another trail of about 1/2 mile that is called Mouse's Tank.  Mouse was an Indian that murdered some people and then went into hiding.  Later he was seen in the area so a posse was formed and he was tracked into the Valley of Fire and was killed.  The tank is a pool in the rocks that fresh water collected that sustained him in hiding.

On the way in we saw this large reptile which I haven't identified.  Somewhat blue in color and about 18" long.

Also in this canyon are lots of petroglyphs on the rocks.  At the entrance is a sign board that shows  their possible meaning, according to the "experts".  I can't argue with them.

This is the trail near the end of Mouse's Tank's location.  The tank isn't worth the walk in to see but the petroglyphs and the surroundings certainly are.

Mouse's Tank

As we had covered most of the normal attractions we returned to the trailer, put the air conditioner on (it was approaching 90s) and cooled down until the temps dropped.

There are a number of trails for hiking as well as just taking off across the terrain to some formations.  There is a lot to see and I am sure we will return another spring.  Probably in late February or early March before it really starts to warm up.  Early April is about about the end of the cooler weather.

We had hope to see some Desert Big Horn Sheep but hadn't even thought about seeing the tortoise.  We feel we were very lucky.

We left the Valley of Fire about 10 am and arrived as Zion Nat'l Park's Watchman Campground around 2:30 pm (time change).

The campground is full but we will catch the shuttle into the park in the morning and start exploring and revisiting what we have seen on previous trips.