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| Valley of Fire at sunset |
Our new favorite park in Nevada is the Valley of Fire which is located near Las Vegas, just outside of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
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| Stripes of differing sediments ... |
The ancient sand dunes there have formed into undulating mountains of unbelievable colors - red, yellow, pink, white and multi-colored striped sandstone rock. These have been uplifted, twisted, hollowed-out, and split into monstrous rock shapes and canyons and sometimes, it feels as if you are viewing giant, sleeping rock monsters.
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| The best campsite ever - shade at 2:00 p.m., natural wall art, quiet...Ahhh. |
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| The campground was nestled in the rocks |
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| Our"big rig" |
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| Morning coffee |
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| Ernie's new buddies - black-throated sparrows |
The facilities here were excellent: hot showers, an interesting museum , a quiet campsite with afternoon shade, and plenty of trails and places to explore. We even spotted tons of wildlife including: chuckwalla lizards, cotton tail bunnies, black tailed jack rabbits, black-throated sparrows and linnets, ground squirrels, scorpions and "africanized" honey bees.. The days were scorching (95 degrees plus), but the evenings were heavenly - warm and comfortable for viewing the stars. We sadly decided to leave when the wind kicked up with gusts to the high 30's/40's + at night, but we will return ...soon.
Dusk creeps in slowly...
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| Wildflowers were abundant throughout the park! |
We found two nice hikes that were short, but scenic with available spots of shade 1) Mouse's tank - a hidden hole in the rock filled with rain water and numerous petroglyphs 2) the White Domes trail which provided a scenic tour of the white rock sandstone monoliths. We needed exercise, but the hot 95+ temperatures were tough on us. Afterwards, we relaxed in the air conditioned visitor center where we identified some of the flowers and animals, etc. we had seen. What a fantastic park!
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| Finally...shade! |
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| Messages from the ancients |
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| Fire burnished rock |
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| Enchanting... |
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| Nature's art |
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| Narrows |
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| Rainbow striated colors |
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| Peek - a - boo! |
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| Life persists! |
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| Walking the White Domes trail | | | | | | | | | |
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